Mechanization requirements for sustaining rice production in South China : a case study of Zhejiang province

Xiang Fang

Date

1989

Abstract

In recent years, agricultural production policies have changed substantially in China. As a consequence, the level and composition of agricultural mechanization has also changed. The farm production system has been reformed from collectives to individual farms. Family farms assumed a major role in agricultural production. Collective economics in rural areas became market economics. Agricultural mechanization is constrained by many factors such as income, yield, employment, productivity, farm machine use, etc. has involved many phases: tractors, irrigation, threshing, fertilizing, etc. The study focuses on tractor mechanization and income. Before and after comparisons are made of the impact of rural economic reform on income and rice yields. This is a case study of the mechanization requirements in Zhejiang province in Southeast China needed to sustain small rice farm production. The level of tractor mechanization was assessed in selected villages of Zhejiang province. One hundred family farms were included in the survey; 45 farms had their own small tractors. After rural economic reform, tractor mechanization requirements changed. The optimal number of tractor was less than the actual number and optimal horsepower per tractor was less than actual horsepower. Some suggestions and implications for mechanization policy include: 1) use of tractors could be increased through joint ownership and use; and 2) government should encourage farmers who organize voluntary and consolidate their holding to facilitate efficient use of tractors. Development of rural enterprises has increased the opportunity cost of rural labor. The growth of mechanization should ensure that growth in agricultural production is sustained by increasing labor productivity at a rate which compensates for reduced labor supply but without displacing workers faster than rural industry can absorb them. Government has a major role in developing and promoting appropriate mechanization technologies and mechanization policies for small rice farms in China.

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree

Master of Science in in Agricultural Engineering

Language

English

LC Subject

Mimeographed, Rice -- China, South -- Zhejiang Province

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 995 1989 A2 F36

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