THE CASE FOR LIMITED TRACTORIZATION FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN A LABOUR-ABUNDANT ECONOMY

G.C. Manda!*

1. Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of limited tractoriza­tion in agricultural development on the basis of data collected through a field survey in the district of Shahabad, Bihar, India which was conducted during 1973-74 1 . It is believed that in a less developed economy where

labour is abundant and capital is scarce mechanization (specifically tractorization) in farming would be contrary to the principle of factor proportion and as such would be wasteful. Even if tractorization proves more profitable than animal-operated farming it may be socially undesirable in so far as it leads to displacement and consequent underutilization of human labour. The study attempts to examine how far this actually happens and also the possibility of counter-acting the displacement of human labour by an appropriate combination of tractor operations with manual operations on the basis of custom-arrangement.

The sampling procedure that was followed in this study was first of all to identify a block (namely, Kharaghar) of the district of Shahabad where tractors were concentrated. Then 8 villages where the use of tractors in farming was most common were selected. Out of the list of farmers of these villages 20 farmers owning and operating tractors, 20 farmers not owning but using tractors on custom and 20 farmers cultivating their lands with animal power (bullocks) were selected for the study. The farmers were drawn from different size-groups to make them as far as possible represen­tative of different sizes as well as the three characteristics regarding their association with tractors.

The average holding of the owners and operators of tractors is 39.53 acres. Their assets in the form of livestock are worth Rs.3097.50 per farm and Rs.78.37 per acre. They have implements worth Rs.2100.50 per farm and Rs.53.14 per acre. Their inventory of machineries is worth Rs.25300.80 per farm and Rs.640.12 per acre. The average holding of the users of tractors on custom is 19.55 acres. Their inventory of implements is worth Rs.1154.42 per farm and Rs.59.05 per acre. Their inventory of machineries is worth Rs.1240 per farm and Rs.63.43 per acre. The average holding of farmers cultivating their lands with animal power is 13.53 acres. Their livestock is worth Rs.1780.50 per farm and Rs.133.37 per acre. The stock of their implements is worth Rs.3.30 per farm and Rs.0.25 per acre. The inventory of their machineries is worth Rs.525 per farm and Rs.39.32 per acre.

* Director, Agro-Economic Research Centre, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. The author is grateful to Mr. Ramnandan Prasad, Research Investigator for his assistance and to the Development Consultants Private Ltd, Calcutta, particularly Mr. S.C. Dutta, Chairman of this organization for the provision of computer facilities.

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2. Cropping Pattern of the Selected Farmers

Net cultivated area of the farmers owning and operating tractors is 772 acres, gross cropped area is 1568 acres and gross irrigated area is 1365.50 acres, which is 87 percent of the total gross cropped area. Out of 718 acres of kharif paddy area 367 acres (51 percent of the total kharif paddy area) is planted to HYV rice; the rest 49 percent is planted to ordinary and improved paddy. Out of 570.50 acres of rabi wheat area 537 acres (94 percent of the total) are planted to HYV wheat; the rest is under ordinary variety, Masoor (pulses) and mixed crops (Khesari - pulses and oilseeds) covering 37 and 129 acres respectively. Summer paddy which is entirely of high yielding variety covers 113 acres. HYV crops (rice and wheat together) cover 74.48 percent of the total irrigated area and 64.86 percent of the gross cropped area. The intensity of cropping for this category of farmers is 203 percent.

Net cultivated area of farmers using tractors on custom is 385 acres, gross cropped area being 739.50 acres. The entire gross cropped area (100%) is irrigated. Out of 339 acres of kharif paddy area, 154 acres (45.43 percent of the kharif paddy area) is planted to high yielding variety of rice, the rest 185 acres being planted to ordinary or improved variety. Out of 269 acres of rabi wheat area 255 acres (about 95 percent of total rabi wheat area) is planted to high yielding variety of wheat. Entire summer paddy covering 43.50 acres is of high yielding variety. Other crops are masoor (pulses) and mixed crops (Khesari- pulses and oilseeds) covering 17 acres and 71 acres respectively. HYV crops (rice and wheat taken together) cover 68.93 percent of the irrigated area and 61 per­cent of the gross cropped area. The intensity of cropping is 192 percent.

