After many years of neglect, there is a renewed interest in agricultural mechanization in Africa. Since government initiatives to promote mechanization, e.g., by importing and subsidizing tractors, are confronted with major governance challenges, private-sector initiatives offer a promising alternative. This paper analyzes an initiative of the agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere and its dealership partner AFGRI to promote smallholder mechanization in Zambia through a contractor model. The analysis focuses on the impact of this initiative on smallholder farmers who receive tractor services and on the demand for hired labor. The analysis is based on a survey of 250 smallholders and focus group discussions using Participatory Impact Diagrams. The results of a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) analysis indicate that farmers who access tractor services for land preparation can almost double their income by cultivating a much larger share of the land that they own.
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/can-big-companies%E2%80%99-initiatives-promote-mechanization-benefit-small-farms-africa
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/ferdinand-adu-baffour
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/thomas-daum
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/regina-birner
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/publisher/center-development-research-zef
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/agriculture
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/agricultural-machines
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/tractors
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/zambia
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/farmers
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/africa
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/private-sector