Comparative Advantage of Tractor Utilization in Southeastern Oromia, Ethiopia.

Abstract This study analyzes the effect of tractorization on cropping intensity, crop yields, and adoption of major agricultural inputs, on human labor employment, determine the utilization and per-unit cost of tractor power according to the farm size, compare the different costs and profits for Draught animal power and Tractor operated farms according to the farm size. Data was collected from the stratified sample of 345 farmers from three purposively selected districts, Hexosa, Asasa, and Sinana, where the agricultural mechanization operations are becoming increasingly practiced. The Tobit model showed that wheat farmland size, tractor use, and labor for the adoption of the chemical fertilizers, land allocated for Wheatland and tractor use for the adoption of improved seed, and Age and total cultivated land for the adoption of agrochemicals affected positively and significantly. Tractorization has a positive and statistically significant effect on the adoption of chemical fertilizers and improved seed rate, except for the adoption of agrochemical applications. The average wheat production in all farms of tractor-operated farms was higher (34.67 qt ha-1) than other operated farms. There has been a reduction of total human labor employment to the extent of about 76 % on the tractor farms as compared to both the draught animal and mixed operated farms. The net income was higher on tractor-operated farms than both mixed and draught animal-operated farms. Therefore, the tractor-operated farms were economically more efficient than the draught animal power and mixed-operated farms especially in the case of farms of small and large farm sizes.