Towards Agricultural Mechanization: A Road Map

for Tigrai Region

(Draft Outline for your comment)
Executive summary

I. Introduction

Agriculture continues to play a central role in economic development and to be a key

contributor to food and nutrition security. However, agriculture alone will not be sufficient to
address these issues that are so persistent in today’s world. It is becoming increasingly crucial
for policy makers to focus immediate attention on agro-industries. Because, agro-industrial
products offer much better prospects of growth than primary commodities so that leads to
production specialization, market orientation & requirements, and improve competitiveness.
To do so, the system should be shifted from traditional and fragmented production method to
mechanized agriculture. Bulky and perishable agricultural products would be managed
through agricultural mechanization thereby marketed domestically and/or in foreign markets.
Since marketing development and value addition systems are a key to sustainable
development of agriculture sector of a given country. Above all, the sustainability of
mechanization-based agriculture depends on the availability and coordination of actors and
supporting institutions (Figure 1). This can be achieved by establishing new agro-industries
which utilize agricultural product as a raw material, creating market linkage and build a trust
among the marketing actors and transferring the traditional marketing system to the value
chain approach. Development of value chain approach aimed at facilitate the building of
mutually beneficial links between smallholders and other chain actors, such as processors,
exporters and retailers that interact for the production and marketing of a given product
(World Bank, 2010), which stimulate economic growth and to increase the competitiveness
of the agricultural sector (Humphrey and Navas-Alemán, 2010; Staritz, 2012; and Stoian et
al., 2012).

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 Figure 1. Value chain framework

Mechanization in its broadest sense has great potential to increase productivity and improve
livelihoods, not only in primary agricultural production (both crop and livestock) but also

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along the value chain of that production. This includes post-harvest operations such as
storage and processing (shelling, milling and husking). It can also include food processing
from simple packing of fresh produce for supermarket chains to more industrial type
processing, for example of dairy products like yoghurt and ice-cream or juice extraction from
aloe (Aloe Vera). The value chain does not end with processing and packaging. There is still a
requirement for marketing and transport and it is in this latter category that mechanization
input suppliers may find a useful clientele that will allow them to expand their businesses
throughout the year. A well-functioning or developing value chain is one key to increasing
prosperity and reducing poverty as well as the creation of alternative (and often better paid)
jobs compared with subsistence, hand-hoe-powered, agricultural production. Mechanization
inputs are the drivers of this transformation process and public-private partnerships are
probably the best-bet option for making value chains work in all stakeholders’ interests
(FAO, 2007; and Breuer et al., 2015). Therefore, the application of farm power to appropriate
tools, implements and machines – farm mechanization – is an essential agricultural input,
which is not an end in itself, with the potential to transform rural families’ livelihoods by
facilitating increased output of higher value products while eliminating the drudgery
associated with human muscle-powered agricultural production. Such an improved situation
for smallholder farmers can enable access to input supply chains and integration in modern
food systems and thus provide for more income, renewed business opportunities and further
value addition (FAO, 2016; Breuer et al., 2015) though the levels of mechanization can be
differentiated in to human power-based, animal power-based and mechanical power-based
mechanization. The demand for agricultural mechanization depends on several factors, such
as; the intensity farming operations, market access for the agricultural products, labor market
situations, capacity to utilize machines, and availability of complementary technologies
(IFPRI, 2016). However, the benefits of mechanization also rely on the availability and the
use of other complementary inputs such as improved seeds, breed, feed, fertilizers and water.
Besides, sustainable agriculture intensification will succeed where there is sufficient supply
of farm machinery (Mrema et al., 2018);

Furthermore, mechanization along the agriculture value chain ranges from the most basic
hand tools to the most innovative technologies, that is, from the production to the processing
and marketing stages. If done in the right way, mechanization meet the needs of all actors in
the food system by improving efficiency and effectiveness at all stages of the value chain,
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being financially viable and generating new employment opportunities. Through innovative
processing techniques, mechanization can also unlock demand for nutritious foods, reduce
losses at the post-harvest stage, and improve food safety standards. Mechanization, if adapted
to local contexts and needs, can result in increased farm incomes, improved livelihoods for
smallholder farmers, and new employment opportunities, particularly for women, who
continue to dominate the informal food processing and trading sectors. As depicted in Figure
2 below, in addition to the mechanization benefits at agricultural production stage, it can
contribute significantly to the development of more efficient and inclusive food systems,
allowing post-harvest, processing, and marketing activities to become more effective and
sustainable. At the post-harvest level, good storage and drying technologies help reduce food
losses, improve food safety, and preserve the nutrient content of crops. This allows farmers to
store their produce and to negotiate better prices, while consumers have access to more
nutritious and varied foods throughout the year (MMP, 2018).

