| Author | Ahn, Duck-hyun |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.AE-92-01 |
| Subject(s) | Agricultural machinery--Korea
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| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor Technical Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. AE-92-01 |
| Abstract | The operation of farm machinery is influenced not only by economic conditions but also by farmland structure which comprises plot geometry and the scattered distribution of plot ownership. An examination of the dynamic relationship between farmland structure and mechanical technology development in the agricultural sector is necessary to make recommendations regarding mechanization policies with regard to farmland structure. A techno-economic model was developed to study the relationships between and among farmland structure, machinery selection, and machinery operation area. It is a causal deterministic model consisting of a series of mathematical equations. The odel includes land preparation, transplanting, and harvesting operations which require a lot of labor during peak seasons. A machine efficiency term including travelling and implement resetting time was introduced for small and scattered plots. The model use a simulation procedure to arrive at optimal specifications for tractors, transplanters, binders, threshers, and combines for different scenarios in paddy production in Korea. Optimal machine package, machine cost, and optimal machine operation area for three zones (north, middle and south) of Korea classified by operation periods and three kinds of price options namely o subsidy, low interest rate (private ownership), and 50% subsidy and low interest rate (co-operative ownership). Through the model application, it was found that mechanization pattern and machine operation cost are influenced by economic conditions such as machine price and wage, farmland structure, and machine operation area. If machine cost is relatively lower than the labor cost or machine operation area is large, a capital intensive large machine becomes economical. Whereas if the machine operation area is small, then small size labor intensive machine is economical. On good geometry plots or well-consolidated plots, capital intensive machine is more economical than a labor intensive machine. On a large plot with good geometry, effective machine capacity, especially of a capital intensive large machine, is increased; this reduces machine operation cost and increases the operable area. Improvement in plot geometry also decreases the labor-hours per hectare and machine kilowatt-hours per ha. Therefore, the faster the increase of wage level in agriculture, the more urgent is the improvement in farland structure to reduce machine cost. From the findings, it is concluded that as the agricultural labor wage increases with reduction in agricultural labor availability, the more labor-saving innovations in agriculture have to be adopted to increase labor productivity. As labor-saving mechanical technology is affected by farmland structure and machine operation area, farm mechanization a development, in addition to development and choice of appropriate machines, will require a concomitant improvement in farmland structure and enlargement of operation area. |
| Year | 1992 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. AE-92-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Gajendra Singh; |
| Examination Committee(s) | David Gee-Clough, Karl E. Webe;Joseph A. Gartner;K. Ramanathan; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Japan; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1992 |