Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan
The adoption of agricultural technologies in developing economy countries has the potential to reduce poverty through sustainable intensification. Mechanized farming can also improve perceptions of farming and mitigate rural out-migration. However, many traditional farmers do not have access to mach...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | World |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/2/22 |
| _version_ | 1797592321504575488 |
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| author | Hamza Ahmed Erika E. Miller |
| author_facet | Hamza Ahmed Erika E. Miller |
| author_sort | Hamza Ahmed |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The adoption of agricultural technologies in developing economy countries has the potential to reduce poverty through sustainable intensification. Mechanized farming can also improve perceptions of farming and mitigate rural out-migration. However, many traditional farmers do not have access to machinery and/or machinery is cost prohibitive. The objective of this paper is to quantify how the use of machinery affects costs, revenue, net-profits, and returns on investment for a case study of farmers in Sudan, Africa. A treatment control study (N = 36) was performed across the 2019 (baseline), 2020, and 2021 farming seasons, where the treatment group was provided tractors. ANOVAs and <i>t</i>-tests were used to compare financial values between these groups across the farming seasons, to quantify economic differences associated with farming machinery. We show that all farmers had similar net-profits when farming without machinery, while mechanized farming yielded significantly higher net-profits (USD 16.61/acre more in 2020, USD 27.10/acre more in 2021). Our study also finds that the volatility of the black-market exchange rate and labor shortages have a significant impact on farming net-profits. These results provide a quantified difference between farming with and without machinery, which can provide a financial basis for purchasing and borrowing models, machinery design requirements, and educational value to farmers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:49:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5b825e47ecc45f3a9b4ffe59a30841e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4060 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:49:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | World |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5b825e47ecc45f3a9b4ffe59a30841e2023-11-18T13:07:03ZengMDPI AGWorld2673-40602023-06-014234735910.3390/world4020022Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in SudanHamza Ahmed0Erika E. Miller1Department of Systems Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USADepartment of Systems Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USAThe adoption of agricultural technologies in developing economy countries has the potential to reduce poverty through sustainable intensification. Mechanized farming can also improve perceptions of farming and mitigate rural out-migration. However, many traditional farmers do not have access to machinery and/or machinery is cost prohibitive. The objective of this paper is to quantify how the use of machinery affects costs, revenue, net-profits, and returns on investment for a case study of farmers in Sudan, Africa. A treatment control study (N = 36) was performed across the 2019 (baseline), 2020, and 2021 farming seasons, where the treatment group was provided tractors. ANOVAs and <i>t</i>-tests were used to compare financial values between these groups across the farming seasons, to quantify economic differences associated with farming machinery. We show that all farmers had similar net-profits when farming without machinery, while mechanized farming yielded significantly higher net-profits (USD 16.61/acre more in 2020, USD 27.10/acre more in 2021). Our study also finds that the volatility of the black-market exchange rate and labor shortages have a significant impact on farming net-profits. These results provide a quantified difference between farming with and without machinery, which can provide a financial basis for purchasing and borrowing models, machinery design requirements, and educational value to farmers.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/2/22Africaagricultural economydeveloping countriesinternational developmentmechanized farmingrural out-migration |
| spellingShingle | Hamza Ahmed Erika E. Miller Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan World Africa agricultural economy developing countries international development mechanized farming rural out-migration |
| title | Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan |
| title_full | Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan |
| title_fullStr | Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan |
| title_short | Quantifying the Economic Impact on Farmers from Agricultural Machinery: A Case Study of Farmers in Sudan |
| title_sort | quantifying the economic impact on farmers from agricultural machinery a case study of farmers in sudan |
| topic | Africa agricultural economy developing countries international development mechanized farming rural out-migration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/2/22 |
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