Figure 2. Adopted from Breuer et al. (2015)

Thus, mechanization increases value addition (post-harvest operations and primary and
secondary processing), as well as services to support agricultural mechanization
development. Given the widening array of mechanization options available, employment in
primary agricultural production is expected to decline, and this is a credit to the increasing
productivity of farming. However, it is argued that jobs are not actually “lost”, because
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 increasing agricultural productivity means that more jobs are created in secondary
employment related to agriculture, for example, in the agri-food value chain and machinery-
related services (IFPRI, 2016a). For instance, farmers produce raw materials for the food
market. Agro-industries add value to produce, and they are an essential component of the
value chain in modern economies. The development of small-scale processing industries in
rural communities would help add value close to the source of raw materials. As a result,
rural enterprises would grow to benefit the rural communities, initiating the path towards
commercialization of agriculture. This would reduce high levels of waste of fresh produce
and would encourage producers to participate in rural commercial economies. Therefore,
mechanization along the agricultural value chain contribute significantly to the development
of food systems, as it has the potential to render post-harvest, processing and marketing
activities and functions more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly (FAO, 2016).

Recently, the government of Ethiopia is pursuing a market-oriented agricultural

transformation approach to increase agricultural production and improve the livelihoods of
smallholders, which is reflected in its Growth and Transformation Plans (GTP). Fueled by
these new strategic directions, there is significant demand by value chain actors for technical
assistance, improved production technologies, business development services and linkages to
commercial agents along value chains (ILRI, 2014), which would be realized with the help of
agricultural mechanization. Because, agricultural mechanization along the value chain has
significant positive impact on livelihood creation, industrialization, and strengthening non-
agriculture based sectors of the economy. Therefore, it is imperative to alignment of
agricultural mechanization in to the strategic directions, particularly of the Tigray region.
This document is designed to develop a road map which guides the agricultural value chain
mechanization of Tigray region for selected agricultural commodities.

II. Purpose and scope

The ultimate goal of this road map is to align the agricultural mechanization value chain at
different levels and scales of operation with the regional agricultural transformation policies,
strategies and initiatives to enhance food security, agricultural production specialization for
commercialization, create non-agriculture-based employment opportunities and facilitate
agro-industrialization in Tigray region in the next twelve years. Since the national and
regional polices and strategies have been designed to support the vision to reach middle

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 income by 2025. This road map is focused on mechanization of crop value chain and
livestock feed value chain for household-based livestock businesses at all levels of farm size
and covers along the whole value chain in agricultural machinery supply and use. Re-
capacitating the agricultural mechanization research units to come up with machinery designs
and prototypes that fit to smallholders’ need and capacity to pay are important. Therefore,
this agricultural mechanization from value chain perspective starts from research and
development, manufacturing and importation, distribution and promotion, purchase and
usage, and after-sale service with the respective actors. In the meantime, this road map will
be the result of key public and private stakeholders’ consultation and extensive discussion
with bureau of agriculture and rural development of Tigray region and other concerned
bodies that are relevant for its execution.

III. Road map development approach/methodology

The road map is under progressive development jointly by Mekelle University (MU) and
Tigray institutes of policy and strategy (TIPS) through a series of strategic, systematic and
stakeholders consultation processes starting in June 2020. For this reason, extensive review of
relevant literature from existing reports published by local and international experts to
provide best practices and a baseline understanding of the agricultural value chain
mechanization of the agricultural sector; systematic interviews with experts and stakeholders,
including BoARD, ATA, research institutes, academia, and other development partners;
original research including qualitative and quantitative analysis, case studies; and key
stakeholders consultation workshop will be made in this sub-theme.

IV. Situation Analyses

1 Current state
1.1 International experience on agricultural mechanization and its policy/ strategy

1.1.5. Systems on agricultural mechanization value chain

The experiences in other continents and especially in the developing economies of Asia and
Latin America shown that agriculture has been transformed in recent years into a progressive
commercial industry. Investment in agricultural mechanization has enabled farmers to
intensify production and improve their quality of life as well as contributing to national and
local prosperity. In countries such as India, China, Brazil and Turkey, the rapid expansion in

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farm machinery demand has stimulated the growth of local machinery manufacture to the
point where these countries are now major producers and world leaders in farm machinery
exports. Much the same could happen in Africa, if African farmers could be helped to
intensify their farming through increasing levels of mechanization. This would lead to
improved land use, increased food production, enhanced rural prosperity and, on a national
scale, greater export potential and less reliance on imports. The move away from muscle
power towards tractors and engines for pumping and post-harvest operations has been much
more rapid in Asia and Latin America. Draught animal numbers in India and China are
falling dramatically (from a peak of > 100 million in both countries) and are being replaced
with 4-wheel tractor power; whereas in Bangladesh, draught animals have been replaced by
2-wheel tractors, which now perform 80% of land preparation (FAO, 2016).

