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The (continued) potential of motorized mechanization

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Policy brief

ISBN 978-92-5-137101-5

Series title FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief

Series number No. 55

Synopsis (short abstract) Motorized mechanization is an important form of agricultural automation and has the capacity to transform agriculture and rural livelihoods. Its benefits have resulted in a substantial increase in mechanization worldwide, although adoption has been uneven and particularly limited in sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural mechanization has been so far dominated by large and heavy machinery, putting small-scale producers at a disadvantage due to their lower capacity to afford large, more costly, machinery that often does not suit their small, irregular, or hilly terrains. Moreover, such machinery contributed to environmental problems such as biodiversity loss, land degradation and soil erosion. Inclusive access to mechanization requires a conducive business environment through a range of (coherent) policy instruments and investments. Particularly for small-scale agricultural producers, it is important that machinery is tailored to local conditions through technological and institutional innovations.

The findings in this brief have been adapted from the FAO report The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 – Leveraging automation in agriculture for transforming agrifood systems and from the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 22-11Agricultural mechanization and sustainable agrifood system transformation in the Global South.

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2022. The (continued) potential of motorized mechanization. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief, No. 55. Rome.


https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2690en

Language English

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