Tractor Services Research Articles

Comparative cost and returns of tractor owned and hired farms in Tungabhadra project (TBP) area of Karnataka, India

Mechanization saves time in completing different operations, which gives the crop more time to mature, allows the farmer to be more flexible in his farming operations and facilitates multi cropping. At present in India, trac-tors are being used for tillage on about 22.78 per cent of the total land area and sowing about 21.30 per cent of total area. Custom hiring service (CHS) is a popular method of gaining short-term control of farm machineries. The CHS gained importance mainly due to rise in the cropping intensity and drop in average landholdings. The productivity of major crops is higher on the tractor owning farms due to timely and sufficient availability of tractor services and 61.67 per cent of large farmers and 11.67 per cent of medium farmers own tractors. The net farm income is higher on tractor owning farms but input costs are low on custom hiring farms. It may be due to the high fixed costs and variable costs on tractor owning farms. The tractor charge was relatively same for all tractor drawn implements, it was ranging from `135.15/h to `142.11/h. The cost incurred was highest for rotavator (`574.93/h) followed by cage wheel puddler (`491.58/h) and MB plough (`462.58/h).The small and medium tractor hiring farms earned more net income. This shows that it is better for smaller farms to hire tractor services rather to have their own tractor CHS would constitute a reliable tool for implementing specific farming practices and obtaining a reasonable income.

Who you know and when you plough? Social capital and agricultural mechanization under the new green revolution in Ghana

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the role of social capital in smallholder agriculture mechanization in Ghana under the ongoing agenda for transformation of African agriculture through the new green revolution. It contributes to the ongoing debate on the potential of social capital in explaining socioeconomic activity over time and space. Drawing on the experiences of smallholder farmers (n = 30) from Navrongo using qualitative interviews and focus group discussions, the paper explores how social capital networks shape mechanized service access and utilization among farmers and highlights the historical background to tractor-based mechanized farming in northern Ghana. Findings reveal how local farmers activate and operate in trustworthy social networks at the community level among themselves and externally with government agencies, traders and development partners to facilitate tractor access. The paper also finds that the withdrawal of government subsidies on agricultural services during structural adjustment in the 1980s created an avenue for private sector entry into the tractor service market. In recent times, the market is a blend of both public and private actors. Given the crucial role of social capital, this paper stresses that apart from economic factors, contemporary agricultural policy should build upon contextual sociocultural networks and the resources inherent in them.

The effect of sulfur fertilization on rice yields and nitrogen use efficiency in a floodplain ecosystem of northern Ghana

River floodplains are potential land resources to extend rice cultivation areas, most of which are not currently used for farming in West Africa. The major constraints that limit expansion of crop production in floodplain areas include difficulties of water management and lack of access to tractor services for land preparation at the appropriate timing for planting. However, there have been no field experiments to demonstrate the potential of rice cultivation in the floodplain ecosystems in West Africa. The objective of this study was to determine rice productivity and the responses to various fertilizer applications on different topographical positions within floodplain ecosystems. Three years of field experiments were conducted in no-till and no-bund conditions in various topographical positions including flood-prone areas with no farming history near back-swamps and conventional farmlands in the middle to upper slopes along a transect away from the White Volta River. The effects of different combinations of S, P and K fertilizer were evaluated with a constant rate of 60kgNha−1 applied as urea or ammonium sulfate. Rainfall varied widely, with heavy rainfall during the initial growth stage in 2012, a long dry spell during the middle stage in 2013, and consistent rainfall in 2014. Both grain yields and responses to N application tended to increase at lower elevations and near the river, benefiting from the carbon- and clay-rich soils and moisture availability, except when a submergence stress suppressed grain yield in the lowest field in 2012. The yield response was amplified with S application. On average, application of S resulted in an increase of agronomic N use efficiency from 13.4 to 22.8kg grain per kg N applied. The effect of N and S applications were particularly large in the unutilized lowlands that produced the highest average yields ranging from 3.21 to 4.00tha−1, compared to yields ranging between 0.38 and 1.40tha −1 achieved on conventional farmlands. Our results clearly showed empirical evidence of high productivity and high N use efficiency for rice particularly with S application in the currently unutilized floodplain areas under no-till and no-bund rainfed conditions. Although the risk of reduced yields due to complete submergence exists, cultivation of rice in productive floodplain areas offers good opportunities to increase rice production in West Africa.