Though, farm mechanization in India stands at about 40%-45%, which is still low when
compared to countries such as Brazil (75%) and China (57%). Operation-wise, the level of
mechanization varies for soil working and seed bed preparation, seeding and planting, plant
protection and irrigation; while the level of mechanization varies greatly by region. States in
the north have high level of mechanization due to the highly productive land in the region as
well as a declining labor force. The state governments in these states have also provided
timely support in promoting mechanization of farms. The western and southern states in the
country have a lower level of mechanization due to the smaller land holdings prevalent in
these regions as well as the land holding being more scattered. As a result, in many cases,
mechanization has been uneconomical leading to the lower development. In north-eastern
states, the level of mechanization is extremely low. The availability of abundant and cheap
labor in India has largely confined farm mechanization to tractors and power tillers. While
tractors and power tillers still outsell other farm equipment like paddy transplanters and
combine harvesters, the gap has closed in recent years. It is because of rural youth population
is migrating to cities in search of better paying jobs in services and factories. This is creating
a big market for specialized machineries, such as threshers, rotavator, transplanters, reapers,
zero till drills, laser levelers and power weeders. While the country produces a large volume
of tractors, it also exports tractor units to other countries across the world. India’s tractor
export markets primarily include African countries and Asian countries where soil and agro-
climatic conditions are similar to India. The major players in the market include, Mahindra &

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Mahindra, TAFE, VST, International Tractors, Force Motors and Escorts. However, if
compared, then utility wise, power tillers can perform a lot of functions just like tractors in
the fields. Tractors cannot till the land, cultivate crops, and are especially difficult to use in
smaller fields.

In India, domestic power tiller industry is government subsidy-driven and the extent of
subsidy can be higher for farmers belonging to economically backward households. Power
tillers are particularly useful in rice fields. China is the highest rice producing country in the
world, and Sifang and Dongfeng Motors are two of the main suppliers in the country. Next in
line is India, with companies like Crompton Greaves, Shrachi, VST and KOEL, Indonesia
(Quick Tractors, Yanmar), Vietnam (VEAM), Thailand (Siam Kubota), and Japan (Kubota,
Yanmar, Mitsubishi). The penetration of power tillers in India is higher in southern and
eastern India as compared to the others parts of the country on account of the small size of
land holdings per farmer in these respective regions. In fact, small land sizes and high cost of
labor, coupled with rising income levels in rural areas, provide a huge untapped opportunity
(ICFA, 2017).

Bangladesh recently has experienced fast growth in agricultural mechanization, with the
share of area cultivated by tractors and power tillers increasing from 30% in the mid-1990s to
90% in 2015, with power tillers being used on three-quarters of the mechanically cultivated
area. Moreover, agricultural machinery is not only used on large farms in Bangladesh, but has
spread among smallholders that own an average of 0.5 hectare of cropland. But, the rapid
growth in agricultural mechanization has primarily relied on imported machines rather than
domestic manufacture. Two-wheel tractors, such as power tillers, have transformed the
Bangladesh agricultural mechanization sector, particularly, the agricultural value chain
operations including tillage, harvesting, threshing, irrigation and transportation. In the
country, tillage, using both 2WT power tillers and small four-wheel tractors (4WT), is the
most mechanized activity – more than 95% of 2WT are used for tillage. Irrigation in the
country was rapidly mechanized when power tillers, imported from Japan, were introduced.
Although initially too costly for common farmers, since then the use of power tillers has
evolved from being used primarily for shallow tube-well irrigation purposes to increasingly
being used for tillage. In Bangladesh, actors from both public and private sectors are actively
engaged in the supply chain of agricultural machinery. The private sector meets the demand
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for machinery that is locally adapted for the farming systems in Bangladesh. While public
sector research organizations have been innovating and modifying existing machines, private
sector actors are involved in modifying the machines imported mainly from China and India.
For instance, some manufacturing industries are focused on developing the frames and
implements for power tillers, threshers, and other machinery, using imported engines from
China to power the machines. This has created an opportunity for users to purchase the
machines at cheaper prices than if all components were imported and provides them with
easy access to parts and services. There as many as fifteen manufacturers producing and
replicating a number of locally designed machines, there are numerous workshops which
support the mechanization process. Reports confirmed that around 40,000 small and medium
sized metal workshops around the country have been supporting the sector by producing
different non-precision machines (weeder, threshers etc.), supplying spare parts as well as
providing much needed repair and maintenance services (Ziauddin and Ahmed, 2010).
Importers of machines have been selling the products either through their designated outlets
(4WT) or through widely distributed dealers and retailer network (2WT and Diesel engines
mainly). It should be noted that local level spare parts manufacturers have been growing to
produce specific spare parts of 2WT, 4WT and for pumps. Commercial and SME banks have
also been providing financing for service providers as well as manufacturers and importers
(iDE, 2012).

