Family Farming Knowledge Platform

Mechanization for rural development

A review of patterns and progress from around the world

Agricultural mechanization is a crucial input to agricultural crop production. It is frequently very capital intensive, compared to other (usually annual) inputs and it has repercussions on the efficiency of all other inputs used in crop production, including seeds, fertilizer, water, and time/labour. It is also much more complex in its application, requiring not only correct use, but also a service infrastructure for maintenance and repair. For this reason it is essential for FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP) to embrace the agricultural mechanization sector in the context of Sustainable Crop Production Intensification. Whilst agricultural mechanization is indispensible for production, it can also have very detrimental effects on the environmental sustainability of farming (soil compaction and erosion, tillage, chemical pollution). 
However if the correct technologies are applied, for example: climate smart agriculture such as conservation agriculture; safe and efficient application of pesticides; precision application of fertilizers; soil compaction management; efficient harvesting; and natural resource conservation, then sustainable intensification can ensue. The services provided to member countries will include the policies and infrastructures required by them to establish or expand their capacities to facilitate environmentally friendly mechanization in a socio-economically sustainable way. This includes roles for cooperatives, for the public sector, as well as for the commercial private sector, from financing and operational arrangements for the use of agricultural mechanization, to training in the use of machines, their maintenance and the related commercial supply infrastructure for sales, and after sales services. This publication presents a kaleidoscopic view of agricultural mechanization experiences from around the globe and, as such, provides a solid launching pad for the promotion of sustainable mechanization technologies that are so vital if we are to feed, with due regard to the planet’s natural capital, the burgeoning world population both now and into the future.

:
Volume: 20
:
:
:
:
Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
:
:
:
Author: Josef Kienzle
Other authors: John E. Ashburner, Brian G. Sims
:
:
Year: 2013
ISBN: 978-92-5-107606-4
Country/ies: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Nepal
Geographical coverage: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near East and North Africa
Type: Book
Content language: English
:

Share this page