Development of the Capital Service Market in Agriculture: The Emergence of Tractor-Hire Services in Ghana

This article examines the role of the capital service market in increasing the use of mechanical technology in smallholder agriculture. Custom hiring services have been essential to the widespread use of agricultural machines in many countries where small farms predominate. In the past, some governments in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) had attempted to supply agricultural mechanization services when there was no demand for such services. Recently, however, demand for mechanization in SSA has been on the rise. Tractor ownership has also increased considerably among medium- and large-scale farmers, who use the tractors on their own land and also hire them out to others. Using the example of Ghana, we examine the behavior of tractor owners and the role they are expected to play in the development of mechanization in SSA. We use survey data from eight districts in the transition and savannah agroecological zones of Ghana. The survey covered 1,843 farming households, including 408 tractor owners and was aimed at characterizing the transition from smallholder farming to medium- and large-scale commercial farming, including patterns of agricultural-machinery ownership and patterns of demand for agricultural mechanization. First, we analyze the relationships between tractor ownership, farm size, and tractor service provision using correlation analyses. Second, we estimate a tractor service cost function based on the hypothesis that hiring a tractor service is not a perfect substitute for owning one, especially for large-scale farmers. Our findings suggest that providing tractor services significantly increases the rate of tractor use, a precondition for economic use of tractors. Agricultural mechanization service providers are primarily medium- and large-scale farmers. These farmers buy tractors even if they cannot make full use of them on their own farms, and they provide tractor services to fellow farmers. Smallholders' use of these services is quite high. Increasing tractor use is essential to counter any risk that may be associated with owning a tractor. Traveling to a different rainfall zone to provide services or extending tractor use during the postharvest period (e.g., for shelling) can help to achieve this objective. While service provision and markets offer strong potential for the widespread adoption of mechanization, medium-scale farmers in particular will be important for spreading the use of tractors among farmers in SSA. The findings presented here support our belief that mechanization can develop where there is potential for a service market, even under smallholder agriculture.

Custom‐hired tractor services and returns to scale in smallholder agriculture: a production function approach

AbstractHistorically, agricultural transformation has often accompanied the increase in the returns to scale. Little direct evidence exists, however, on what actually causes such increase, despite the knowledge of many factors that are associated with this increase. We fill this knowledge gap by testing whether hiring in tractor services has raised returns to scale in agriculture at the household level in Nepal Terai that has undergone rapid growth in the tractor use through custom‐hiring services. Using Switching Regression and Inverse‐Probability‐Weighted Generalized Method of Moments, we address two sources of endogeneity involved with the estimation of returns to scale; (1) farmers’ self‐selection on whether to hire in tractor services and (2) use of inputs in the production function. For both Cobb‐Douglas and Translog production function specifications, we find that hiring in tractor services significantly increased the returns to scale in agricultural production by about 0.2 ∼ 0.3 among farm households not owning tractors, for which suitable control groups are found. Findings are robust under various alternative specifications.

Is Access to Tractor Service a Binding Constraint for Nepali Terai Farmers?

Using results from the three rounds of Nepal Living Standard Surveys (conducted in 1995, 2003, and 2010), this study empirically assesses whether access to rented tractors or custom hiring services is a binding constraint on the income growth of farm households in Nepal. Because four-wheel tractors of medium horsepower are still the primary suppliers of these tractor services, access to these services can be restricted. First, we investigated the determinants of the adoption of hired tractors as well as the intensity of their use (measured by real annual expenditures on renting tractors). Results suggest that the adoption and the intensity patterns are generally consistent with the conventional theory of the demand for agricultural mechanization, indicating that the supply of these services may be relatively efficient in meeting the demand. However, adoption is still affected by the presence of tractor owners within the same village district committee, indicating that the proximity to tractor service providers may still partly determine accessibility. This second point was more formally tested using matching estimators within the Terai region of Nepal. It was found that, on average, the supply of tractor services might have evolved to a relatively efficient level in the Terai so that those who benefited from renting in tractors generally had access to such services. However, for at least certain segments of farm households in the Terai, insufficient access to tractor services was still a binding constraint on the growth of farm household incomes. The policy implications of these findings are briefly discussed in the last section.

Characteristics of Private‐Sector Tractor Service Provisions: Insights from Nigeria

Agricultural mechanization has been integral to agricultural transformation during periods of development. Mechanization‐service provisions can be constrained by economies of scale, seasonality, limited mobility, or heterogeneous inputs quality. However, information has been scarce regarding how the private sector has overcome these constraints especially in countries like Nigeria that are at low agricultural development stages. We present the results of a small survey of tractor owner‐operators conducted in Nigeria. We find that existing private‐sector tractor‐hiring services in Nigeria are indeed constrained. However, we also find heterogeneity among these owner‐operators. In particular, those who buy tractors from private markets or from private individuals are more efficient than those who receive tractors through government programs, providing services to a greater area at lower costs, including during off‐peak seasons, sometimes selecting machinery types according to soil types. We conclude with a discussion of some policy implications.

