Agricultural Mechanization in Kenya
The Consumers are increasing, the Producers are decreasing
In Kenya, Agriculture is a serious contributor to the betterment of livelihoods and thus economic development of Kenyans. However, low levels of mechanization in both crop and livestock production are a hindrance to potential growth and development in this area. Taking an example of mechanization at the land preparation stage; only about 30% of land preparation is by machines. A small chunk of about 20% is by animal power whereas the major portion is by human power at 50%.
The result is low productivity, wastage of time, inefficient production methods and high production costs per unit area. It is very laborious and tedious to scale up productivity with such conditions as low mechanization. An ever growing population should march the level of productivity in agriculture.
Poor Unsustainable Agricultural Mechanization
There are few machines per unit area in the country. The main driver of inadequacy in agricultural mechanization is inadequate machinery. A lot of agricultural production activities are carried out without machines. Labour might be cheap and available in Kenya as compared to other regions like the European Union, however, how will the country realize efficiency, increase in productivity, and commercialization of agriculture without mechanization?
The Absence of affordable financing and credit options
This is a huge impediment to mechanization. Policy makers in the sector are letting the farmers down, and so are financial institutions. The terms presented by financial and lending institutions are punitive to farmers. Furthermore lack of clear guidelines while applying for loans for purchase of machinery discourages most farmers.
Crooked dealers
Dealers in the industry who do not offer after sale services are a pain in flesh for farmers. They present very deceptive before sale terms while knowing very well that they do not stock fast-moving and other necessary spare parts for the machines they sale. Many farmers have had issues with crooked dealers and suppliers who do not empower them on the operations, service and maintenance of a machine during commissioning. Lack of technical and service support is a pain for most farmers.
The impact of increasing small sized-land
Land and population pressures have decreased the size of land and hence limiting the use of machines in land preparation for example. The number of people that depend on agriculture for food is ever increasing whereas land as a factor of production is decreasing. If agricultural land is not being lost to real estate, then it is to sub-division for inheritance. The consumers are increasing whereas the production is decreasing.
The Inefficiency of Agricultural Mechanization Stations
The stations that have been set-up by the government or through partnerships with the private sector cover a huge area making their services ineffective. One area may serve a huge number of farmers and hence many farmers suffer delays in the activities while waiting for a machine to be available. In adequate funding for such stations and institutions is thus another challenge. This is a challenge of government choosing to look the other side while forming policies and allocating budgets. It is also married with mismanagement at such institutions. Capacity building is also scarce as a result of inefficiency in allocation of funds towards stuffing relevant individuals to pass the knowledge of mechanization to farmers.
Former Managing Director of Nordfuel Gmbh, operating the most modern biomethane plant at C-Port Frisoythe, Germany. Project developer, sustainability management, in the fields of agriculture, energy and property.
3 年The mechanisation of agriculture does not automatically lead to an increase in productivity per hectare of cultivated land, which is what farmers in Africa dream of.?In reality, it is the other way around. Especially in Africa, with its soil types and climate, yields often even decrease. Productivity per worker only matters when rising wages make labour more expensive than using a tractor or, as in Germany, there was hardly any labour left for agriculture due to war deaths and the development of industry. If it were the case that the use of a tractor had a direct influence on the yield per hectare, I would buy a bigger tractor tomorrow, then according to the logic of the article I would actually have to harvest more.The only thing that increases yields is a competative agricultural structure and training of farmers, because you don't need many people in agriculture, you need the best trained people in agriculture. That is why in Germany the proportion of people with university degrees is never higher than in agriculture.