The Roles of Agroclimatic Similarity and Returns on Scale in the Demand for Mechanization: Insights From Northern Nigeria

IFPRI Discussion Paper 1692

47 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2018

See all articles by Hiroyuki Takeshima

Hiroyuki Takeshima

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Date Written: December 21, 2017

Abstract

Using farm household data from northern Nigeria as well as various spatial agroclimatic data, this study shows that the adoption of key mechanical technologies in Nigerian agriculture (animal traction, tractors, or both) has been high in areas that are more agroclimatically similar to the locations of agricultural research and development (R&D) stations, and this effect is heterogeneous, being particularly strong among relatively larger farms. Furthermore, such effects are likely to have been driven by the rise in returns on scale in the underlying production function caused by the adoption of these mechanical technologies. Agricultural mechanization, represented here as the switch from manual labor to animal traction and tractors, has been not only raising the average return on scale but also potentially magnifying the effects of productivity-enhancing public-sector R&D on spatial variations in agricultural productivity in countries like Nigeria.

Keywords: Nigeria, West Africa, Africa South of Sahara, Africa, Agricultural Mechanization, Agroclimatic Zones, Agricultural Productivity, Innovation Adoption, Animal Power, Tractors, Farm Size, Agroclimatic Similarity, Returns on Scale, Inverse Probability Weighting

Suggested Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki, The Roles of Agroclimatic Similarity and Returns on Scale in the Demand for Mechanization: Insights From Northern Nigeria (December 21, 2017). IFPRI Discussion Paper 1692, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3252725

Hiroyuki Takeshima (Contact Author)

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

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