Labor-saving Technology Research Articles

秸秆机械化还田技术研究现状与发展趋势综述

As the application of agricultural mechanized production technology becomes more and more extensive, the application of mechanized straw returning technology has become more and more valuable. The mechanized return of straw to the field is a time-saving and labor-saving technology. It is an effective way to achieve sustainable agricultural development and is of great significance to the development and progress of modern agriculture. This article analyzes the current research status of mechanized straw returning to the field, discusses the process structure and characteristics of different mechanized straw returning methods, and focuses on the analysis of the composite technology of straw returning to the field. At the same time, the key problems of straw returning to the field, such as the length of straw not meeting the standard, the shallow depth of straw returning to the field, and the uneven distribution of straw, are put forward and analyzed. By taking the cover and burial rate of straw on the soil surface and the spatial distribution uniformity of straw in the soil as the performance evaluation indexes of straw mechanized field return, each index is elaborated. Finally, two major development trends are proposed: the development of mechanized straw returning to the field from a single process to a composite process, and the effect of straw returning to the field towards uniform mixed burying and precise control.

Livelihoods, Technological Constraints, and Low-Carbon Agricultural Technology Preferences of Farmers: Analytical Frameworks of Technology Adoption and Farmer Livelihoods.

In the context of achieving carbon neutrality, it is scientifically important to quantitatively explore the relationships among livelihoods, technological property constraints, and the selection of low-carbon technologies by farmers to promote agricultural modernization and carbon neutrality in the agricultural sector of China. Based on the scientific classifications of farmer capital and low-carbon agricultural technologies, a farmer technology selection theory model considering capital constraints was developed in this study. Microcosmic survey data were collected from farmers in the Jiangsu province for empirical testing and analyses. A total of four low-carbon technologies related to fertilizer usage and three types of farmers’ livelihoods and their relationships were examined by using a logistic model. The results showed the existence of a significant coupling relationship between the intrinsic decision mechanism involved in selecting low-carbon agricultural technology and the properties of low-carbon agricultural technology for different types of farmers. Significant differences exist in the selection of different low-carbon technologies among large-scale farmers, mid-level part-time farmers, and low-level (generally small) part-time farmers. (1) When selecting technology, large-scale farmers are more inclined to accept capital-intensive, low-carbon technologies, such as new varieties, straw recycling, soil testing, and formulated fertilization. Mid-level part-time farmers are more inclined to accept capital intensive, labor saving, or low risk low-carbon agricultural technologies. In contrast, low-level part-time farmers are inclined to accept labor intensive technologies to reduce capital constraints and agricultural risks. (2) Large-scale farmers and low-level part-time farmers are influenced by household and plot characteristics, while mid-level part-time farmers are more influenced by plot characteristics. (3) Households with capital constraints created by differentiated livelihoods face challenges adopting capital-intensive low-carbon agricultural technologies, such as straw recycling, new varieties, soil testing, and formulated fertilization. However, farmers with stronger constraints in the areas of land and labor are more inclined to accept labor-saving technologies, such as soil testing and formulated fertilization technology. Moreover, farmers with stronger risk preferences tend to accept high-risk technologies, such as new technologies like straw recycling. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for formulating carbon emission reduction policies and low-carbon technology policies for the agricultural sector.

Development of a Cassava Harvester

Cassava is a major source of food and raw material for domestic and industrial uses in Nigeria. Consequently, the technologies involved in its cultivation from planting to harvesting require proper development. This paper reports the development of a labour-saving technology for harvesting cassava using standard procedures for designing soil engaging implements. Locally available materials were also used in the fabrication of the harvester. Results of trial tests indicate a digging efficiency of 58.9%, fuel consumption of 16 l/ha, field capacity of 0.11 ha/hr, field efficiency of 67.9% and root damage of 43.03%. The total cost of fabricating the machine was 184,000 naira only. Further tests under various soil and operational conditions for improvement and optimization were recommended for the purpose of patenting for commercialization.

