Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai
This research was undertaken to better assess the role of mechanization in the future of smallholder farmers in Nepal. It addresses the knowledge gap about whether promoting mechanization that is often complementary to land can effectively support smallholders, particularly in the face of a growing...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2016
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147529 |
| _version_ | 1855540694282665984 |
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| author | Takeshima, Hiroyuki Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur Kaphle, Basu Dev Karkee, Madhab Pokhrel, Suroj Kumar, Anjani |
| author_browse | Kaphle, Basu Dev Karkee, Madhab Kumar, Anjani Pokhrel, Suroj Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| author_facet | Takeshima, Hiroyuki Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur Kaphle, Basu Dev Karkee, Madhab Pokhrel, Suroj Kumar, Anjani |
| author_sort | Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This research was undertaken to better assess the role of mechanization in the future of smallholder farmers in Nepal. It addresses the knowledge gap about whether promoting mechanization that is often complementary to land can effectively support smallholders, particularly in the face of a growing nonfarm sector. Rising rural wages in Nepal have increasingly put pressures on smallholder farmers, who tend to operate labor-intensive farming. Agricultural mechanization through custom hiring of tractor services has recently been considered as an option to mitigate the impact of rising labor costs for smallholders. However, the benefit of agricultural mechanization may still be better captured by exploiting the economies of scale of medium to large farmers rather than smallholders. In the meantime, the Nepal agricultural sector still employs a disproportionate share of workers given its share in the economy, potentially depressing agricultural labor productivity. It is therefore an important policy question whether to (1) continue supporting smallholders through custom-hired tractor services or (2) encourage smallholders to rent their farms out to medium-size or larger farmers, while helping smallholders specialize in the nonfarm sector, where their labor productivity may be higher. Using samples from the Terai zone—one of the agroecological belts in Nepal, largely consisting of lowland plains— from the Nepal Living Standards Survey, we assess whether the benefits of hiring in tractor services are greater among medium to large farmers than among smallholders, and how these benefits may depend on smallholders’ decision to remain in or leave farming. This study also contributes to the impact evaluation literature by showing that jointly assessing the effects of two treatments (whether to adopt custom-hired tractor services and continue farming, or to search for better options and specialize in off-farm activities) can lead to different implications than assessing them separately. Our analyses suggest that the government should continue to promote custom-hired tractor services not only for medium to large farmers but also for smallholders. If, over time, barriers to specializing in nonfarm activities are lowered and more smallholders start leaving farming, mechanization may no longer benefit the remaining smallholders. Support for mechanization can then be focused more on medium to large farmers, while types of support other than mechanization can be devised for the remaining smallholders. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace147529 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1475292025-11-06T07:23:22Z Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai Takeshima, Hiroyuki Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur Kaphle, Basu Dev Karkee, Madhab Pokhrel, Suroj Kumar, Anjani logit analysis tractors large farms surveys rent capacity development probability analysis smallholders transitional farming labour mobility mechanization farming systems This research was undertaken to better assess the role of mechanization in the future of smallholder farmers in Nepal. It addresses the knowledge gap about whether promoting mechanization that is often complementary to land can effectively support smallholders, particularly in the face of a growing nonfarm sector. Rising rural wages in Nepal have increasingly put pressures on smallholder farmers, who tend to operate labor-intensive farming. Agricultural mechanization through custom hiring of tractor services has recently been considered as an option to mitigate the impact of rising labor costs for smallholders. However, the benefit of agricultural mechanization may still be better captured by exploiting the economies of scale of medium to large farmers rather than smallholders. In the meantime, the Nepal agricultural sector still employs a disproportionate share of workers given its share in the economy, potentially depressing agricultural labor productivity. It is therefore an important policy question whether to (1) continue supporting smallholders through custom-hired tractor services or (2) encourage smallholders to rent their farms out to medium-size or larger farmers, while helping smallholders specialize in the nonfarm sector, where their labor productivity may be higher. Using samples from the Terai zone—one of the agroecological belts in Nepal, largely consisting of lowland plains— from the Nepal Living Standards Survey, we assess whether the benefits of hiring in tractor services are greater among medium to large farmers than among smallholders, and how these benefits may depend on smallholders’ decision to remain in or leave farming. This study also contributes to the impact evaluation literature by showing that jointly assessing the effects of two treatments (whether to adopt custom-hired tractor services and continue farming, or to search for better options and specialize in off-farm activities) can lead to different implications than assessing them separately. Our analyses suggest that the government should continue to promote custom-hired tractor services not only for medium to large farmers but also for smallholders. If, over time, barriers to specializing in nonfarm activities are lowered and more smallholders start leaving farming, mechanization may no longer benefit the remaining smallholders. Support for mechanization can then be focused more on medium to large farmers, while types of support other than mechanization can be devised for the remaining smallholders. 2016-12-16 2024-06-21T09:22:59Z 2024-06-21T09:22:59Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147529 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146282 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149363 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Karkee, Madhab; Pokhrel, Suroj; and Kumar, Anjani. 2016. Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1583. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147529 |
| spellingShingle | logit analysis tractors large farms surveys rent capacity development probability analysis smallholders transitional farming labour mobility mechanization farming systems Takeshima, Hiroyuki Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur Kaphle, Basu Dev Karkee, Madhab Pokhrel, Suroj Kumar, Anjani Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai |
| title | Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai |
| title_full | Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai |
| title_fullStr | Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai |
| title_short | Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai |
| title_sort | effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self selection into farming an insight from the nepal terai |
| topic | logit analysis tractors large farms surveys rent capacity development probability analysis smallholders transitional farming labour mobility mechanization farming systems |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147529 |
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