Tractor and mechanisation in agriculture refer to the use of mechanical implements and techniques for achieving economies of scale in the production and processing of farm products, as well as the creation of new markets and distribution of farm produce.

In relation to subsistence agriculture, mechanical agriculture achieves the objectives of increased production and increased sales. A variety of mechanical implements take over from menial subsistence tools such as hoe and cutlass to cultivate the soil.

The principal reason for mechanised agriculture is to lower the cost of production and that of the products. The process helps to create greater productivity, leading to higher standards of living and increased earnings. Mechanised agriculture is not some single indivisible thing. It is a combination of numerous separate elements, each of which can be modified in response to the environment of use as well as market conditions, government regulation and scientific advances.

Tractors and tools

In advanced technologies, mechanised agriculture uses a variety of implements to reduce manual labour to the barest minimum. The entire process from clearing of farmland to processing of harvested products is done mechanically. Depending on the crops involved and the soil type, a variety of tools may be involved. They include cultivator, chisel plow, spike harrow, drag harrow, disk harrow, plough, power tiller, rotary tiller, spading machine, sub-soiler and walking tractor.

During planting, a plough is used to turn over the soil and a broadcast seeder is used to spread fertiliser over the turned soil before planting. At harvest time, a number of equipment is required, depending on the crop to be harvested. Bean harvester is used to harvest beans; combined harvester can be used to harvest a wide range of crops, including grains. Farm mechanisation enables farmers to have a maximum output of enhanced quality, expanded market with less physical energy. The advantages include:

Reduction in cost of labour

Increased total employment - in production, distribution, processing and marketing; Expansion in cultivated land; Increased productivity and boost in economy; Timeliness and more efficient operations through control of weather conditions and optimal yield; Improved farming conditions and farmers' delight.

From the past

Experience has shown that a variety of small-time motorised tractors have been in use in Nigeria. The Merry Tiller, Penfield, Honda, Solo and Kubota were used in the former Western Region in the late sixties for the growing of rice and maize. The idea was to introduce local farmers to these machineries and expand the farms at minimal cost. The experiment did not gain wide acceptance. According to experts, the equipment were said to be too expensive and not suitable for the soil, crop and vegetation. Moreover, the tools could not work the lands during dry season and on terrain not properly stumped.

Medium and large-scale mechanisation has equally been a challenge to Nigerian farmers. The standard four-wheel multipurpose tractors are used on larger farms. They are high-capacity, cost-saving machines highly favoured in high labour cost countries. They are not suitable for small farmers who do not have the required capital to invest. In Nigeria, mechanised agriculture is yet to become popular even though past governments have introduced some laudable schemes, including the National Agricultural Land Development Authority. Many factors combine to make the process unpopular. The first is that a majority of Nigerian farmers are local hands who are used to subsistence farming. They are thus unable to raise the capital to procure mechanised tools and implements.

There is also the situation of inappropriate planning to determine what level of mechanisation to apply. Feasibility studies do not take into account critical variables that are necessary for mechanised agriculture. For instance, the land tenure system with small farm holdings does not encourage individual local farmers to seek mechanisation. In addition, the absence of a clear national policy can make implementation difficult. Tools for mechanised agriculture are not readily available to traditional, small farmers.

Even state-owned farms do not have the capacity to be self-financing because of lack of continuity in government policies. After the ouster of one government, the next one would embark on a new set of policies. The Nigerian government established the Steyr Tractor plant in Bauchi in the 1980s to assemble tractors, having in mind the need for mechanised agriculture. The plant functioned for just a few years before it became insolvent. Now, it is struggling to survive.

Funding for mechanised agriculture is hard to come by. Apparently, government cannot solely fund the purchase of tractors required to make impact in mechanised agriculture. Even when funds are allocated, monitoring is poor and maintenance is often an uphill task. Two types of mechanical farming modes are prevalent in Nigeria. There is small, motorised equipment made up of two-wheel tractors (single axle), garden tiller, the four-wheel tractor, motorised sprayer, duster, irrigation pumps, threshers and winnower. They are powered by small, low-powered machines. All these are designed for small-scale farms.