Farmers cultivating their lands with animal power have net cultivated area of 268.50 acres, their gross cropped area being 536 acres. Gross irrigated area is 428 acres constituting 79.85 percent of the total gross cropped area. Out of 259.50 acres of kharif paddy area, these farmers have allocated 106 acres (about 41 percent) to high yielding variety of rice. Out of 174.50 acres of rabi wheat area 164.50 acres (94 percent) are devoted to high yielding variety. The entire 29 acres of summer paddy is planted to high yielding variety. Other crops are mixed (khesari - pulses and oilseeds), masoor (pulses) and potato covering 52.50 acres, 20 acres and 0.50 acres respectively. HYV crops (rice and wheat taken together) cover 55.88 percent of the gross-cropped area and 69.97 percent of the irrigated area.

It may be noted that the extent of adoption of high yielding variety crops (rice and wheat) is largest in the case of farmers owning and operating tractors; farmers using tractors on custom occupy second place in this respect, the third place going to the animal operated farms.

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3. Mode of Tractor-Operations

If we compare one category of farmers with another we find that the farmers owning and operating tractors are making much less use of human labour than the other categories, particularly farmers cultivating their lands with animal power. In fact, thougg farmers using tractors on custom are employing less human labour than farmers cultivating lands with animal-power, they are at least employing more human labour than the owners and operators of tractors.

While animal labour has been eliminated completely in the case of owners and operators of tractors, farmers using tractors on custom are making at least partial use of animal labour though to an extent smaller than in the case of animal operated farms.

On an analysis of the operationwise distribution of human labour it is found that harvesting as a single operation absorbs the largest quantity of human labour per acre. This is in general true for all the categories of farmers. Thus the value of human labour input in harvesting HYV paddy is Rs.27.75 in the case of farmers owning and operating tractors, in the case of farmers using tractors on custom it is Rs.40.08 and in the case of animal operated farms it is Rs.41.69. Harvesting has largest share in human labour input for other crops also. Share of ploughing in human labour input is much less for farmers owning and operating tractors than for farmers using tractors on custom and farmers cultivating their lands with animal power. Sowing and care of crops are two other operations having substantial share in human labour input for all categories of farmers. On the whole the users of tractors were concentrating tractor­services on ploughing and even in ploughing tractor was being utilized on a limited scale by the users of tractors on custom.

Farmers owning and using tractors were operating tractors not only for cultivating HYV kharif paddy and HYV wheat, they were also cultivating ordinary paddy (kharif) and summer paddy with tractors. Thus in their case mechanical ploughing for ordinary paddy involved a cost of Rs.21.22 and for summer paddy Rs.21.74 per acre. Mechanical threshing and transpor­tation costed Rs.10.24 and Rs.13.83 respectively for ordinary paddy (kharif) and summer paddy. Farmers using tractors on custom made much less use of tractors for the cultivation of ordinary paddy (kharif) and the summer paddy.

4. Aggregate Inputs, Output and Net Return

When we consider aggregate inputs for all crops taken together we find that human labour input per acre in the case of farmers owning and operating tractors is worth Rs.122.49 on the average. It is Rs.131.46 per acre in the case of farmers using tractors on custom and Rs.138.36 for farmers cultivating their lands with animal power. Thus there is displacement of human labour equivalent in monetary terms to an amount of Rs.16 per acre in the case of farmers owning and using tractors. Such displacement of human labour in the case of farmers using tractors on custom is much less;

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it is equivalent to about Rs.7 per acre. However, human labour inputs per acre for farmers in the size groups below 10 acres, 10-20 acres and 20-30 acres all belonging to the category of farmers using tractors on custom are equivalent to Rs.148.46, Rs.139.06 and Rs.150.90 respectively. These figures are higher than the average value of human labour input for farmers cultivating lands with animal power which is Rs.138.36.

Animal labour has been completely eliminated in the case of farmers owning and operating tractors, while farmers using tractors on custom are using animal power equivalent to Rs.20.62 per acre - little less than the corresponding figure of Rs.28.00 for animal operated farms. Thus, in practice the farmers using tractors on custom are combining tractor-labour with animal labour.

The tractor-service input per acre is equivalent to Rs.54.14 for farmers owning and using tractors as compared to Rs.38 for farmers using tractors on custom.

Maintenance and depreciation of machineries are important costs for farmers owning and operating tractors amounting to Rs.45.82 and Rs.28.63 per acre respectively which are absent in the case of farmers using trac­tors on custom and those cultivating lands with animal powers. In the case of animal operated farms, however, there is cost of replacement of animal to the extent of Rs.46.74 per acre. Cost of maintenance of machineries including substantial labour in repairs indicates scope of offsetting displacement of human labour in farming operations in the future.

Fertilizer cost is Rs.122.43 per acre for farmers owning and operating tractors, Rs.98.52 for farmers using tractors on custom and Rs.92.90 for farmers cultivating their lands with animal power. Total input-cost per acre is highest (Rs.477.96) for the first category of farmers and lowest for the second category (Rs.384.93). It is Rs.405.82 for the third category.

Aggregate output per acre is highest (Rs.964.53) for the first category of farmers (owning and operating tractors), second highest (Rs.895.00) for the second category (using tractors on custom) and lowest (Rs.777.15) for the third category of farmers (operating with animal power). Net return per acre is, however, highest (Rs.510.00 per acre) for farmers using trac­tors on custom. It is lowest (Rs.372.00) for farmers operating with animal power.

Owners and operators of tractors obtain an excess output over that obtained by animal-operated farms worth Rs.193.38 per acre. Excess material inputs in the case of the former over those of the latter amounted to Rs.78.16. On the assumption that this would be directly responsible for an output worth Rs.78.16 the rest of the excess output worth Rs.105.22 might be attributed to tractor-operation.

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Users of tractors on custom obtained an excess output over that of the animal operated farms worth Rs.118. with less material inputs.

Thus the social cost in the form of labour saving from Rs.7 to Rs.16 per acre is compensated by excess output equivalent to from Rs.105 to Rs.118.

It has been estimated that a 32-35 H.P. tractor which is most common in the area under study can operate 125 acres during a year. The excess profit per acre from tractor operation has been estimated at Rs.139 by deducting the net profit for animal operated farms from the net profit accruing to the users of tractors on custom. Thus per tractor the net return would be Rs.17375. If the value of a tractor is Rs.35000 the rate of return per tractor is about 50%. The return is big enough to promote further employ­ment-generating investment in the next period absorbing whatever human labour is saved in the process of tractor-operation in a given period.

5. Thoughts on Farm Mechanization and Policy-implications of the Findings of the Present Study

Recent economic literature documented a great deal of discussions on the place of mechanization in the agricultural technologies of developing economies. Several economists directed their criticisms against use of machines in the agriculture of an underdeveloped economy where labour is abundant and capital is scarce. "The machines use a scarce factor of production (capital) to economise on an abundant factor of production (labour) and thereby fail to use resources in the most efficient combina­tions" 2 . It was indicated that as a consequence of the introduction of

large-scale mechanized farming in Mexico the number of landless agricul­tural workers increased and growth of employment in agriculture lagged behind the growth of production 3 .

In relation to patterns of economic growth attempt has been made to show how the USA endowed with abundance of land and Japan endowed with abundance of labour achieved more or less similar rates of growth (1.5 per­cent per annum and 1.6 percent per annum respectively) of agricultural production during 1880-1960, the former moving along the path of increasing productivity per worker on the basis of mechanical technology and the latter moving along the path of increasing productivity per hectare on the basis of biological technology4 . Introduction of mechanical technology in

Japanese agriculture as part of the gradual formation of technological stages through interaction between traditional and modern inputs and the process of agricultural development stimulated by industrialization was highlighted in another recent study 5 .