The public sector can play a major role in supporting private sector initiatives in the
sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) area. Examples of support include funding for
market studies, public-private cooperation to innovate in the value chain, and programmes to
better link research institutions to the private sector (Sims and Josef, 2017). The public sector
has affected the scaling up of agricultural machinery in the country. Public sector research
institutions, particularly Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BADC) and to a lesser
extent the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), have done extensive research,
development and testing on machinery. Over the last 25 years, BADC and BRRI have
developed designs for over 30 types of agricultural machinery specifically designed for the
Bangladeshi environment. The institutions provide these designs to domestic manufacturers
for production, particularly small workshops and cottage industries. While the designs are
provided for free, machinery producers are required to sell them at a price which is fixed on a
cost-plus formula jointly determined in discussions among BADC, BARI, BRRI, machinery
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producers (mostly cottage level), and other stakeholders. Few of the publicly designed
machines have gone to scale or been widely adopted commercially. However, the adoption
rate is low due to the following reasons. First, the design approach is very top-down, driven
by experts’ opinions even though there is some feedback from farmers. This results in
machines that farmers often find difficult to use, despite iterative modifications based on
farmer feedback. This is reinforced by the fact that machines are usually fabricated out of cast
iron or steel because Bangladeshi production ability is not yet up to working in materials like
aluminum. While these materials are more durable, they are extremely heavy and difficult to
maneuver and transport in comparison to imported machinery from China, Thailand, and
India. Second, BADC’s demonstration and marketing efforts are very limited. BADC does its
own demos, often in the context of government of Bangladesh programs to improve
agricultural productivity, and also lends machines to local farmers. However, these efforts
neither ensure that there is a producer making and distributing the machines nor connect
interested buyers with producers or dealers. Even if farmers were interested, there is no easy
mechanism to buy the machines. Farmers receiving trial machinery are largely selected based
political connections or personal connections through friends and relatives.

Public sector subsidies for machinery have played an important role in mechanization
historically and are likely to do so in the current process. In 2014, the government of
Bangladesh instituted a new machinery subsidy program with subsidy levels set at 30 percent
of the purchase price. By the end of 2015 the subsidized machinery included seeders, four-
wheeled tractors, combines, threshers, rice transplanters, and SPRs. In principle, machinery is
selected for subsidies based on a demonstrated demand from farmers, i.e., subsidies are
demand-driven. Subsidized machinery must be approved by government of Bangladesh and
tested by BARI or BADC, then the manufacturers/importers themselves must apply for
approval as well. To be approved, companies need to demonstrate that they have a viable
network of dealers so that farmers can access machines. In the near future companies will be
required to train mechanics to ensure availability of repairs and after-sales servicing. At the
same time, the effects of public sector subsidies are constrained by the fact that the DAE only
offers a limited number of DAE subsidies based on budget constraints. Public sector
subsidies appear to cover a fraction of overall demand, let alone potential demand. As overall
demand grows, the share of purchases receiving subsidies is likely to shrink. In principle,
only poor farmers, defined as those having less than two acres of land, are eligible for
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subsidies. Often farmers with that little land lacked the means to buy a machine even at the
subsidized rate. However, it seems that the eligibility criteria are often not applied that the
majority of subsidies are allocated to friends, neighbors, and relatives of the DAE staff; and
applicants are required to pay a processing payment as part of their application, particularly if
they are not connected (USAID, 2016).

One of the most notable features of agricultural mechanization in Bangladesh is perhaps the
service selling system through which machine owners act as local service providers. This
service provision system is consistent with the landholding disaggregation as well as being
pro-poor. Poor farmers can access the service all around the country. Another important
aspect of agricultural mechanization is the growth of the non-farm sector which has acted as a
‘growth engine’ in the rural economy. It has been highlighted that most of the rural non-farm
sector developed because of agricultural mechanization i.e. rapid spread of irrigation
technologies for rice production, increased mechanization of tillage, growth of equipment
manufacturing, support services for farm equipment, increased trade in agricultural inputs,
increased cereal production and subsequent grain storing, trading, rice parboiling and milling
etc (iDE, 2012). To sum up, there are relatively few specific policies that have directly
contributed to the development of smallholder focused agricultural mechanization in
Bangladesh. Several government efforts indirectly encouraged this process, including
research, better land tenure systems, low or zero taxes on agricultural machinery imports, and
limited standardization or regulation being imposed on the firms involved. Little
standardization and regulation seems to have helped to encourage the growth in agricultural
mechanization, but at the risk of future problems emerging in the sector.

1.1.1.1 Human Resource Situation

In terms of human resource, all research staff involved in agricultural mechanization efforts
at BARI and BRRI seems to be well trained. Higher officials in the mechanization units of
these institutions display a good understanding of the needs of smallholder farmers for
mechanizing their farming operations, so these higher officials are contributing to bringing
useful mechanized farming technologies into the lives of smallholder farmers. In addition,
researchers are doing a great job in documenting the agricultural mechanization products that
have been developed and the quantities of such machinery in use in Bangladesh (USAID,
2016).

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 1.1.1.2 Research and Development, and Infrastructure

In Bangladesh, there are research institutes like Bangladesh Agricultural research institute
(BARI), Bangladesh Rice research institute (BRRI), Bangladesh sugarcane research institute
(BSRI), and universities do research on agricultural machinery development but these
organizations are not mandated to fabricate the machines for commercial use. The developed
machines from these organizations are given to private manufacturers for multiplication and
sales. But, unfortunately, many of the manufacturers produce inferior quality machines for
higher profit and the machines give a lot of troubles to the farmers. With this regard,
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
(BARI), Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute (BSRI) and Bangladesh Agricultural
University (BAU) are engaged in research and development of farm machineries and
technologies suitable for socio-economic and technological condition of Bangladeshi farmers.
In the meantime quite a good number of farm machinery has been developed in these
institutes. Some of the important machinery developed by different institutions is given
below.