Revisiting the relationship between farm mechanization and labour requirement in India

In many developing and emerging economies, better employment opportunities in the non-farm sector have increased rural wages due to labour shortages during the peak agricultural season. Increasing wages often cause a substitution of labour for mechanical power, but extensive use of labour-saving technologies may cause labour displacement and have serious equity concerns. Using the household and individual fixed effect estimation approach, this paper analyses the relationship between different types of farm machines and labour requirements in India. The results suggest that a unit increase in the level of farm mechanization increases the demand for hired labour by 12%. Moreover, we find that the level of farm mechanization has a positive effect on women’s participation in farm work, while it decreases the probability of children participating in agriculture-related work. Disaggregated analysis based on types of farm machinery suggests that water-lifting equipment, draft power and tractors increase the probability of male household members working on their farms, while all types of farm machines, except tractors, have a positive effect on female farm labour participation. We also find that the effect of farm mechanization on the demand for hired labour decreases as the size of the farm increases.

The ratoon rice system with high yield and high efficiency in China: Progress, trend of theory and technology

The planting area of ratoon rice in China has expanded in recent years to accommodate the warm temperatures and additional sunshine of the autumn season, greatly improving the yields of rice paddies. China is a global leader in both the research and cultivation of ratoon rice. Along with our 30 consecutive years of research, this review summarizes the research progress of theories and technologies relating to the efficient cultivation of high-yield ratoon rice based on the following: (1) Five regions in China were designated based on the thermal energy available for cultivating main crop-ratoon rice: Southwestern, Southern, Southeast, Central, and Eastern. (2) Ratooning ability is affected by both genetics and environmental factors. Rice cultivars with strong ratooning ability are characterized by strong root activity and high dry matter weight per stem. (3) Mechanisms underlying the death and yield formation of ratooning buds of rice cultivars with strong ratooning ability were analyzed, and the effects of promoting-bud fertilizers, stubble height, timely harvest of main rice crop, and plant growth regulator on improving the ratooning ability of rice cultivars were examined. (4) An efficient method for applying promoting-bud nitrogen fertilizer has been established based on spikelet number per panicle, chlorophyll content, and target yield of ratoon rice. (5) The large-scale production of ratoon rice has several constraints, such as low and unstable grain yield of ratoon crops, large differences in grain yield between the demonstration area and the expansion area, large-scale destruction of stubble after mechanical harvesting of the main crop, and the need for more land between planting ratoon rice and planting double-season rice. (6) Technologies relating to future development trends in ratoon rice are clarified, including high-quality and labor-saving technologies, high nitrogen and potassium use efficiency technologies, the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomical measures, technological advancements related to the cultivation of ratoon rice, and the optimal economic threshold of rice yield in ratoon rice production.

Uneven and combined state capitalism

This article contributes to the development of state capitalism as a reflexively critical project focusing on the morphology of present-day capitalism, and particularly on the changing role of the state. We bring analytical clarity to state capitalism studies by offering a rigorous definition of its object of investigation, and by demonstrating how the category state capitalism can be productively construed as a means of problematising the current aggregate expansion of the state’s role as promoter, supervisor and owner of capital across the world economy. Noting some of the geographical shortcomings of the field, we outline an alternative research agenda ‘uneven and combined state capitalist development’ which aims at spatialising the study of state capitalism and revitalising systemic explanations of the phenomenon. Rather than the negation of an abstract model of free-market capitalism, or the rise of a nationally scaled variant of capitalism, we posit contemporary state capitalism as a global process of restructuring of the capitalist state (including in its liberal form) underpinned by secular transformations in the materiality of surplus-value production, such as the consolidation of new international divisions of labour driven by automation and labour-saving technologies. The political mediation of these transformations results in the combined expansion of state-capital hybrids and of muscular forms of statism, which develop in inter-referential and cumulative forms across territory, producing further state capitalist modalities. This is a particularly potent dynamic in contemporary state capitalism, and its tendency to develop in a spiral that both shapes and is shaped by world capitalist development.

