39. In the 1960s and the 1970s modernization of agriculture was considered synonymous with rapid tractorization. Accordingly, several African countries initiated large-scale tractorization programs, in the form of mechanized state farms, co-operatives farms that shared tractors, government tractor hire services, and by the provision of subsidised credit and preferential tariff's for the acquisition of tractors. Despite these concerted efforts, examples of sustained and economically viable tractor use are hard to find. In most cases, these tractors were abandoned, the few cases where they continue to be used (on government-run farm), the domestic resource costs of keeping them running, especially in terms of foreign exchange requirements, has been enormous, and without any appreciable increase in food or export crop output.
40. The appropriate power source to use for an agricultural operation depends on the physical and economic conditions facing the farmer rather than the cosmetic appeal of modem machinery. The idea that a group of thirty to fifty farmers could share a tractor and be better off than if each had a team of oxen and a plow is ill-founded, given the time bound and time synchronic nature of the land preparation and seeding operation. In cases where cooperative members operate individual holdings, it would be extremely difficult for the farmers to agree on an appropriate sequence in which each of their fields should be plowed. The resulting conflict would lead to the demise of the arrangement. Equally problematic is the notion that a government-run farm equipped with the best of modern machinery would produce more output per hectare than a group of private farmers with simpler equipment. So it is not surprising that since the 1980s several governments have begun to take a second look at animal draft power.
41. As discussed in this paper, land abundance and labor scarcity do not always imply the profitability of mechanical power. The chances of leapforgging directly from hand-tools to tractors, even in land abundant economies, are quite small. While the transition from hand tools to animal draft will occur only when the farmer perceives that his welfare will increase in the process, this depends on the stage in the evolution of farming systems that the farming society is in. Governments ought to be sensitive to these farming systems issues when designing their interventions on mechanical power.
42. Where the returns to output expansion have been high due to the existence of a good domestic or export market, small farmers have proven to be extremely responsive to new technologies. In the case of animal traction, one can find numerous examples of spontaneous adoption when the agro-economic conditions, such as population densities, market infrastructure, soils etc., were appropriate.
43. The potential for plow use is higher: on more intensively cultivated areas; on heavier soils; and in areas with a relatively long growing season. In terms of these variables, regions and sub-regions within all but the smallest countries vary enormously. The planning of project interventions to promote any form of mechanization, therefore, ought to be done at levels which can properly take account of these (within-country) regional/sub-regional variations and not on a nation-wide scale.
44. One way the government could help in the adoption of animal draft power, in locations where it is appropriate, is to identify and alleviate some of the short-run constraints to the transition. These constraints are: credit availability; veterinary services; training programs for farmers and animals; and training programs for blacksmiths.
45. Where the transition from animal to tractor power is profitable, one observes rapid adoption of tractors often with minimal government factor in involvement. Supply side constraints are not a major factor in their adoption. Repair and service facilities follow demand (where not restricted by government policy), and privately operated machines typically have a long life and high utilization rate. The historical record is quite clear on government involvement. Mechanization in such of the developed world did not depend on government intervention in machinery development, production, technology choice or finance. In the developing world, the most successful cases of mechanization such as milling, pumping and harvest processing did not depend on special interventions either.
46. Mechanical technology is sensitive to agro-climatic factors such as soils, terrain, etc., and economic factors such as wage rates, capital availability etc.. Hence, the opportunity for direct transfer is limited. Accordingly, where demand exists and where the returns to innovation are appropriable, one observes a great deal of invention and/or adaptation of mechanical technology to meet local conditions. Such work is usually done by small manufacturers in association with farmers. In this process, mechanically minded individuals provide direct solutions to problems perceived by farmers. The emergence of a diversified machinery industry out of small shops in the Indian Punjab, the power tiller industry in Thailand and the Philippines all followed similar patterns. Large government corporations in a central location do not have the advantage small workshops have in adapting to local constraints.
47. Given this dominant role of individual initiative in the development of agricultural machinery, the appropriate government interventions to encourage mechanical innovation (for animal traction or otherwise) are: a) patent laws to enable the innovator to caputre a portion of the economic rent generated by the innovation; and b) testing and information dissemination.
