Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy

Mateusz Filipski, Ben Belton, Joanna Van Asselt. 2018. Agricultural Mechanization in the Dry Zone. Food Security Policy Myanmar Project Research Highlight 12. East Lansing: Michigan State University

CONCLUSIONS
Our analysis reveals the following main conclusions:
1) Agricultural mechanization is advancing rapidly in the Dry Zone. Already, a majority of farmers use some form of mechanized power for crop production. But the mechanization process is far from complete. Machinery is used mainly for land preparation. Harvesting and threshing are performed manually for most crops, and even in paddy cultivation these processes are only partially mechanized. This appears due in part to a lack of locally adapted machinery and attachment designs.
2) Machine use has spread rapidly due to a thriving rental market, making adoption of machinery scale neutral at the point of use. This has enabled smallholder farmers to benefit from mechanical technology, while generating income for those who have invested in equipment.
3) Though relatively few households own machinery, purchases have accelerated over the past few years. This reflects the combined effect of rising labor costs and labor shortages, making mechanization an increasingly cost-effective option. The availability of hire purchase financing and the falling real price of machines has also boosted machinery sales.