Labour-saving technology and advanced marginality – A study of unemployed workers’ experiences of displacement in Finland

The article explores the experiences of people displaced from work by the introduction of labour-saving technology in Finland. Interviews with 13 unemployed individuals are used as data. The study is underpinned by a Marxist interpretation of potentially emancipatory technology under capitalism reduced to an instrument for reorganizing skilled workers into an exploitable, precarious cadre of surplus and abstract labour. Loïc Wacquant’s thesis on advanced marginality is used as a theoretical framework to unpack and understand the little-studied experience of being displaced from work by technology. The interviewees share a sense of growing alienation and social exclusion. Feeding these experiences are capricious changes in skill-demands and deskilling under automation and robotisation of work. The experiences are exacerbated by digitalised, vertiginous and isolating job-seeking and employment services that cast responsibility on the unemployed individual. While the participants of this study were not on the brink of acute or extreme socio-economic marginalisation, their experiences are rooted in the very same social, economic and political dynamics as advanced marginality. The findings of the study help anticipate the risk of advancing marginality faced by displaced workers, if social policy reforms are not carried out in the short term. In the long term, the findings support the argument that studies on labour-saving technologies and unemployment pay closer attention to the particular role of technology under capitalism.

The vulnerability of European regional labour markets to job automation: the role of agglomeration externalities

ABSTRACT Automation is expected to have strong implications for labour-saving technologies. We calculate the proportion of jobs at high risk of automation across European regions using data from the 2018 Labour Force Survey (LFS). We examine the relationship between regional vulnerability to job automation, specialization, related (and unrelated) variety and agglomeration. The results indicate that regions at low vulnerability to job automation benefit from unrelated variety and high population density. Regions with higher proportions of clerical support workers, craft and related trade workers, and plant and machine operators and assemblers are likely to face greater disruption.

Production and Exchange among Wemindji Cree: Egalitarian Ideology and Economic Base

Despite a series of changes in productive forces and in relations with capitalist society, the Cree of northern Quebec have maintained a domestic mode of production. Until quite recently, reciprocity was seriously entertained as the idiom of relations even with the white man. This paper examines, for Wemindji Cree hunters, the effect of increased consumer affluence on subsistence production, sharing, and potential stratification between subsistence-oriented and wage-earning sectors of the local economy. The case of Wemindji Cree suggests that “antisurplus” forces in a domestic mode of production are reduced when domestic producers enter into reciprocal exchange with wage-earners, who have superior access to consumer goods. Surplus bush product is generated by domestic producers in exchange for help from wage-earning relatives in purchasing labor-saving technology and other consumer items. Hence, inequalities of access to both bush products and consumer goods are reduced or eliminated. However, for ecological and technological reasons, possible increases in domestic productivity are often more restricted than potential increases in wage income. Egalitarian exchange is threatened if wage-earners’ margin of superior access to consumer goods becomes disproportionate to domestic producers’ ability to produce a parallel surplus of bush products. In that case, the ideology of reciprocity would require that the value of domestic products become too marked, wage-earners might not exchange enough of their goods for equality to obtain, and permanent stratification might develop. A second scenario consists in the establishment of independent access to more consumer goods for domestic producers (in addition to legal guarantees of a subsistence base). In the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (1975), this condition was established in the form of a guaranteed annual income for hunters.

A systematic review of labor-saving technologies: Implications for women in agriculture

In this study, we systematically review the literature on adoption factors and impacts of labor-saving technologies (LSTs) by smallholder and women farmers in developing countries. 85 articles are included in the review after meeting strict selection criteria through a search across several electronic platforms. We highlight several research gaps that need future research focus. Future research should include gendered differences in factors such as – comparing extension models, social networks, and farmers' underlying technological perceptions. We show the need for designing and providing access to gender-friendly LSTs suited to the context. While there are clear impacts of LST adoption on labor and productivity, few studies examine negative consequences such as labor-displacement. Further examination of these trade-offs and differential impacts on welfare dimensions across gender is needed. Our results indicate implications for future research and policy regarding incorporating gender differences in designing, promotion, and adoption of LSTs to reduce womnen's work burdens and to enhance welfare outcomes.