On the other hand attempt was made to counteract the apprehension of displacement of labour likely to be caused by farm-mechanization in the following argument6 :

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"What detennines the standard of living of the fann population is not the degree of underemployment or disguised unemployment, but simply the total produc­tivity of the fann. In such cases, the introduction of technological change will be of benefit to all concerned provided that it increases total fann pro­duction, irrespective of its effects on the demand for labour and the degree of underemployment in the area.

*** *** ***

Over the longer tenn, perpetuation of labour­intensi ve non-mechanized agricultue will tend to maintain rural poverty and stagnation once the beneficial effects of new inputs other than mechanization have reached a certain level".

Some recent field studies conducted by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development show that "at the moment the new tech­nology in Asia has been accompanied by a marginal increase in human labour per unit of land and a decrease in human labour per unit of production" r

Some earlier Indian studies indicated how fann mechanization in several parts of the country had been induced by the intensification of HYV programme and opportunities of intensive cultivation offered by increased irrigation facilities causing excess demand for human and bullock labour8 .

Factor-endowment theory against mechanization or increased capital-intensity in agriculture of an underdeveloped economy has also been challenged in growth perspecti ve9 . "Traditional arguments for the uses of labour-

intensi ve technique in a relatively labour-abundant situation do not seem valid for development. Such factor substitution is a stabilizing factor in a neoclassical economy, but in the context of development if becomes a stagnating factor" 10

From the conflicting trends of thoughts on fann-mechanization emerges the concept of co-existence of different techniques involving different gradations of capital intensity as substantiated by the findings of the present study. The outstanding characteristic of tractor-cultivation is evident from these findings is that it is mainly limited to tillage­operations though, of course, some fanners mainly owners and operators of tractor were found to use tractor-power for threshing, sowing and transpor­tation puuposes. Tractor did not appear to play any part at all in har­vesting. Thus it did not seem to result in appreciable displacement of human labour, though animal labour was eliminated to a large extent.

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The study verifies a very important and interesting possibility of tractor-cultivation. This is that the more mechanized technique (more capital-intensive) of the owners and operators of tractor, the less mechanized technique (moderately capital-intensive technique) of the users of tractor on custom and the most labour-intensive technique of aminal­operated farms can co-exist at different levels of efficiency. If so, it is also worthwhile to attempt to test the possibility of a more rational (or optimum) combination of the three techniques in a specified arable area on the basis of the data yielded by the study.

It is in this perspective that a linear programming framework is con­ceived to find out an optimum combination of some major crop production activities each being potentially equipped with three techniques, namely, the technique adopted by the owners and operators of tractor, the tech­nique adopted by the users of tractor on custom and the technique of animal-operated farms as reflected in the matrix of input-output coeffi­cients. These techniques will be denoted as F, G and H respectively. The components of the framework are as follows:

The objective function to be maximized is

•= £ xl

J Subj act to AX S s, x:. > 0

3--

where A is the matrix of input-output coefficients, S is the vector of available resources, X is the solution vector representing levels of operations of the different activities j, Pis the net revenue per unit of an activity and R is the aggregate net revenue.

