Abstract

 
 
 
 The study investigated the effects of mechanized agriculture on farm labour employment and cropland expansion due to the incursion of tractors into the country. Primary data were collected using specially design pretested schedule by interview method and using panel survey data, to analyze the effects of mechanization on labour employment and cropland expansion in northern Nigeria, respectively. A sample of 240 farmers were taken for the study. Tabular, percent and linear regression analysis were done. The study found that labour employment per cropped hectare showed a declining trend with increase in farm group size under different categories of mechanization. The inverse relationship revealed between labour employment and farm size hold true in case of operation like sowing, intercultural operation and irrigation. Hired labour and family labour both had positive and negative relationship, respectively with farm size in each category of mechanized farm. Findings also show a positive correlation between farm mechanization and cropland expansion during the survey period. Two interaction terms were introduced in the model to assess whether there are differential effects of mechanization on cropland expansion across the three districts. The results show that the effect of mechanization on farmland expansion is significantly higher among farmers in Igabi compared to Zaria. This result may be driven by the differences in access to tractors in the districts with Igabi having the highest access, then followed by Zaria.
 
 
 
Highlights
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural mechanization generally refers to the application of tools, implements, and powered machinery as inputs to achieve agricultural production
Nigeria needs to enhance the number of farmers who utilize mechanical power-based mechanization in order to (i) increase the food production capacity of farmers leading to reduced poverty and improved livelihoods, (ii) reduce the drudgery associated with agricultural production, (iii) reduce the level of post-harvest losses that occur across different agricultural value chains, and (iv) increase the prospects of the local agro-allied industry and the conversion of crops and tubers to value added products (VAPs)
Mechanization Effects on Labour and Employment Labour Employment per cropped hectare effect of farm mechanization on hired and family labour is presented in Table 1, which showed the distribution of family and hired labour for different categories of mechanized and bullock operated farm
Summary
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural mechanization generally refers to the application of tools, implements, and powered machinery as inputs to achieve agricultural production. It encompasses various technologies across the production-processing chain from basic tools such as hoes and cutlasses to motorized equipment such as tractors and grain milling machines. According to a study published by the International Conference of the West African Society of Agricultural Engineering, 90% of farmers in Nigeria conduct farm operations using hand tool technologies. This is the case because many farmers lack the resources to acquire agricultural machinery like tractors and ploughs. This dependency on human power has contributed to low agricultural productivity and fostered the importation of food from countries like Thailand which have an average of 281 tractors per 10,000 hectares of arable land
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