The Current Status of Opportunities for Rice Cultivation in Uganda

The purpose of this article is to explore the current status of opportunities in the Ugandan rice sector in order to form informed decisions for future investment and support for the farmers. The Government of Uganda has prioritised rice as a strategic commodity for the national economy. Uganda produces up to 350,000 metric ton (MT) of rice annually, and has set a target to produce 680,000 MT by 2020. A national rice development strategy and a robust rice stakeholder platform have been put in place in order to guide potential investors. Despite the already-existing economic opportunities for the smallholder farmers who participate in producing more than 90% of the rice output in Uganda, productivity still remains low. This is primarily due to the frequent use of low-yielding rice varieties, limited farmer access to the seed of improved varieties and other yield-enhancing inputs, the limited usage of time and labour-saving technologies, and limited knowledge of good agronomic practices. There are three major high rainfall areas in the Northern, Eastern, and Western parts of the country. The mean annual rainfall is estimated at 1,180 mm, and the mean annual temperature is within the range of 18 to 35oC. Nine major varieties of rice, including Namche, Komboka, Kaiso, Wita 9, Basmat 370, IR 64, Supa, Buyu, and NERICA are being cultivated in Uganda. The two Korean rice varieties, such as KAF- 172-67 and KAF-304-287 strains, which were developed through a Korea-Africa Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI) project, will also be registered. This will help to increase domestic rice production, stabilize domestic prices, and make rice more affordable for consumers.

Happiness and Projects between London and Vienna

This essay situates Wilhelm Schröder’s 1686 Princely Treasury and Exchequer (Fürstliche Schatzund Rent-Cammer) within the context of manufacturing projects in London and Vienna and debates over happiness they engaged. Conceptualizations of happiness have been seen as chief differences between Germanophone and Anglophone political economy. This comparison shows that Schröder was deeply engaged with English economic thought, particularly in the milieu of his fellow members of the Royal Society. In many respects, he shared their attitudes. However, due to the way he situated happiness as shared between the prince and the common man, Schröder came to differ on the issue of labor-saving technology and its use in manufacturing workhouses. Despite championing absolutism, Schröder related studies of natural science, technology, and society in more integrated and less hierarchical ways than was usual for the Royal Society.

Why Exercise at Work: Development of the Office Exercise Behavior Determinants Scale.

The constant increase in work pressure and the penetration of labor-saving technologies have significantly reduced physical activity in office-based work routines, threatening employees’ physical and mental well-being. Encouraging physical exercises at the office seems a potential solution. However, while there is a wealth of research into occupational health and workplace exercise promotion, little is known about which factors can influence the engagement of physical exercises in the office context. It is crucial to understand these determinants, in order to support the design of office exercise promoting intervention. This study explored the determinants of office workers’ exercise behavior by proposing and developing the Office Exercise Behavior Determinants (OEBD) scale based on existing behavioral and environmental research. The OEBD scale was assessed through an online questionnaire study involving 479 office workers. The results indicated that four factors (Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, Social Environment, and Work Environment) contribute to office workers’ exercise behavior. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis of our obtained data provided evidence for the internal validity of the OEBD scale. Thereby, this research can support increased office exercise with valid measurements for behavioral determinants.

English

Land degradation mainly caused by soil erosion, and shades an ominous threat to the livelihood development prospects of Ethiopian smallholder farmers. In response to this, the government of Ethiopia introduced a Sustainable Land Management Program (hereafter referred as ‘SLM’), even though the adoption by smallholder farmers has been low. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence the adoption of SLM practices choices using primary data collected from 200 smallholder farmers. Both descriptive statistics and Multivariate Probit model were applied. The multivariate probit model revealed that the main factors that positively and significantly influenced the decision of farmers to use these SLM practices are the household size, livestock holding size, amount of total income, level of education, the slope of farm plot, extension services and use of credit, the status of soil erosion hazard. However, distance to the nearest market had a negative and significant effect on adoption of SLM practices choices in the study area. The study recommended that the regional and local government should design various specific programs to resolve the constraints for scaling up and adopting the SLM practices through facilitating additional income-earning activities, encouraging the use of labor-saving technologies, promoting modern livestock production system, increasing farmers’ literacy level, promoting soil conservation techniques, widening the rural microfinance intuition services and establishing near market information provision center in the study area. Key words: Smallholder farmers, adoption, Sustainable Land Management (SLM), multivariate Probit, Abay Basin.

