Contract Farming, Farm Mechanization, and Agricultural intensification: The Case of Rice Farming in Cote d’Ivoire

Yukichi Mano, 裕吉 真野, Kazushi Takahashi and Keijiro Otsuka ()

No HIAS-E-54, Discussion paper series from Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University

Abstract: It is critically important to intensify farming systems by disseminating proper agronomic practices and promoting the increased application of inputs to raise agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the region’s public agricultural extension systems are weak, and their input and output markets often fail to function properly. Under these circumstances, contract farming (CF) is expected to be a promising way to overcome market imperfections by providing inputs, production training, and marketing services. We examine this possibility by analysing the case of rice production CF in Cote d’Ivoire. We find that CF did not lead to farming intensification, due mainly to the inadequate and uncertain provision of tractor services. Further analysis reveals a complementarity between tractor use and labour inputs, whereby tractor use in land preparation enhanced the adoption of input- and labour-intensive practices in subsequent farming activities, thereby increasing labour use and improving land productivity. The diffusion of tractors is thus likely to be key to the intensification of rice farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: contract farming; rice production; tractor; farm mechanization; agricultural intensification; Green Revolution; sub-Saharan Africa; Cote d’Ivoire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N57 O12 O13 Q12 Q16 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2017-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev and nep-eff
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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https://hermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp/hermes/ir/re/28827/070_hiasDP-E-54.pdf

Related works:
Working Paper: Contract Farming, Farm Mechanization, and Agricultural Intensification: The Case of Rice Farming in Cote d’Ivoire (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hit:hiasdp:hias-e-54

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