BRRI - BRRI has developed 32 technologies out of which BRRI Rice-wheat thresher, BRRI
open drum thresher, BRRI weeder is widely used. A Few other promising machinery
developed by BRRI is winnower, BRRI USG applicator, BRRI prilled urea applicator, dryer,
improved oven and rice parboiling system. BRRI is trying to popularize this machinery
through different GOB funded projects. Research activities are going on to develop power
tiller mounted reaper, multi-crop seeder, etc. BARI - BARI has so far developed 25 farm
machinery and equipment. Out of these machinery and equipment, weeders, multi-crop
power thresher and maize shellers are widely used. Other machinery like power tiller
operated seeder, reaper, mango harvester, potato grader, and hot water treatment plant need
wide publicity to popularize them among the farmers and stakeholders. BSRI - BSRI has
developed some farm machinery for cultivation and processing of sugarcane and inter
cropping. These are mini hot water treatment plant, pedal operated bud chip cutter hand
operated bud chip cutter, power operated seed cutter. Research is going on for the
development of trencher, power weeder, harvester, etc. BAU - Farm Power and Machinery
Department of BAU developed some machinery and equipment such as: Neck harness,

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 improved animal drawn plough, manually operated seed drill, Orchard sprayer, BAU-ZIA
seed fertilizer distributor, Self-propelled BAU reaper, solar tunnel drier (Milon, 2015).

In Bangladesh, research and development was emphasized to improve the manual and animal
operated equipment to increase their capacity and efficiency. With the availability of engine
and power tiller at an affordable price, more emphasis was given on power operated
machinery. At the same time improvement of machinery was made after getting feedback
from farmers. Significant portion of 2-wheel tractor use was replaced by 4-wheel tractor; as a
result, research work was shifted, to some extent, to 4-wheel tractor. Under the National
Network, The National Research Institute, such as BRRI and BARI have established linkages
with a good number of manufacturers, capable of fabrication and manufacturing of
agricultural machineries. These private manufactures receive technical assistance i.e.
prototypes, drawings and expert services from the national research institutes mentioned
above. NGOs are also promoting machines by organizing landless farmers as a part of
poverty reduction campaigns. CIMMYT also supports mechanization in terms of
demonstration and training. Ministry of Agriculture has been taken to popularize the
machineries those have been tested in different locations of the country and found suitable for
specific socio-economic settings of the farming system. Therefore, in order to disseminate
mechanization and irrigation technologies, the Ministry of Agriculture suggested that an
Irrigation and Farm Machinery Wing under DAE may set up (MoA, 2006). Some specialized
projects funded by government of Bangladesh and Donor agencies have been designed to
provide special efforts for wider extension, adaptation and utilization some selected items of
farm machinery (Milon, 2015).

1.1.1.3 Business/rural enterprises situation

Agricultural mechanization and the opportunities it provides for sustainable intensified

production, value addition and agri-food value chain development, in addition to the inherent
opportunities for improved local economies and livelihoods (FAO, 2007). The establishment of
viable business enterprises, such as agri-processors and transport services, as a result of increased
agricultural mechanization in rural areas, is crucial for creating employment and income
opportunities and enhancing the demand for farm produce. Ideally, mechanization strategies are
designed in a way that enables social and economic progress, in particular of those living and
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working in rural economies, both on and off the farm. However, mechanization may well cause
an increase in rural unemployment. It is thus critical to not artificially pursue mechanization
when there is no actual demand, for example, in areas where there are no (seasonal) labor
shortages and to not subsidize machinery for large scale operations. Because, increasing
agricultural productivity means that more jobs are created in secondary employment related to
agriculture, for example, in the agri-food value chain and machinery-related services (IFPRI,
2016a).

1.2 Local experience on agricultural mechanization and its policy/ strategy

1.2.5. Systems on agricultural mechanization value chain

Crop production makes up 72% of the total agricultural GDP, whereas livestock accounts for
20% - largest in Africa. Cereals (such as wheat, maize, tef, sorghum, and millet), comprise
the biggest share of crop production as principal staples. In addition, vegetables, fruits, root
crops, pulses, oilseeds, and spices are grown widely. Coffee, sesame, fruits, vegetables,
honey and leather are among Ethiopia’s top exports though at minimal processing. Despite its
enormous potential, the Ethiopian agriculture sector remains constrained by certain
challenges. Of the 36 million hectare of agricultural land, only 13 million hectare is
cultivated. Over 90% of farmers are smallholders cultivating less than or equal to 1 hectare of
land. Farming techniques have changed little over the centuries, resulting low outputs &
vulnerable farmers (Figure 3).

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 Figure 3. Traditional farming technique in Tigray, Ethiopia

Therefore, the country is characterized by the use of traditional farming implements and
practices with very low energy requirements. All field and tillage operations among
smallholder farmers are conducted with very simple farm tools - mainly human and animal
power sources. Nowadays, the government of Ethiopia has given attention to intensify ag-
ricultural production as part of the Growth and Transformation plan as well as the greater
involvement of the private sector in agricultural mechanization. According to agricultural
mechanization forum Ethiopia technical report (2018), mechanization in Ethiopia is mainly
used for land preparation, threshing, and harvesting. It has the potential to increase labor
productivity and reduce harvest losses but is constrained by factors such as land
fragmentation, agro-ecological diversity, and topography. In recent years, agricultural
mechanization has been afforded greater focus to address both the small- and large-scale
farmers. Accordingly, a national mechanization strategy has been developed with special
emphasis to research and development, manufacturing and import, distribution and
promotion, and purchase and usage with a vision to raise the agricultural mechanization index
from 0.13 kw/ha to 1 kw/ha by 2025.