ANIMAL TRACTION TECHNOLOGY IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA POTENTIALS AND CONSTRAINTS

This paper presents the finding of a about 80% of adult working population of survey on the potential of Animal the State. Thc 1.5 million hectares of land traction technology in Ogun State of Iraq covers mainly the rain of Nigeria. A total of fifteen settlement forests and the derived Savanna. The (Camps) and sixty households were farnicts, who arc mostly small holders and purposely selected and surveyed arc resource-poor, cultivate on the average using a combination of structured 1.2 hectares with traditional farm interview schedule and participatory implements. Farm production is achicvcd. Rural Appraisal technique. Data were almost entirely with the aid of family analysed using descriptive statistics. labour as costos hired labour is Fulani of Kwara State of Nigeria origin prohibitive and there are labour shortage settled in Ogun State with their cattle particularly for land preparation, weeding for over 25 years and are pursuing and harvesting Government effort at sedentary lifestyle as agro-pastoralists. introducing tractor hiring services was a They operate under a relatively secure failure as thc policy could not be sustained tenurial arrangement that allow them to due to high hiring charges, delays in settle and practise arable crop farming. providing the service and unavailability of They prepare the land for planting tractors. This situation gives a compelling using the ridge system, which favours the need for a locally sustainable cheaper use of animal traction. The very cost labour-saving technology. of hired labour represents a major Omotayo and Idisi (1990) reported that the incentive for adoption of animal U$C of animal traction contributed traction technology. The average cattle immensely to farm output and family herd size is 30. All the respondents were income in Northern Nigeria. They are aware of the use of animal traction. technology was not extended to Southern Although none of the respondents had Nigeria because of the perceived fear of using the technology in Ogun State, they tested . Reports (Adu. 1993: Ogungbe nevertheless believed that the technology and Adu, 1998) on the settlement of Fulan can be used in the State. They all agro-pastoralists with their cattle in the indicated readiness to release their humid zone of Nige cattle for training if the technology is to Also, experiences from other parts of West be introduced. The paper discussed Africa with similar ecological and socio animal traction in rural economy, its cultural setting or environment, confirmed potential and constraints.

Sustainability of conservation agriculture adoption and the role lead farmers play in Zimbabwe

Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been promoted widely in Zimbabwe through several organizations, including government and non-governmental organizations, to help address food insecurity. The sustainability of donor led interventions has been questioned as they are of limited duration, and some research has reported that farmers stop practicing CA when a project ends. However, agriculture extension services are reported crucial in adopting new agriculture technologies; hence, continued access to services is crucial for the sustainable uptake of CA. The use of farmer-led extension approaches has been used to reach more farmers at low cost to promote CA and for sustainability. The study evaluates the sustainability of CA practices as well as lead farmers roles after the end of Christian Care project activities. The findings reveal continued adoption of CA principles, albeit on a small scale. We conclude that CA has become part of the traditional farming system and recommend labour-saving technologies for the uptake of CA on a greater scale. Government extension support has also continued, although lead farmers played a minor role in these extension activities. Lead farmers alone cannot sustainably provide extension services without institutional support. The recommendation is that public extension systems work closely with lead farmers in communities to efficiently reach farmers and ensure better coordination between NGOs and government extension activities.

