IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i9p3015-d165628.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Draft Animals, Farm Machines and Sustainable Agricultural Production: Insight from China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoshi Zhou

    (College of Economics & Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • Wanglin Ma

    (Department of Global Value Chains and Trade, Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, Christchurch, New Zealand)

  • Gucheng Li

    (College of Economics & Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China)

Abstract

Although draft animals have been playing an essential role in agricultural production worldwide, in recent decades there has been a trend towards replacing draft animals with farm machines. In the areas facing labour shortage due to rural-to-urban migration, the use of farm machines is especially expected to enhance agricultural production and productivity. However, little is known about the extent to which the farm machine use substitutes draft animal use and how the two production activities jointly affect agricultural performance. To fill this gap, this paper attempts to examine the long-run and short-run effects of farm machine use on draft animal use using a pooled mean group estimator, and to estimate the joint effects of farm machine use and draft animal use on agricultural productivity using a panel production function model. The empirical results show that a 1% increase in farm machine use rate tends to decrease draft animal use by 2.82% in the long-run, but it does not have a statistically significant impact on draft animal use in the short-run. In addition, we find that output elasticity of farm machine use has increased from −0.161 in 1978 to 0.170 in 2012, while that of draft animal use has decreased from 0.185 to −0.129 over the same time period. Our findings highlight the importance of government’s efforts in promoting an agricultural transition from animal power to machine power in order to increase sustainable agricultural production.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoshi Zhou & Wanglin Ma & Gucheng Li, 2018. "Draft Animals, Farm Machines and Sustainable Agricultural Production: Insight from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3015-:d:165628
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3015/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3015/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Xiaobo & Yang, Jin & Wang, Shenglin, 2011. "China has reached the Lewis turning point," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 542-554.
    2. Qiao, Fangbin, 2017. "Increasing wage, mechanization, and agriculture production in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 249-260.
    3. Wanglin Ma & Alan Renwick & Quentin Grafton, 2018. "Farm machinery use, off†farm employment and farm performance in China," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 62(2), pages 279-298, April.
    4. Hiroyuki Takeshima & Alejandro Nin—Pratt & Xinshen Diao, 2013. "Mechanization and Agricultural Technology Evolution, Agricultural Intensification in Sub-Saharan Africa: Typology of Agricultural Mechanization in Nigeria," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1230-1236.
    5. Jin Yang & Zuhui Huang & Xiaobo Zhang & Thomas Reardon, 2013. "The Rapid Rise of Cross-Regional Agricultural Mechanization Services in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1245-1251.
    6. William K. Jaeger & Peter J. Matlon, 1990. "Utilization, Profitability, and the Adoption of Animal Draft Power in West Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 72(1), pages 35-48.
    7. Pedroni, Peter, 2004. "Panel Cointegration: Asymptotic And Finite Sample Properties Of Pooled Time Series Tests With An Application To The Ppp Hypothesis," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 597-625, June.
    8. Edward F. Blackburne III & Mark W. Frank, 2007. "Estimation of nonstationary heterogeneous panels," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(2), pages 197-208, June.
    9. Mari Kangasniemi & Matilde Mas & Catherine Robinson & Lorenzo Serrano, 2012. "The economic impact of migration: productivity analysis for Spain and the UK," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 333-343, December.
    10. Joakim Westerlund, 2007. "Testing for Error Correction in Panel Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(6), pages 709-748, December.
    11. Fantu Bachewe & Derek Headey, 2017. "Urban Wage Behaviour and Food Price Inflation in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(8), pages 1207-1222, August.
    12. Diao, Xinshen & Cossar, Frances & Houssou, Nazaire & Kolavalli, Shashidhara, 2014. "Mechanization in Ghana: Emerging demand, and the search for alternative supply models," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 168-181.
    13. Kangasniemi, Mari & Mas, Matilde & Robinson, Catherine & Serrano, Lorenzo, 2009. "The Economic Impact of Migration: Productivity Analysis for Spain and the United Kingdom," MPRA Paper 17212, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Wanglin Ma & Awudu Abdulai & Chunbo Ma, 2018. "The effects of off†farm work on fertilizer and pesticide expenditures in China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 573-591, May.
    15. Awudu Abdulai & Hendrik Tietje, 2007. "Estimating technical efficiency under unobserved heterogeneity with stochastic frontier models: application to northern German dairy farms," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 34(3), pages 393-416, September.
    16. Shenggen Fan, 1991. "Effects of Technological Change and Institutional Reform on Production Growth in Chinese Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(2), pages 266-275.
    17. Wanglin Ma & Awudu Abdulai & Renan Goetz, 2018. "Agricultural Cooperatives and Investment in Organic Soil Amendments and Chemical Fertilizer in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(2), pages 502-520.
    18. Kyle Kauffman, 2000. "Economic factors in the choice of an early form of capital: draught animals in early twentieth century South Africa," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 69-71.
    19. Laure Latruffe & Boris E. Bravo-Ureta & Alain Carpentier & Yann Desjeux & Víctor H. Moreira, 2017. "Subsidies and Technical Efficiency in Agriculture: Evidence from European Dairy Farms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 783-799.
    20. Ji, Yueqing & Yu, Xiaohua & Zhong, Funing, 2012. "Machinery investment decision and off-farm employment in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 71-80.
    21. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    22. Xiaobing Wang & Futoshi Yamauchi & Jikun Huang, 2016. "Rising wages, mechanization, and the substitution between capital and labor: evidence from small scale farm system in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(3), pages 309-317, May.
