The Utilization of Second-Hand Tractors in Lop Buri Province, Thailand

摘要

This study was undertaken with a view to collect information on second-hand tractor import, sale and use, to determine the various costs, and economic level of second-hand tractor use, and to predict the future trend of use of second-hand tractors. The survey was conducted and a questionnaire was used for interviews. The data were collected from second-hand tractor dealers and farmers (users) in Lop Buri Province of Thailand. There are 17 establishments dealing with farm. tractor import of which two of them sell only new tractors. They import small tractors mostly from Japan and big tractors from England. The average sale of these companies was about 300-400 units per year, with the farmers as the most important customer follow by sub-dealers. Interviews with 98 farmers were conducted for the evaluation of their second-hand tractor use for different farm operations. The average annual use of a second-hand tractor in the paddy farm was 765 hours and for the field crop farm, it was 234 hours. In the paddy farm, on average, 585 hours were used for water pumping, which is about 67% of the total annual use. In the field crop farm, the main activity was plowing for which the average annual use was 77 hours or 35% of total annual use.