In the present case attempt is made to apply this model to the aggregate of 20 animal-operated farms comprising 260 acres of kharif land, 164 acres of rabi wheat land and 29 acres of summer land. Crops considered are HYV paddy (kharif), HYV rabi wheat, ordinary paddy (kharif) and HYV summer paddy. Each crop is capable of being produced by three techniques (F,G,H) to constitute three distinct activities as mentioned above. The problem is to find out appropriate levels of 12 activities centering round 4 crops that would yield maximum net revenue11•

Net revenue per unit of output from each of the activities, input-output coefficients and resource-constraints being worked out from the data pro­vided by the study, we are to maximize the net aggregate revenue (our objective function: 0.64X1+0.6SX2 +0.63x3 +0.56X4 + 0.58X5 + 0.59X6

+ 0.61X7 + 0.56X8 + 0.55x9 + 0.70XlO + 0.66Xll + 0.62X12 j subject to the

resource-restrictions) (Appendix Table 1 and Table 2)

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The following optimal allocation of resources between HYV kharif paddy, ordinary kharif paddy, rabi HYV wheat and HYV summer paddy is obtained by the linear programming method:

1. Out of 260 acres of kharif land 232 acres are to be planted to HYV paddy with the technique of operators of tractor on custom (G), 28 acres being allocated to HYV paddy with the animal power-technique (H).

2. The entire 164 acres of rabi wheat are to be planted to HYV wheat with animal-power-technique (H).

3. The entire 29 acres of summer land are to be planted to HYV summer paddy with the technique of owner-operator of tractor (F).

Other activities, e.g., ordinary kharif paddy with any of the three techniques, HYV kharif paddy with the remaining technique, rabi HYV wheat with any of the other techniques and HYV summer paddy with any of the other techniques have little place in this optimal programme.

Net aggregate profit generated which is maximum. Net profit from tional technique (H) is Rs.140983. of Rs.52092.

by the programme amounts to Rs.193075 cultivating 453 acres with the tradi­

Thus there is excess profit to the tune

Value of human labour, fertilizer, irrigation and animal labour falling surplus due to the optimal allocation of resources is Rs.23607, Rs.7406, Rs.4011 and Rs.6222 respectively. About 171 acres of additional land should be cultivated by the traditional technique (H) for giving employment to the surplus human labour. This would give rise to additional demand for fer­tilizer, irrigation and animal labour to the extent of Rs.15903, Rs.4788 and Rs.4275 respectively. It may not be impossible to expand cultivated area to the extent of 171 acres by the intensification of cropping during the rabi and summer season when at present only a small fraction of the net cultivated area is planted. The additional enterprise is expected to generate a net additional profit of Rs.63612. The excess profit of Rs.52092 generated by the optimal allocation of resources is more than enough to meet the additional financial requirements of the new employment and income generating enterprises.

Should there be a consideration about cultivating the whole of 453 acres with the mixed technique of users of tractors on custom (G) by increasing the supply of tractor services to the extent of Rs.17667 in value terms, the total net profit would be Rs.231030 on the assumption of the existing cropping pattern of the users of tractors on custom. The excess profit would be Rs.91,047 leading to a surplus of human labour worth Rs.3171. This surplus human labour could be easily employed by cultivating addi­tional 23 acres with animal power technique (H) which is feasible beyond doubt. Thus on the assumption of flexible supply of tractor services the mixed technique of tractor operation on custom (G) for 453 acres and

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animal operation (H) on 23 acres would produce maximum net profit con­sistent with full employment. Thus this alternative farm-planning centered on the mixed technique would be preferable to the optimum combination of techniques supplemented by traditional technique for fuller employment cen­tered on increase in supply of land which may be less elastic than the sup­ply of tractor services. While full-scale tractorization may be labour­displacing and socially undesirable, limited tractorization based on combination of tractor-operation and animal-operation may be conducive to maximizing output, net su:rplus, employment and overall agricultural deve­lopment in a less developed and labour-abundant economy.

REFERENCES

1. See G.C. Mandal and R.N. Prasad, Economics of Tractor Cultivation -A Study in the District of Shahabad, Bihar (mimeographed), Agro­Economic Research Centre, Visva-Bharati Santiniketan, West Bengal, India, 1975.

2. Keith Griffin, The Green Revolution: Nations Research Institute for Social p.63 Also, Amartya Sen, Employment, Oxford, 1975, pp.154-164.