In recent years, the use of tractor farm technology owned by both public and private sectors
has increased as a substitute for draught oxen i.e. tractor use for ploughing, and there are
increasing in the number of tractors is primarily attributable to the growing number of foreign
private investors engaged in large-scale commercial agriculture in Ethiopia, mainly from
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China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Chinese involvement in Ethiopian agricultural development
found that China has strong ties to Ethiopia’s agricultural sector, through both public and
private sector investments. As a result, Chinese firms are opening agricultural machinery
factories in Ethiopia (MoA & ATA, 2014). Because, the sustainability of mechanization-
based agricultural value chain depend on the availability and strength of actors, supporting
institutions and enabling environment.

Today, both the public and the private sector are engaged in the agricultural technology
supply system, rental services, and tractor imports (ATA, 2018). Kahan et al. (2016) reported
that there are more than 12,500 four-wheel tractors in the country owned by both the private
and public sectors, translating to 4 four-wheel tractors for every 100 sq. km of arable land.
This steady increase in the number of tractors is primarily attributable to the growing number
of foreign private investors engaged in large-scale commercial agriculture in Ethiopia, mainly
from China, India, and Saudi Arabia. The country has about 4,100 two-wheel tractors. ME-
TEC, a government corporation owned by the Ministry of Defence, has imported 3,000 two-
wheel tractors. The rest are imported by private importers and dealers. Most tractors imported
by government and the private sector are not sold; demand is low due to lack of promotion,
demonstration, and affordability. Most imported two wheel tractors have been from China
and include Dongfeng and Sifang machines. The distribution of two wheel tractors in the
country is scattered and none is used for Conservation Agriculture. The government of
Ethiopia is aware of the need to intensify agricultural production as part of the Growth and
Transformation plan as well as the greater involvement of the private sector. The number of
farm and agricultural equipment/vehicles is on an increasing trend because farming and
agricultural production are applying modern tools and techniques. Tractors are now in use in
rural areas, mainly by commercial farmers and cooperative unions. One of the key elements
that made this possible is the government’s interest in involving the private sector in the farm
privatization process as well as government-led ‘mega’ projects such as sugarcane
production. A lot is expected from government to provide agricultural finance and leasing
facilities to smallholders. Notwithstanding these trends, there are a number of environmental
constraints that impinge on the adoption of two wheel tractors. Rural entrepreneurs and
farmers have poor access to effective forms of finance to purchase two wheel tractors and
their accessories. At policy level, imports of farm machinery are tax exempt if cleared within
six months, otherwise it appears a high tariff is imposed on imported agricultural machinery
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if it is not cleared within six months. However, spare parts for tractors are tax free when
imported together with the tractor machinery. The sector suffers inadequate supply of spare
parts and poor maintenance of tractors. There is little incentive to set up a local
manufacturing industry.

As part of it, in 2004, under regulation No. 97/2004, the Council of Ministers issued a
regulation for the establishment of Agricultural Mechanization Service Enterprise (AMSE).
The Enterprise was established with an initial capital of 20.5 Million ETB (US$750,000) with
multiple objectives to render agricultural mechanization services on rental basis, provide
maintenance services on rental basis, sale farm implements and spare parts manufactured
domestically or imported, provide transportation services to farm produce and farm inputs,
introduce the utilization of modern farm implements by being the transmission belt of
modern agricultural technology, provide training and consultation service on a better ad
effective utilization of farm machineries in consideration. By 2012, AMSE had about 70
tractors, operating four service centers across the country. Another element is a mobile
workshop that reaches even the most remote areas in Ethiopia to service the tractors. Most of
the tractors owned and operated by AMSE are medium-sized tractors with an engine capacity
between 80 and 120 horsepower (ATA, 2018). The centers not only provide heavy machines,
but also provide maintenance services on a rental basis. Further, they provide farm
implements and spare parts manufactured domestically or imported, offer transport services
of farm produce and farm inputs, introduce the utilization of modern farm implements, and
provide training and consultation services for a better and more effective utilization of farm
machinery (FACASI, 2015).