Comparative Analysis of Cooperative and Non-cooperative Farmers’ access to Farm Inputs in Abuja, Nigeria

Access to farm inputs is one of the major challenges facing rural farmers in Nigeria. To alleviate this problem, government at different levels strongly recommended the formation of cooperative societies to farmers. Against this background, a study was conducted to determine if differential access to farm inputs exists between cooperative and non-cooperative farmers in Abuja, Nigeria. A multi-stage technique was used for sample selection while semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection. A total of 360 farmers were randomly interviewed in four agricultural zones (180 cooperative and 180 non-cooperative farmers). Data were analyzed using two-way factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mean separation was done at 5% probability level. Results revealed that there was significant difference ( P < 0.01) in cooperative and non-cooperative farmers’ access to farm inputs. Comparatively, the mean perceptions indicated that the cooperative farmers had more access to labour, loan, herbicide, insecticide, rodenticide, fertilizer, tractor services, storage equipment and processing equipment while the non-cooperative farmers had more access to land. The results also indicated that the most accessible farm input to both cooperative and non-cooperative farmers was land while the least accessible farm inputs were loan and tractor services. Based on the findings, the paper concluded that differential access to farm inputs existed between cooperative and non-cooperative farmers in the study area. It was recommended that government and non-governmental agencies should encourage farmers to form and/or join viable cooperative societies. Key words: cooperative societies, least accessible farm inputs, mean perception, most accessible farm input, small-scale farmers,

Tractor Owner-Operators in Nigeria: Insights from a Small Survey in Kaduna and Nasarawa States

Agricultural mechanization is integral to agricultural transformation in countries like Nigeria. Despite the perceived rise in farm labor costs, most farmers still rely on manual labor or draught animals for farming activities, and tractor users are limited. In Nigeria, private tractor owners, rather than government hiring service units, provide a majority of plowing service. Unlike other more scale-neutral inputs, such as fertilizer and improved seeds, significant economies of scale may exist in tractors, which may justify certain public interventions. Understanding the characteristics of tractor service providers is therefore essential in designing an appropriate agricultural mechanization policy. However, information regarding the nature of tractor service provisions is scarce, especially in countries like Nigeria. This paper presents results of a small survey of tractor owner-operators conducted in Kaduna and Nasarawa states in Nigeria. Following are the key findings from simple descriptive statistics: (1) owner-operators who buy tractors from the private market or from private individuals are more efficient than those who receive tractors through government programs, providing services to a greater area at lower costs, including during the off-peak season; (2) providing access to a wider range of tractor horsepowers may improve efficiency over diverse soil types; (3) similar to some Asian countries in the 1980s, tractor operations are mostly concentrated in interviewees’ local home districts, though a fraction form groups and serve in distant locations to earn greater revenues. This paper concludes with a discussion of some policy implications.

Production and Commercialisation Potential of Indigenous Leafy Vegetables: Case Study of Capricorn District in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Aims: This study analyses the production and commercialisation potential of indigenous leafy vegetables (ILV) in the Capricorn district in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Specific objectives were to identify the socio-economic characteristics of ILVs producers in rural areas of Capricorn district, investigate constraints faced by farmers in commercialising ILVs in rural areas of Capricorn district, determine the productivity of indigenous leafy vegetables in rural areas of Capricorn district, and to assess different types of marketing channels of ILVs in rural areas of Capricorn district. Study Design: The study used both qualitative and quantitative, cross-sectional data. The selection of ILV farmers within the study area was done using stratified random sampling procedure the strata being gender. Disproportionate random sampling procedure was used to select individual households. Methodology: The study used Stochastic Frontier Production Function to determine the productivity and to assess the socio-economic characteristics of producers of Indigenous Original Research Article Mahlangu et al.; AJAEES, Article no. AJAEES.2014.6.010 581 Leafy Vegetables. Bubble chart was also used to assess the marketing channels whilst consumer data was captured into a statistical package. Results: ILV famer’s significant socio-economic factors and production factors that constraint them from commercialising their products were found to be the amount of labor required, cost of hiring tractor service, land devoted to ILVs, gender, age, household size, farming experience, farm size, hired labour, primary occupation and land ownership. Results indicated that the productivity of ILVs in the study area varied among farmers; some farmers had a high productivity but most farmers had a low productivity. Conclusion: There is a great potential for commercialising ILV but there is a lot of work to be done in assisting farmers, for them to be sustainable and exploitation of these crops.

Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana: Is Specialization in Agricultural Mechanization a Viable Business Model?

Since 2007, the government of Ghana has been providing subsidized agricultural machines to private enterprises established as Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centers (AMSEC) to scale up tractor-hire services to smallholder farmers. Although farmer’s demand for mechanization has increased in recent years, most of this demand concentrates on land preparation (plowing) service. Using the firm investment model and recent data, this paper quantitatively assesses whether AMSEC as a private enterprise is a viable business model attractive to private investors. Even though the intention of the government is to promote private sector-led mechanization, findings suggest that the AMSEC model is unlikely to be a profitable business model attractive to private investors even with the current level of subsidy. The low tractor utilization rate as a result of low operational scale is the most important constraint to the intertemporal profitability of tractor-hire services. Our findings further support the argument of Pingali, Bigot, and Binswanger (1987), who indicated that mechanization service centers supported through government’s heavy subsidy are not a policy option anywhere in the world, even in the current situation in Ghana. Although the tractor rental service market is a proper way of mechanizing agriculture in a smallholder-dominated agricultural economy such as Ghana, this paper concludes that the development of such a market depends crucially on a number of factors, including increased tractor use through migration across the two very different rainfall zones (north and south), increased tractor use through multiple tasks, and use of low-cost tractors. The government can play an important role in facilitating the development of a tractor service market; however, the successful development of such a market depends on the incentive and innovation of the private sector, including farmers who want to own tractors as part of their business portfolio, traders who know how to bring in affordable tractors and expand the market, and manufacturers in exporting countries who want to seek a long-term potential market opportunity in Ghana and in other west African countries.

Tillage Effects on Subsequent Weed Types, Population, and Biomass in Maize Cropped in Northern Savanna Zone of Ghana

ABSTRACT In view of the adverse impact of weeds on crop yields, the resource-limited subsistence farmers in the northern savanna zone of Ghana appreciate the benefits of maintaining weed-free farms. A field experiment to assess the types and levels of weed infestation in maize via a range of tillage systems including hand hoe, bullock, tractor, and zero tillage as control was conducted at Nyankpala in 1996 and 1997. The experiment was laid in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Compound fertilizer (20-20-20) was applied at planting giving 60 kg N ha−1, 60 kg P ha−1 and 40 kg K ha−1. This was top dressed with sulphate of ammonia representing another 60 kg N kg ha−1. Weed control was by hand hoeing at three and eight weeks after planting of maize. The results revealed that the pre-planting application of glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl glycine) on zero-tillage significantly (p < 0.05) suppressed weed infestation at three weeks after planting (3 WAP) by an average of 97.3%. However, at harvest, in the absence of weed control in crops, the weed populations and weed dry matter on zero-tillage were similar to the hand hoe treatment. Grass weed populations were not affected by the tillage systems. Broad-leaved weed populations on the hand hoe and zero-tillage systems were similar but significantly higher (p < 0.05) than on the tractor and bullock treatments. The hand hoe and the zero-tillage maintained a balance between the broad-leaved and the grass weeds but the application of the tractor and bullock treatments produced statistically higher (p < 0.05) grass than broad-leaved weeds. Zero-tillage significantly (p < 0.05) reduced maize plant height and grain yield by 4% and 30%, respectively, compared with other tillage systems, which had similar heights and grain yields. Thus, the bullock tillage system can be considered the most appropriate choice for peasant farmers in northern Ghana, given the associated cost of herbicides, tractor services, and the labour requirements of hand hoeing.

Appraisal of farm tractor maintenance practices and costs in Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate tractor maintenance practices and costs in Nigeria with a view to making replacement decisions and for overall farm budgeting.Design/methodology/approachThe information was obtained via a structured questionnaire. Tractor owners were grouped into three categories: government agricultural settlements, established farms, and individual farms. Data used for analysis were collected from 60 farms located in major farming centers of the southwestern part of Nigeria. The report includes the formulation of repair equations, which relate tractor repair cost as a percentage of initial purchase prices to cumulative hours of use. Life cycle costs of three commonly‐used tractors were also estimated. The derived equations, which showed that the repair costs per hour increased with hours of use, were used to obtain the life cycle cost of each tractor model in different tractor owners' farms.FindingsThe proposed equation was found to be the best fit with coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.992 to 0.996 for tractors in the three user categories. The trend observed in the life cycle costing of the three common tractors gave the general picture of when to replace each of the tractors based on the strategies being adopted by the tractor owners.Practical implicationsThe results of this study would serve as baseline information to tractor owners regarding optimum use of tractors for minimizing repair and maintenance cost per hour and for making replacement policy. It would also be helpful to government and other agencies for future planning in the provision of tractor services to the farmers at relatively lower repair and maintenance cost.Originality/valueProves that a reduction in repair costs by careful operation and adequate maintenance could result in a significant reduction in tractor ownership costs.

