Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization

 

Sustainable agricultural mechanization covers all levels of farming and processing technologies, from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated and motorized equipment.

It eases and reduces hard labour, relieves labour shortages, improves productivity and timeliness of agricultural operations, improves the efficient use of resources, enhances market access and contributes to mitigating climate related hazards. Sustainable mechanization considers technological, economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects when contributing to the sustainable development of the food and agricultural sector.

What is sustainable mechanization

Sustainable mechanization is a means to an end. Farmers who have access to improved agricultural tools and powered technologies can shift from subsistence farming to more market-oriented farming, making the agricultural sector more attractive to rural youth. Sustainable mechanization supports the development of food supply chains through improved agricultural practices for increased production and enhanced food security.

Sustainable mechanization is applied to agricultural land preparation, supports timely seeding and planting, weed control, integrated pest management, precise fertilizer application, harvesting, preparation for storage, and value addition operations along the food supply chain in terms of on-farm processing, transport and marketing.

Conservation Agriculture and Save and Grow
Sustainable mechanization adopts Conservation Agriculture principles and the "Save and Grow" paradigm to enable agriculture to be both productive and profitable for farmers while at the same time contribute to conserving resources and ecosystem services. As the effects of climate change and natural resource depletion become more visible, the large-scale adoption of conservation agriculture practices – which protect the soil, conserve water, use less energy and more efficient and precise use of inputs – will be essential to maintain and sustainably improve food production and distribution.