A farm-level assessment of labor and mechanization in Eastern and Southern Africa

Abstract

Once again, agricultural mechanization is top on the policy, research, and development agendas in sub-Saharan Africa. However, whether labor is limiting in this region-and mechanization is in demand-remains debated. The hypothesis of this study is that labor is a major limiting factor to the productivity of most farming systems in Africa. We used farm-level data (including detailed labor data) from eight sites dominated by smallholder agriculture and spanning four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, and analyzed this unique dataset using multivariate methods (generalized linear models, boundary line analysis, and binary classification and regression trees). Labor and/or other sources of farm power (draught power or tractor power) were found to limit land productivity in all study sites. We also found that the overall contribution of female labor to farming was much lower than commonly stated-between 7 and 35%-and that the labor intensity experienced by women in agriculture was dependent to a large degree on men's tasks. Our results reveal a much higher demand for mechanization than previously found by macroeconomic analyses, and point to a problem of access rather than demand. Our results also add to recent evidence debunking the persistent myth that women provide the bulk of the farming labor, and demonstrate that reducing labor intensity experienced by women in farming depends to a large degree upon understanding labor intensity experienced by men, rather than poorly founded generalizations about how women are overworked. This is the first time farm-level data containing detailed labor assessment and spanning four countries are used to assess mechanization demand in Africa. This paper also plays a pioneering role in debunking a number of myths related to labor in African smallholder agriculture, with implications for the mechanization agenda of the region.

African Agricultural Mechanization: Myths, Realities and an Emerging Research Agenda

“…One concern is that the expansion of cropland, led by mechanized land preparation, may increase labour burden for activities that are not yet mechanized, such as weeding and harvesting, which are often carried out by women and children. Using qualitative techniques, Baudron et al (2019) found that mechanization of land preparation benefits both men and women. , using a picture-based smartphone application to collect detailed time-use data, suggested that mechanization reduces women's workload during land preparation and weeding as mechanized tillage suppresses weed growth and because households use animals and herbicides for weeding.…”

“…Empirically, different studies come to different conclusions. Using data from eight study sites across four Eastern and Southern African countries, Baudron et al (2019) found that a lack of draught or tractor power limits land productivity. Using propensity score matching, Adu-Baffour et al (2019) found that mechanized households have a 25% higher yield compared to non-mechanized households, possibly due to the combined effects of better and timelier land preparation as well as the use of complementary inputs.…”

From fed by the world to food security : Accelerating agricultural development in Africa

“…Indeed, the mechanization of land preparation, harvesting and threshing can be useful in areas with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, for female-headed households, where manual work is too expensive, or where the so-called "window for seeding and planting" is very narrow (Baudron et al, 2015;Baudron et al, 2019). Baudron et al indicated "that farm power in East and Southern African countries is declining due to the collapse of most tractor hire schemes, the decline in number of draught animals and the growing shortage of human labour" and insist that "a consequence of low levels of farm mechanization is high labour drudgery, which makes farming unattractive to the youth and disproportionally affects women".…”

Using smartphone app collected data to explore the link between mechanization and intra-household allocation of time in Zambia

“…Mechanization is unfolding rapidly in Asia (Wang et al 2016) and is increasingly promoted in Africa Birner 2020, 2017;Benin 2015;Diao et al 2014). Some studies have looked at the gender aspects of agricultural mechanization (Baudron et al 2019;Eerdewijk and Danielsen 2015;Fischer et al 2018). Eerdewijk and Danielsen (2015), for example, find that women have limited voice over mechanization adoption decisions, which makes it more likely that households invest in and adopt technologies that save men's time (see also Doss 2001).…”