In addition to the government owned AMSE, there are also private companies importing
agricultural machineries (combine harvesters, large and small tractors, farm implements, etc.)
and providing rental services to smallholder farmers particularly in wheat based Arsi and
Bale highlands. Moreover, Adama Agricultural Machinery Industry (AAMI) tractor
assembling plant that has been transferred to Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC)
in 2010 assembles and manufactures tractors, water pumps and various agricultural combines
and products. This plant was able to assembly roughly 300 tractors per year, which accounted
for 46% of tractors entering the Ethiopian market between 2005 and 2010 (World Bank
2012a). Products from this corporation are used by government, farm unions, and state owned
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enterprises for agricultural, water irrigation, construction and transportation related projects.
AAMI also trains tractor operators and tractor pulled implements (www.metec.gov.et).
Private dealers like Ries Engineering, Motor and Engineering Company of Ethiopia
(MOENCO), Gadeb Engineering, CLAAS tractors, and Hagbes have expanded and are now
dominating the tractor sales market (Berhane et al., 2017). Further, some companies,
cooperatives and larger commercial farmers provide rental services to smallholder farmers.
Lume Adama Grain Farmers Cooperative Union provides rental access to tractors, seed and
grain cleaners, harvesting machinery, and transport trucks for its members and nonmembers.
In fact, rental agreements remain a key element of mechanization in Ethiopia, as almost 70%
of machinery-using farmers rely on them to plow their fields (World Bank, 2012). Mesfin
Industrial Engineering (MIE) also supplies tractors, particularly for sesame cultivation in
Tigray region.

In line with this, as part of its goals, ATA advocated agricultural mechanization along the
value chain and then introduced Mechanization Service Center (MSC) to create independent
agricultural mechanization centers which provide mechanization services to smallholder
farmers on a fee basis. Various types of machines available to agricultural mechanization
services across the whole value chain - land preparation, planting, harvesting, threshing and
transportation which provide not only fee based services to farmer but also training to
machine operators, maintenance of the machines themselves and spare parts. ATA continued
to support finance and facilities to establish centers in Tigray, Oromia, SNNP and Amhara
regions, and organize farmers in collaboration with MoA and international development
partners from Denmark and the Netherlands governments . For instance; works have been done
with malting companies to increase large volume of malt available for breweries, and in
foreign currency savings by reducing malt imports; and it has been reported that Teff
threshing machines reduced post-harvest Teff losses by 50%, but it cautioned lack of repair
service of the threshing machines (Fufa et al., 2012).

As part of mechanization of agricultural value chain, there are two improved seed
multiplication and marketing unions in Tigray region; namely Hadnet Raya union mainly
working on wheat and malt barley under 764.5 hectares of land for seed production at Enda-
Mekoni, Mekoni, and Ofla woredas (Figure 4); and Miebale Axum union working under 64
hectare of land for Teff seed production (Figure 5). Each of these two Unions were supported
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by ATA that includes but not limited to seed processing machine that was imported from
India with a cost of about ETB 5 million. The capacity of the machine is 250-300 quintals per
day. The areas where the machines are placed are not currently connected with electric grid to
avoid this problem and to use it as a standby in case of power shocks; ATA has provided
them with a generator with a capacity of 62kw/h with a cost of about 700,000 ETB.
Moreover, there is also one tractor that is provided by ATA Tigray branch for each of the
Unions. In addition, ATA is also closely working with the Unions to enhance their capacity.

Figure 4. Hadnet Raya Seed Processing Union

Figure 5. Axum Miebale Seed Processing Union

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 Furthermore, Ethiopian government is currently implementing two initiatives that are
expected to enhance the process of Agricultural Commercialization and Rural
Industrialization. First, promoting an Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC)
approach adopted from successful experiences of geographic approaches employed in Asian,
Latin American and other African countries, which aimed to integrate geographically
prioritized agricultural commodity value chains - which is owned and implemented in large
part by the Regional Bureaus of Agriculture. Second, integrated Agro-Industry Parks (IAIP)
establishments as epicenters for ACC, delineated for priority agricultural commodities that
are deemed important for export and domestic agro-industries. So far, 29 agricultural
commodities are proposed to align to 17 Agro-Industry Parks.

Figure 6. ACC and IAIP

These initiatives are aimed at increasing incomes of farming households; improving accesses
to domestic and international markets; increasing agro-processing and value addition;
creating off-farm employment opportunities; ultimately, hoping to create integrated
agriculture, agro-processing and industry in a geographically tailored manner. Although
many commodities (such as pulses, oilseeds, meat, and live animals) are exported with
minimal processing, the advent of carefully planned IAIP means that Ethiopia will soon earn
considerably more from value-added products. Therefore, the demand for technical
assistance, improved production technologies, business development services and linkages to
commercial agents along the value chains would be important; because value addition is only
possible with the help of mechanization. Besides, there are opportunities for the agricultural
sector to transform through mechanization with its large areas of underutilized arable land;
huge potential for tractor sales to cooperatives and farmers once they are aware for
mechanization; and the policy incentives towards agricultural mechanization machinery and
irrigation materials as depicted in Figure 7. Thus, alignment of the current regional
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agricultural value chain mechanization road map with the ACC & IAIP initiatives will help
smallholders thrive as they produce and sell at a commercial level.