An Economic Analysis, United Development, Geneva, 1972,

Technology and Development,

3. Solon Barraclough and Jacobo Schatan, "Technological Polity and Agricultural Development", Land Economics, Madison, May 1973.

4. Vernon Ruttan, "Induced Technical and Institutional Change and the Future of Agriculture" - Paper presented at the Fifteenth Inter­national Conference of Agricultural Economists, 1973.

5. s. Sawada, "Technological Stages in Agricultural Development, their Determinants and Perspective" - Paper presented at the Fifteenth International Conference of Agricultural Economists, 1973.

6. C. Voss, Agricultural Mechanization Production and Employment, Monthly Bulletin of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, FAO, Rome, January 1974.

7. The Social and Economic Implications of Large Scale Introduction of New Varieties of Foodgrain (Summary of Conclusions of a Global Research Project), U.N. Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva 1974; this possibility was also indicated in G.C. Mandal, "Observations on Agricultural Technology in a Developing Economy", Econ9m~~- and Political Weekly, Bombay, 26 June 1972.

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8. Proceedings of "Seminar on Problems of Farm Mechanization", Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, Bombay, 1972.

9. Proceedings of "Seminar on Problems of Farm Mechanization", Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, Bombay, 1972, Introduction by V.S. Vyas, p. 23.

10. Yoshio Niho, "Population Growth, Agricultural Capital and the Development of Dual Economy", The American Economic Review, December 1974.

11. For linear _programming models see Robert Dorfman, Paul A. Samuelson and Robert M. Solow, Linear Programming and Economic Analysis, McGrawhill Book Company, New York, 1958; also, Earl 0. Heady (ed.), Economic Models and Quantitative Methods for Decisions and Planning in Agriculture, The Iowa State University Press, Ames, U.S.A., 1971.

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x 1

APPENDIX X

Table 1 Data and Detailed Definitions

Activities/I

level of HYV paddy with technique

II "

"

level of HYV wheat with technique

II

II "

level of ordinary paddy with technique

II " II

level of summer paddy with technique

" "

" "

Net revenue

F 0.64

G 0.65

H 0.63

F 0.56

G 0.58

H 0.59

F 0.61

G 0.56

H 0.55

F 0.70

G 0.66

H 0.62

Resources

Kharif land 260 acres

Rabi land 164 acres

Summer land 29 acres

Human labour 62677

Animal labour 12684

Fertilizer 42129

Irrigation 11325

Tractor services 4736 1111

II Technique F is technique of the owners and operators of tractor, technique S is the technique of users of tractors on custom and technique H is the technique of animal-operated farms.

1111 Availability of tractor services is worked out from the average availability-rate of 0.0015 tractor per acre in the Block Kharaghar where the farms were studied.

APPENDIX

Table 2 Input-Output Ratios

KHARIE LAND HUMAN LABOUR

Activities Input-output Activities Input-output ratios ratios

1 0.0013 1 0.11 2 0.0013 2 0.14 3 0.0014 3 0.17 7 0.0024 4 0.06 8 0.0024 5 0.09 9 0.0025 6 0.10

7 0.18 RABI LAND 8 0.22

9 0.05 Activities Input-output 10 0.09

ratios 11 0.11 12 0.14

4 0.0021 5 0.0021 6 0.0022

SUMMER LAND ANIMAL LABOUR

Activities Input-output Activities Input-output ratios ratios

10 0.0010 2 0.02 11 0.0015 3 0.03 12 0.0013 5 0.02

6 0.03

FERTILIZER TRACTOR SERVICE

Activities Input-output Activities Input-output ratios ratios

1 0.15 1 0.03 2 0.10 2 0.02 3 0.10 4 0.07 4 0.09 5 0.06 5 0.15 7 0.08 6 0.15 8 0.03 7 0.06 10 0.04 8 0.08 11 0.03 9 0.08

10 0.12 11 0.09 12 0.12

110 contd ....

Table 2. Input-output Ratios (contd.)

IRRIGATION

Activities

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12

Input-output ratios

111

0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.03