Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis

The drive to mechanize and modernize African agriculture is in high gear, making the need for empirical evidence to guide mechanization investments critical. This paper assesses the heterogenous and distributional correlates of using mechanization and rural livelihoods in Chegutu and Zvimba district...

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Autores principales: Ngoma, Hambulo, Mukamuri, Billy, Silva, João Vasco, Baudron, Frédéric
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172994
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author Ngoma, Hambulo
Mukamuri, Billy
Silva, João Vasco
Baudron, Frédéric
author_browse Baudron, Frédéric
Mukamuri, Billy
Ngoma, Hambulo
Silva, João Vasco
author_facet Ngoma, Hambulo
Mukamuri, Billy
Silva, João Vasco
Baudron, Frédéric
author_sort Ngoma, Hambulo
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The drive to mechanize and modernize African agriculture is in high gear, making the need for empirical evidence to guide mechanization investments critical. This paper assesses the heterogenous and distributional correlates of using mechanization and rural livelihoods in Chegutu and Zvimba districts of Zimbabwe, where a private sector company had the largest sales of different machinery across the country between 2019 and 2021. We used a quantile regression estimator and measured livelihoods using farm and household revenues. Based on survey data from 988 randomly selected households, we found that adoption was associated with rising land/labor ratio, market access and wealth. The use of mechanization was associated with a median annual increase of USD 262 in revenue with a wide range from USD 103 at the 25th percentile to USD 2,900 at the 95th percentile per year. The largest revenue gains were associated with post-harvest and irrigation equipment use, and in the upper percentiles of the revenue distribution. These findings call for (i) wealth agnostic promotional efforts to ensure equitable mechanization benefits, (ii) better targeting of mechanization types to farmer needs, and (iii) concerted efforts to strengthen mechanization service provision models.
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spelling CGSpace1729942025-12-08T09:54:28Z Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis Ngoma, Hambulo Mukamuri, Billy Silva, João Vasco Baudron, Frédéric smallholders small-scale mechanization regression analysis rural livelihoods The drive to mechanize and modernize African agriculture is in high gear, making the need for empirical evidence to guide mechanization investments critical. This paper assesses the heterogenous and distributional correlates of using mechanization and rural livelihoods in Chegutu and Zvimba districts of Zimbabwe, where a private sector company had the largest sales of different machinery across the country between 2019 and 2021. We used a quantile regression estimator and measured livelihoods using farm and household revenues. Based on survey data from 988 randomly selected households, we found that adoption was associated with rising land/labor ratio, market access and wealth. The use of mechanization was associated with a median annual increase of USD 262 in revenue with a wide range from USD 103 at the 25th percentile to USD 2,900 at the 95th percentile per year. The largest revenue gains were associated with post-harvest and irrigation equipment use, and in the upper percentiles of the revenue distribution. These findings call for (i) wealth agnostic promotional efforts to ensure equitable mechanization benefits, (ii) better targeting of mechanization types to farmer needs, and (iii) concerted efforts to strengthen mechanization service provision models. 2025-01 2025-02-12T16:56:10Z 2025-02-12T16:56:10Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172994 en Limited Access Elsevier Ngoma, H., Mukamuri, B., Silva, J. V., & Baudron, F. (2025). Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: A quantile regression analysis. Food Policy, 130, 102795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102795
spellingShingle smallholders
small-scale mechanization
regression analysis
rural livelihoods
Ngoma, Hambulo
Mukamuri, Billy
Silva, João Vasco
Baudron, Frédéric
Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis
title Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis
title_full Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis
title_fullStr Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis
title_full_unstemmed Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis
title_short Heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: a quantile regression analysis
title_sort heterogenous correlates of mechanization use and rural livelihoods in zimbabwe a quantile regression analysis
topic smallholders
small-scale mechanization
regression analysis
rural livelihoods
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172994
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