Contract Farming, Farm Mechanization, and Agricultural Intensification:
The Case of Rice Farming in Cote d’Ivoire
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.
Report No.: | HIAS-E-54 |
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Author(s): | Yukichi Mano(a) Kazushi Takahashi(b) Keijiro Otsuka(c) |
Affiliation: | (a) Hitotsubashi University, Graduate School of Economics, Tokyo 186-8601, Japan (b) Sophia University, Faculty of Economics, Tokyo 102-8554, Japan (c) Kobe University, Graduate School of Economics, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan |
Issued Date: | September 2017 |
Keywords: | contract farming, rice production, tractor, farm mechanization, agricultural intensification, Green Revolution, sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d’Ivoire |
JEL: | N57, O12, O13, Q12, Q16, Q18 |
Links: | PDF, HERMES-IR, RePEc |