Determinants of Farm Mechanisation in Modern Agriculture: A Case Study of Burdwan Districts of West Bengal

摘要

Mechanisation of agriculture is an important factor promoting to higher output of the agricultural farm and thereby increasing the profitability of the farming practices. The mechanisation of farm is determined by a set of inter-related factors such as size of farm, irrigation, access to institutional credit, government extension support services, experience of the farmers. At present in West Bengal, the prevalence of small and marginal farmers in the agricultural scenario prevents them from exploiting the maximum benefits of the modern agricultural implements. Based on a primary field survey in the Burdwan district of the state of West Bengal in India, the study tries to identify and analyse the effects of factors such as irrigation, access to institutional credit, government extension support services and experience of the farmers on the level of farm mechanisation. Using the logit regression model the study reveals that the factors such as irrigation, access to institutional credit, size of land holdings etc., are found to have positive significant bearing on the level of farm mechanisation. The study also reveals that younger generation are more opt for farm mechanisation than the old block, i.e., age-old customs act as hindrance to mechanise the farming practices.