Structures of Intermediation and Change in African Agriculture: A Nigerian Case Study

In the mid-1970s the Nigerian state embarked on an ambitious program to accelerate the commercialization of peasant food production systems, employing as the main institutional vehicle Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) which are designed, partially funded and managed by the World Bank. The core components of ADPs are their Crop Development Programs which are directed at increasing crop yields and farm incomes through the dissemination of heavily subsidized Green Revolution-type technologies: crop production packages that are comprised of improved seed varieties, fertilizer, pesticides and tractor services. With this objective, a number of infrastructural supports (the most important of which are the expansion and maintenance of rural roads, networks of Farm Service Centers for input delivery, intensified extension services and soil conservation measures) are undertaken by the projects. Commencing with three pilot projects in Bauchi, Kaduna and Sokoto states, the program was extended to the Middle Belts states of Benue, Niger and Plateau in 1977. Declaring ADPs the cornerstone of the national Green Revolution in 1980, the federal government decided to establish projects in all states. The nationwide program was expected to encompass over three million farm families by the mid-1980s (Nigeria 1982). Inquiries conducted within neo-Marxian political economy frameworks concerning the direction of agrarian transition which the Nigerian state seeks to foster through ADPs have revolved around a well-founded suspicion of their purported smallholder focus. Their design is premised on a division of rural communities into large, progressive and traditional farmers. Because large and progressiove farmers are more commercially oriented and thus are presumed to evince a greater capacity to innovate with new technologies, the projects are mandated to concentrate available resources on them.

A Survey of Ag Tractor Service Intervals – Part I

Forty tractor owners representing 15 000 ha (37,200 ac) from Lancaster County, Nebraska, were interviewed during on-farm visits to identify intended engine oil service intervals, tractor maintenance, and record keeping practices. In addition, information was collected concerning the type, brand, and amounts of oils and lubricants used, and the purchase location of oils, filters, and tractor replacement parts. The average intended service interval was very close to the manufacturers recommended interval; however, the record keeping practices showed that improvements are needed. Parts and lubricants are primarily purchased from dealers and oil suppliers, respectively.

Teaching Tractor Service Skills In Vocational Agriculture

Teaching Tractor Service Skills In Vocational Agriculture

Demand for Farm Tractors in the United States and the United Kingdom

AbstractEconometric studies of the demand for farm tractors in the United States and the United Kingdom are compared within a theoretical framework. The motivation behind the demand for tractor services appears to have been similar, the results being consistent with profit‐seeking behavior of farmers whose investment decisions are constrained by uncertainty and available finance. However, whereas the dominant explanatory variable in the United Kingdom has been the real price of tractors relative to agricultural wages, the dominant variable in the United States appears to have been the price of tractors relative to crop prices. In addition, in the United States farm size changes have affected the use of tractor stock and thus the demand for tractors, whereas in the United Kingdom this was not the case. An attempt is made to explain the differences in investment behavior by reference to differences in the structure of the labor force, farm size, and government agricultural price and taxation policies.

Rating diesel oils by alkalinity in tractor service tests

Rating diesel oils by alkalinity in tractor service tests

The Influence of Tractor Service Conditions on the Quality of Fuels, Lubricants and Protective Materials

Petroleum products used in tractors are divided into these groups: fuels; lubricants and greases; protective materials. These products have to suit machinery design, methods of farm operation, and climate. The arduous conditions have resulted in development of improved oil products, and details of original research are given.

The Diesel-Engine Tractor and Excavator

Abstract Special emphasis is given in this paper to the combustion process for Diesel-tractor service. A variety of fuel systems were installed and tested in a rugged engine of flexible design. General results of the tests are given. Accessories are considered extremely important in tractor service, and the author discusses air cleaners, oil filters, and engine starters. The problems discussed can be applied to other traction equipment including excavators. Reliability at all loads and speeds within the engine operating range is paramount, and maintenance costs must be kept low.