Mechanized agriculture is the method of employing agriculture machineries to mechanize the work of agriculture, highly increasing farm output as well as productivity. In modern world, fuel-powered machinery has replaced many roles at one time dispensed by men or animals like oxen, horses and mules. The history of agriculture contains several instances of tool use; however solely in recent time has the high rate of machine use been at such a level.
The primary pervasive mechanization of agriculture came with the introduction of the plough, typically driven by animals. It had been invented in primitive Mesopotamia. Current mechanized agriculture includes the treat of airplanes, helicopters, trucks and tractors, among various vehicles. Neoteric farms even once in a way use computers in conjunction with satellite imagery and GPS guidance to extend yields. The necessity for mechanization is as a result of the world population increase that should be fed. It enhances the production efficiency by decreasing cost per unit of product, inspires large scale production and promotes the quality of farm manufacture.
As opposed to, it dislocates unskilled farm labor, causes environmental pollution, deforestation and decay (Shagufta, 2012). In short agricultural transformation as a method that results in higher productivity on farms commercially orients farming and strengthens the link between farming and different sectors of the economy. (Boateng, 2017). At that point the technology of farming means the way it is done. It includes the method by which the farmers sow, cultivate and harvest crops and care for livestock, etc. It includes the seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, medicine the feed, the tools, the implements and the source of power. It also includes enterprise in combination with which farmers seek to make the best use of their labor and land. These factors of increased production such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc can either be imported from other countries or can be developed within the country.
Agricultural technology, so far developed, may be divided into three classes, i.e. bio-type, chemicals and machineries. The high yielding variety evolved which are resistant to diseases and responsive to fertilizers is the bio-type of technology and they have been developed purely by the agricultural scientists, Machineries, implements and tools come under the third type of technology which serves as a source of power for agricultural production.
They have been developed purely by the agricultural scientists. The agricultural chemicals like fertilizers, insecticides, etc. are the products of chemical industry and their usefulness in agricultural production. They have been developed by the engineers and their right uses have been determined by the agricultural production (Alim, 1974). Domestic technology is that the incorporation of study into the house. There square measure several aspects of domestic technology.
To gain these targets, production per unit of land must increase as well as cropping intensity; consequently crop yield are momentous to increase with losses minimized. At current some 62% of the labor force is engaged in agriculture, a very lofty figure compared to same developing and most developed countries. Though 62% is inlaid, there exists serious laborer shortage and increasing labor wages which lead to increasing production costs. Total cost of production of dry season paddy in Bangladesh is US $418.87/ha compared to US $336.28/ha in west Bengal, $253.17/ha in Punjab, 223.65/ha in Thailand and $274.45/ha in Vietnam. The highest cost in Bangladesh is due to the high costs of irrigation, fertilizer and human labor (Kabir, 2008). Enraged use of farm machinery will free many farm laborers for non-farm activities, which is essential to raise income for rural laborers. Further rising the irrigation proficiency and use of major farm machinery can minimize the cost of production to a great extent. So farm mechanization can lead to increment in production, cropping intensity and crop yield (IDE, 2012).
Manufacturing workshops and industries engaged in agricultural mechanization activities will be provided with appropriate support”. Over the last two decades, the use of farm machinery has increased quickly. Currently, irrigation is nearly mechanized by using more than 1.5 million diesel and electric driven pumps. The cultivable land under irrigation is about 61%. The next operation that has been mechanized is the tillage operation mainly done by power tiller (two wheel tractor).
Presently, use of tractor is rising every day and nearing 80% of the land management is done by power tillers and tractors. The next operation that is being quickly mechanized is threshing. Power operated multi-crop threshers and Sheller’s are broadly using by the farmers for threshing paddy, wheat and maize. Shelling of maize is completed almost 100% by power and hand maize Sheller and those of paddy and wheat are over 80% by both power and manual threshers. Today, the most important operation to be mechanized is the harvesting of paddy and wheat, a considerable amount of food grain is lost every year in the country. Power necessary for crop production operations are always shortage. In 1960, farm power availability was only 0.24 Kw/ha, which has rising to 1.05 kW/ha in 2006 (Wohab, 2012). Poor buying capacity of farmers.
The rural people are mostly poor and hardly can buy a costly machine individually. Few capitalist farmers having a large-scale quality of agricultural lands occupy various expensive machines such as, tractors, power tillers, power tiller operated seeders, combines etc. They use these machines in their own hands and also operate them on hiring basis in other farmer’s lands and earn a handsome return. Nevertheless, the number of such farmers is very restricted. Another point is lack of knowledge and skill of users, artisans and traders. The machine users, artisans and traders are mostly illiterate and don’t have substantial knowledge and skill about machine operation, repair and maintenance. The manufacturers don’t provide ‘after sale service’ to the users. From field experience it has been observed that machines are abandoned without working for minor and easily repairable faults.
Tariff difference on machines and spare parts is a significant issue. Low tariff on imported machines and high tariff on spare parts and materials have discouraged the local manufactures (Islam, 2014). According to Bangladesh agricultural research institute (BARI) and the Bangladesh rice research institute (BRRI), 90% of the country’s total land area is being cultivated in mechanical method. Although now 30 types of modern equipment used in agricultural cultivation have taken 80% of its share only two machines these are power tiller and power pump. However, farmers are still behind in the use of other agricultural machinery. The government has already given due importance to agricultural mechanization in the National Agricultural Policy. In the policy it is mentioned that “The Government will encourage production and manufacturing of agricultural machinery adaptive to our socio-economic context.