Increased agricultural production is most often brought about by the introduction of improved crop varieties and by creating an optimal environment such that the plants and animals can grow at their potential. Planting, tending and harvesting a crop requires both a significant amount of power and a range of tools and equipment. Mechanization of farming fully increased the area that could be planted and contributed to increased yields. In fact, most farmers in developing countries have greater annual expenditure on farm power inputs than on fertilizer, seeds or agrochemicals.

Through the last century crop production systems evolved rapidly and achieved significantly increased yields. Unfortunately, on some occasions the production systems created unwanted environmental side-effects. Matters such as soil degradation and erosion, pollution from chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals and a loss of bio-diversity have been highlighted for a number of years. Furthermore, not only were some crop production systems found to be unsustainable in an environmental sense, in some locations they were not sustainable in an economic sense. Of equal concern was the discovery that in some cases it was only the work undertaken by men that was mechanized. The tasks traditionally performed by women were left un-mechanized and the work demanded of the women increased as the area planted and the yields increased.

It is against this background that an emphasis on the following has arisen:

• all aspects of farm power (human, animal and mechanical) including related social, economic and environmental dimensions;
• standards for farm tools, farm machinery and equipment, together with codes of conduct for their safe use (implemented in close collaboration with the plant production and protection division);
• technical, policy and strategy issues concerning mechanization;
• alternative crop establishment technologies such as conservation agriculture.