    23. Pingali, Prabhu, 2007. "Agricultural Mechanization: Adoption Patterns and Economic Impact," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: Robert Evenson & Prabhu Pingali (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 54, pages 2779-2805, Elsevier.
    24. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2016. "Rising real wages, mechanization and growing advantage of large farms: Evidence from Indonesia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 62-69.
    25. Samuel Benin, 2015. "Impact of Ghana's agricultural mechanization services center program," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(S1), pages 103-117, November.
    26. Ahmed, Mansur & Goodwin, Barry, "undated". "Agricultural Mechanization and Non-Farm Labor Supply of Farm Households: Evidence from Bangladesh," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236131, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    27. Binswanger, Hans, 1986. "Agricultural Mechanization: A Comparative Historical Perspective," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 1(1), pages 27-56, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhou, Xiaoshi & Ma, Wanglin, 2021. "Effects of Agricultural Mechanization on Land Productivity: Evidence from China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315143, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Jing Zhang & Jianhua Wang & Xiaoshi Zhou, 2019. "Farm Machine Use and Pesticide Expenditure in Maize Production: Health and Environment Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-13, May.
    3. Xiaoshi Zhou & Wanglin Ma & Gucheng Li & Huanguang Qiu, 2020. "Farm machinery use and maize yields in China: an analysis accounting for selection bias and heterogeneity," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(4), pages 1282-1307, October.
    4. Ahmad Bathaei & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2023. "A Systematic Review of Agricultural Sustainability Indicators," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Edinam Dope Setsoafia & Wanglin Ma & Alan Renwick, 2022. "Effects of sustainable agricultural practices on farm income and food security in northern Ghana," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xi Yu & Xiyang Yin & Yuying Liu & Dongmei Li, 2021. "Do Agricultural Machinery Services Facilitate Land Transfer? Evidence from Rice Farmers in Sichuan Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    2. Zhou, Xiaoshi & Ma, Wanglin, 2021. "Effects of Agricultural Mechanization on Land Productivity: Evidence from China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315143, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Idelphonse O. Saliou & Afio Zannou & Augustin K. N. Aoudji & Albert N. Honlonkou, 2020. "Drivers of Mechanization in Cotton Production in Benin, West Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Qian, Long & Lu, Hua & Gao, Qiang & Lu, Hualiang, 2022. "Household-owned farm machinery vs. outsourced machinery services: The impact of agricultural mechanization on the land leasing behavior of relatively large-scale farmers in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    5. Yu Xu & Liangjie Xin & Xiubin Li & Minghong Tan & Yahui Wang, 2019. "Exploring a Moderate Operation Scale in China’s Grain Production: A Perspective on the Costs of Machinery Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Jing Zhang & Jianhua Wang & Xiaoshi Zhou, 2019. "Farm Machine Use and Pesticide Expenditure in Maize Production: Health and Environment Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-13, May.
    7. Zhoufu Yan & Shurui Zhang & Fangwei Wu & Binlei Gong, 2023. "Increasing Wages, Factor Substitution, and Cropping Pattern Changes in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 31(5), pages 190-214, September.
    8. Paudel, Gokul P. & KC, Dilli Bahadur & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Justice, Scott E. & McDonald, Andrew J., 2019. "Scale-appropriate mechanization impacts on productivity among smallholders: Evidence from rice systems in the mid-hills of Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 104-113.
    9. Siyu Yang & Wei Li, 2023. "The Impact of Socialized Agricultural Machinery Services on the Labor Transfer of Maize Growers," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Yuxin Cui, 2023. "Mechanization's impact on agricultural total factor productivity," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 69(11), pages 446-457.
    11. Fangbin Qiao, 2020. "The Impact of Agricultural Service on Grain Production in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Belton, Ben & Win, Myat Thida & Zhang, Xiaobo & Filipski, Mateusz, 2021. "The rapid rise of agricultural mechanization in Myanmar," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Thomas Daum & Filippo Capezzone & Regina Birner, 2021. "Using smartphone app collected data to explore the link between mechanization and intra-household allocation of time in Zambia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(2), pages 411-429, June.
    14. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Cigdem Borke Tunali, 2020. "The Sustainability of External Imbalances in the European Periphery," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 273-294, April.
    15. Gautam, Tej K. & Paudel, Krishna P., 2018. "The demand for natural gas in the Northeastern United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 890-898.
    16. Aryal, Jeetendra Prakash & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Thapa, Ganesh & Simtowe, Franklin, 2021. "Mechanisation of small-scale farms in South Asia: Empirical evidence derived from farm households survey," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Yukichi Mano & Kazushi Takahashi & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Mechanization in land preparation and agricultural intensification: The case of rice farming in the Cote d'Ivoire," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 899-908, November.
    18. Khan, Zeeshan & Haouas, Ilham & Trinh, Hai Hong & Badeeb, Ramez Abubakr & Zhang, Changyong, 2023. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty nexus in the era of globalization: Role of composite risk index and energy investment in emerging economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 382-399.
    19. Paudel, Gokul P. & KC, Dilli Bahadur & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Khanal, Narayan P. & Justice, Scott E. & McDonald, Andrew J., 2019. "Smallholder farmers' willingness to pay for scale-appropriate farm mechanization: Evidence from the mid-hills of Nepal," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    20. Dorothée Charlier & Florian Fizaine, 2020. "Does Becoming Richer Lead to a Reduction in Natural Resource Consumption? An Empirical Refutation of the Kuznets Material Curve," Working Papers 2020.05, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3015-:d:165628. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.