The other category uses medium and large mechanised four-wheel multi-purpose tractors. They can handle a variety of farm operations. Used collectively or singly, they save labour and are good in high capacity operation. But they are far too expensive and too complex for small farmers to deploy. This is good for state farms, co-operative farms and other combined efforts. The four-wheel tractor is used in Nigeria, doing an average of 700 man hours.

Charting a new course

Researchers have advised that for mechanised agriculture to thrive, the system of land ownership will need to undergo some reforms. Small land holdings have to be expanded. Incomes will need to improve, for pensioners and others who would retire into farming. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, ably led by Dr Sayyadi Abba Ruma, is fine-tuning plans for a national farmland cadastral survey. The scheme will register and certify all farmlands, small and big. The intention is to enable farmers to use their lands as collateral for credit not only in form of cash, but especially in improved seeds, chemicals, fertiliser, tractors and other requisite inputs.

The emerging food challenges in a rapidly expanding population underline the rationale for mechanised agriculture in Nigeria.

The present administration is breaking away from the past. The emerging policy is a public private partnership where governments at the various tiers partner with the private sector to establish large farms that can take advantage of economies of scale - having a large pool of capital and focusing on crops that thrive under mechanisation. Since the late 70s, the Food and Agricultural Organisation suggested that 15-20 hectare farms are big enough to justify the kind of investment that will engage a multipurpose four-wheel tractor, preferably under conditions of intensive irrigation. Another justification is that which promotes the growing of two crops within a year.

A fresh approach

The Federal Government's new tractor policy seeks to provide 10,000 tractors for farmers before the beginning of next planting season. Ruma says the programme is a major component of the input subsidy policy of government and it is largely private sector driven. In the new deal, the Federal Government will provide 25% of the cost of the tractors, partnering state governments will pay 15% while private investors will bear 60% of the cost. The new scheme, officials say, will be community-driven and linked with cooperative societies at the grassroots level. Government will provide the regulatory mechanism and assist farmers to pool resources in various cooperative groups which are encouraged to do business with micro-finance institutions

To sustain the new scheme, the private investor is mandated to establish service centres and tractor maintenance points in all local government areas covered by their operation. On its part, the Federal Government will soon recruit and train at home and abroad 10,000 extension workers. Their job is to give professional support to farmers on how to derive maximum yields, tap micro-credit opportunities and organise agriculture as a business venture.

The case for mechanisation is made more attractive in today's Nigeria for a number of reasons. The old generation of farmers is thinning out without any conscious plan to replace them. Farm labour has now become relatively scarce and expensive. Yet, over 60 percent of farmland is not used and these can be tilled with mechanised implements.

Making it work

Experts also proffer that in mechanisation, the period of land preparation is limited by soil and the climate. Therefore, labour could be released from the farms into other sectors post harvest while waiting for the next farming season. As population grows rapidly, there is the need to match that with rapid food growth, as well as productivity of labour. The undue dependence on oil economy does not translate to increase in the overall gross domestic product. Very many people are not contributing to the national economy. Whereas, applying mechanisation in growing economic crops like rice, groundnut, maize, cotton, wheat, sorghum and millet will boost the country's gross domestic product.

Government has a major role to play in the mechanisation of agriculture in the country. Government has to set the policy and standardisation in terms of land acquisition and sourcing of the right kind of equipment. Is government going to enter into partnership with the private sector for the establishment of mechanised farms or will it take the risk of establishing state farms, knowing that previous attempts in the past have failed? What about the machinery; what standards would be in place for the manufacture and importation of machinery that are suitable for the Nigerian soil and climate type? More important is the need for appropriate and adequate after-sales service and parts for the machinery to ensure that the country gets maximum value for money spent.

Kareem, public policy analyst, wrote from Abuja.