Evaluation of agricultural mechanization status and potential using GIS in Sunsari District, Nepal | |
| Author | Pradhan, Anup |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AE-05-06 |
| Subject(s) | Farm mechanization--Nepal--Sunsari District Geographic information systems--Nepal--Sunsari District |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AE-05-06 |
| Abstract | This study was aimed at determining the status and potential of agricultural mechanization based on a field survey conducted through personal interviews of 180 farmers from 13 Village Development Committees and 2 Municipalities spread in Sunsari District, Nepal. The farmers of irrigated farmlands were categorized into three groups, according to their power sources as bullock, tractor-owned and tractor-hired. The average land holding size of the surveyed area was 0.99 ha. The land holding size of bullock, tractor-hired and tractor-owned farms were 1.04, 0.86 and 2.23 ha respectively. Agricultural mechanization in Sunsari district was found to be still at rudimentary stage without some of the typical equipment like power tillers, seeders, transplanters, weeders, crop harvesters. The major power sources in the district were found to be human labor, draft animals, and tractors; the latter was used only for land preparation and transportation. The available human, draft, and mechanical power were 0.17, 0.48 and 1.95 hp/ha respectively. Tractor seemed reduce the labor utilization for all the crops, especially labor use for land preparation but did not show much influence on cropping intensity. The crop yields in the bullock farms were observed higher than the tractor-owned and tractor-hired farms. The family income was much higher in tractor-owned farm than the bullock farms due to the higher non-farm income in the tractor-owned farms. The potential levels of mechanization in the study area were categorized based on the power by tractor, power tiller and bullock. About 96.8% of the total cultivated area can be covered with tractorizatioil, and 1.5% can be served with power tiller. In the remaining 1.7% area, neither tractor nor power tiller can operate efficiently. |
| Year | 2005 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AE-05-06 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Jayasuriya, H.P.W. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Salokhe, Vilas M.;Shrestha, Rajendra |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | The Royal Government of Netherlands |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |