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Subject: Agricultural Economics × Author: Barman, Sinki × End date: 2018 × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    MECHANIZATION IN ASSAM AGRICULTURE – STATUS AND ITS EFFECTS
    (AAU, Jorhat, 2018-01) Barman, Sinki; Deka, N
    Agricultural mechanization refers to interjection of improved tools, implements and machine between workers and materials handled by them. Agriculture has changed significantly with advances in science and technology. Traditional agriculture was mostly dependent on human labor and draught animals with less fertilizer application, plant protection measures etc. where modern agricultural practices are mainly based on machines especially high-speed, powerful tractors and its implements with higher rate of input application. In the context of growing demand of selective forms of farm machinery in Assam, the pertinent question to ask is whether the farm mechanization contributes to income and employment of the farm families either by increasing productivity, cropping intensity or by changing the cropping pattern. So, keeping this point of view the present study was conducted with specific objectives viz., 1) Study the status of farm mechanization in the study area, 2) Examine the effect of mechanization on productivity, income, employment, cropping pattern and cropping intensity and 3) Study the factors affecting farm mechanization of the sample farms. Primary data were collected with the help of specially design pretested schedule by interview method. Tabular, percent, log linear regression and Logit regression analysis were done and results obtained from these analysis were summarized to examine the impact of farm mechanization and various factors affecting farm mechanization. During 2014-15 the availability of farm power in Assam was 1.78 HP per hectare which was less as compared to 2.05 HP per hectare at national level .Use of animal drawn implements like indigenous plough and the traditional practices were adopted by the farmers and its percentage was high for tillage, sowing, intercultural operation, harvesting and threshing etc. Some farmers had neither animal and nor tractor or power tiller but they hired these for performing various farm operations. The implements used by the cultivators for performing various agricultural operations were desi plough, rotavator, harrow, puddler, khurpi, hoe, kudali, spade, axe, knapsack sprayer, shallow tube well/deep tube well, plain sickle plain sickle, serrated sickle, combine harvester, reaper, tractor, power tiller. 94.32 per cent of the household ploughing was done by mechanically while 4.58 per cent used draught animal for ploughing purpose. From the study it had been observed that mechanical ploughing was done by 94.32 per cent of the population. Cropping pattern in medium and large sized mechanized farms were shifted in favour of high valued crops and cropping intensity was higher in case of mechanized farms and it was seen that cropping intensity showed a negative significant relationship with farm size i.e. -1.98. Tractor Hired Farm had the highest cropping intensity (162.21 per cent) followed by Power Tiller Hired Farm (161.49 per cent) and Tractor Ownership Farm (152.00) per cent) and Power Tiller Ownership Farm (154.62 per cent), respectively. From the study revealed that mechanized farms received higher yield and return compared to non mechanized farm and the major effect of mechanical power adoption was the significant reduction in the labour requirements of mechanized farm for ploughing and threshing. Human labour employment was lower in case of mechanized farm than Bullock Operated Farm. Average labour employment per cropped hectare were estimated at 53.36, 70.04, 68.87, 87.45 and 147.9 man days for Tractor Ownership Farm, Tractor Hired Farm, Power Tiller Ownership Farm, Power Tiller Hired Farm and Bullock Operated Farm, respectively. Labour employment and farm size had inverse relationship within different categories of mechanized and Bullock Operated Farm and out of total labour employment family labour employment was found to be 3.70, 58.91, 20.30, 63.02 and 91.22 per cent in case of Tractor Ownership Farm, Tractor Hired Farm, Power Tiller Ownership Farm, Power Tiller Hired Farm and Bullock Operated Farm, respectively. Per hectare crop yield along with gross return was higher in case of mechanized and it had been observed that in case of Bullock Operated Farm net return was negative i.e. -12075.51. Using Logit regression analysis revealed that education, farm size, level of con tact with extension functionaries and area under high yielding variety crops had found to bearing significant positive effect on adoption of mechanization in the in the study area on the other hand age old custom was the hindrance of mechanization adoption. The coefficient of EDU i.e. education level of the household (4.32) was positive and highly significant at 10 per cent probability level confirming that the adoption of farm mechanization was more prevalent among the farms having relatively literate in the study area. Considering the above findings suitable form of farm machinery can be recommended in the study area, supplemented through greater use of irrigation and fertilizer which are expected to increase the cropping intensity, sufficient enough to neutralize the labour displacement effect of farm mechanization in the study area. By advancing smooth credit system to procure machineries, establishment of bank for custom hiring, development of adequate infrastructure to supply spare parts, repairing services, cooperative management farm machinery, development of training facilities for farmers to use machineries and strengthening the linkage of extension functionaries with the grassroots level by creating awareness about the use of farm machineries amongst the farmers were the appropriate policy measures for increasing the benefit farm mechanization in the study area.