Evaluating the impact of land fragmentation on the cost of agricultural operation in the southwest mountainous areas of China

Given the background of the increasing opportunity cost of farming and the popularization of labour-saving technology, increased fragmentation has gradually become a key factor in the devaluation and abandonment of land assets. To systematically identify the costs of fragmentation, we use a series of indicators such as the number of plots, the Simpson index, the plot-homestead distance and the total minimum commuting time from the homestead to all plots to measure the extent of fragmentation. A translogcost function is developed and estimated using survey data from three periods, 2011, 2014 and 2017; the data include an effective sample of 1064 household-year observations involving 6599 plot-year observations in Chongqing, China. The extent of fragmentation in the mountains of southwest China is quite serious compared with that in other countries and regions. The Simpson index is 0.63, and on average, 6.06 mu (1 mu = 666.67 m2 or 1 mu = 1/15 ha) of cultivated land is distributed in 6.16 plots, while the total minimum commuting time from the homestead to all plots is approximately 45 min. An increase of one standard deviation in the number of plots, the Simpson index or total minimum commuting time would lead to cost increases of 7.1 %, 15.1 % and 12.2 %, respectively, if other conditions remain unchanged. The channel for the above result involves the changes in the cost share of inputs caused by fragmentation, which increase the labour cost share and reduce the machinery cost share. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between farm scale and production cost with an inflection point at 47 mu; that is, costs begin to decrease when the scale exceeds 47 mu. However, the average farm scale is currently only 6.06 mu. In addition, production costs can be significantly reduced by renting-in land and implementing land consolidation. To reduce land system-induced costs in mountainous areas, the government should rationally consolidate land to achieve moderate-scale management, reduce the transaction costs of land transfers and popularize machinery suitable for complex terrain.

Decreasing labor intensity in agriculture and the accessibility of major cities shape the rural population decline in postsocialist Russia

ABSTRACT Rural population decline has been observed in most developed and emerging economies but has been especially apparent in postsocialist countries. In this paper, we investigate the spatial patterns and the determinants of the rural population dynamics during the transition period from 1991 to 2010 in Tyumen Province, Russia, with the aim of better understanding the forces underlying depopulation. We use descriptive and exploratory statistical tools to analyze data from population censuses and district-level statistics of agriculture. Our results reveal distinct differences in the spatial clusters of the population increase and decline in the first and second decades of the post-Soviet era. We argue that these differences reflect the penetration of market relations into the countryside. The emergence of market forces initially advantaged the areas that were more suited to agriculture, which experienced population growth in the 1990s. Later, the drop in agricultural output, market-driven restructuring of farms, and introduction of labor-saving technologies reduced employment in agriculture. During the 2000s, labor opportunities in agriculture were no longer statistically related to rural population dynamics, while population dynamics in the villages have increasingly been determined by transport accessibility to larger markets, especially to the provincial capital. Governments need to be sensitive to these spatial and temporal population dynamics to foster opportunities in the countryside, avoid the negative side effects of depopulation on local economies and ensure the provision of social services.

Rage against the Machines: Labor-Saving Technology and Unrest in Industrializing England

Can new technology cause social instability and unrest? We examine the famous “Captain Swing” riots in 1830s England. Newly collected data on threshing machine diffusion shows that labor-saving technology was associated with more riots. We instrument technology adoption with the share of heavy soils in a parish: IV estimates demonstrate that threshing machines were an important cause of unrest. Where alternative employment opportunities softened the blow of new technology, there was less rioting. Conversely, where enclosures had impoverished workers, the effect of threshing machines on rioting was amplified. (JEL J24, L16, N13, N33, N53, O33, Q16)

Lord, Peasant … and Tractor? Agricultural Mechanization, Moore’s Thesis, and the Emergence of Democracy

Conventional wisdom holds that landed elites oppose democratization. Whether they fear rising wages, labor mobility or land redistribution, landowners have historically repressed agricultural workers and sustained autocracy. What might change landowning elites’ preferences for dictatorship and reduce their opposition to democracy? Change requires reducing landowners’ need to maintain political control over labor. This transition occurs when mechanization reduces the demand for agricultural workers, eliminating the need for labor-repressive policies. We explain how the adoption of labor-saving technology in agriculture alters landowners’ political preferences for different regimes, so that the more mechanized the agricultural sector, the more likely is democracy to emerge and survive. Our theoretical argument offers a parsimonious revision to Moore’s thesis that applies to the global transformation of agriculture since hisSocial Originsfirst appeared, and results from our cross-national statistical analyses strongly suggest that a positive relationship between agricultural mechanization and democracy does in fact exist.