Figure 7. Agricultural mechanization machinery and irrigation materials policy incentive

letter
1.2.1.1 Human Resource Situation

Agricultural engineers work across the mechanization value chain to design machinery at the
R&D stage and manufacture machinery at the manufacturing and assembly stages. There are
a limited number of agricultural engineers in the mechanization sector in Ethiopia. For
example, only 4% of EIAR’s 707 research staff specializes in mechanization, while the crop
and soil & water departments have 67% and 29% of research staff respectively (EIAR, 2014).
Local private sector companies also have some R&D capacity, but it is currently limited by a
perceived lack of demand and difficulty in accessing farmers. The government is the primary
driver of demand, with few companies having success at producing and distributing
implements locally. About half a dozen Higher Learning Institutes (HLI) offer programs in
agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia; this, combined with the perceived lack of demand is
the primary reason for the lack of agricultural engineering skills in the country today. Six of

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the thirty one public universities offer agricultural engineering and mechanization programs
at the first and second degree levels (MoE, 2010). Furthermore, a small number of students
are enrolled in these programs. In 2013, 208 undergraduates and 114 graduates were enrolled
in Agricultural Engineering and Agricultural Mechanization programs in Adama Science and
Technology University (ASTU), respectively. This only represents approximately 1% of the
total number of students enrolled at the university and 0.04% of the total students enrolled
nationally. A significantly lower number of students graduate from these programs and join
the workforce. Additionally, even fewer women sign up to these programs than men,
resulting in lower diversity in the R&D sector that is working to develop inclusive
technologies. The low matriculation and graduate rates at the university levels could be a
result of little to no explicit incentives to join the profession. These numbers are likely
insufficient to meet the current and growing demands of the agricultural mechanization
sector. Besides, regional TVETs in the country are the primary technical training arm of the
vocational education system and best equipped to provide the types of additional skill-
building needed to produce these types of implements. Hence, little efforts have been done to
promoted and publicized to build the capacity in industrial design, engineering and metal
work. Our institutes and colleges are expected to produce dynamic and responsive personnel
who can be good researchers, technologist and managers, but the current set up does not look
that they will fulfill these expectations (Friew, 2015). Therefore, a strong in-country base of
female and male agriculture engineers is imperative for a thriving agricultural mechanization
sector. Investing in building local agricultural technical capacity through enhanced
investment in education will enable the sector to innovate, and may even, in the long-term,
motivate foreign companies to contribute to the growth and development of a sustainable
mechanization sector. In the short-term, a pool of readily available agriculture engineers will
incentivize foreign private companies to enter the Ethiopian market. In particular, the barrier
to entry will be significantly lower; foreign private companies will not have to bring their
own manpower with them, rather they can readily hire in-country at a more economical cost.
Additionally, the curricula used to train on the relevant disciplines could be more targeted
towards the needs of the sector.

The African Union (AU, 2018) has identified agriculture and rural development as key
priority areas for which technical and vocational training and skill development are crucial.
Without these new skills, indigenous industries, including small-scale crop production, and
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 traditional and informal education and training systems will not adequately outgrowth
development. Unless increased attention to and investment in strong vocational training and
skill development at scale, African countries will be unable to harness the opportunities of
their rapidly increasing youth populations and those of a dynamic agriculture sector. The
mainstreaming of formal vocational training is needed to turn young people and farmers in
the food system into skilled entrepreneurs who can run their farms or businesses as
economical, productive, sustainable enterprises. It is essential in order to enable farms and
companies in the agro-processing sector to sustainably increase their level of productivity,
generate technical skills required to effectively link agriculture and food systems to industry
and services. Countries like Ethiopia have prioritized skill development and vocational
training for agriculture, and important lessons can be learned from such programs.

In Ethiopia, the mid-level training component of the Agricultural Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (ATVET) program was implemented in 2001/02. Its objective is to
produce mid-level skilled, competent, and motivated agricultural practitioners through the
provision of pre- and in-service training. This training is carried out in colleges distributed
over the regional states. The rapid expansion of ATVET over the last 10 years in Ethiopia has
resulted in an increase in the number of ATVET colleges to 25. There are five federal and 20
regional ATVET colleges. These colleges provide a three year training program to produce a
mid-level work force by admitting people who have completed a general education
(completing grade 10) in the Ethiopian education system. The training is composed of 30%
theory and 70% practice. The main areas of teaching are animal husbandry, animal health,
crop production, natural resources development and conservation, and cooperatives
development (Kirui & Kozicka, 2018). More than 22,000 agriculture extension officers
(3,000 female) were provided with ATVET skills for knowledge transfer to farmers; 2,400
Farmers Training Centers (FTCs) were provided with relevant infrastructure, and of these
1,840 were fully functional in 2013 (NEPCA, 2013).

1.2.1.2 Research and Development, and Infrastructure

Research and development (R&D) into mechanization includes both fundamental scientific research
and practical machine development and testing. However, both public and private underinvestment
in R&D remains a challenge in Africa, and to date only a few African countries have invested in
upgrading their R&D facilities. Bangladesh’s experience in agricultural mechanization, in particular
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its R&D in the use of mechanized technologies such as two-wheel tractors (Aboagye et al., 2016).
In most African countries, the public sector remains the key driver of scientific research, whereas
the private sector has traditionally focused on the development of new or improved technologies
and machines to increase its business activities. There are cases where the private sector contributes
to funding for scientific research that is carried out in universities or in national agriculture research
institutions. Nevertheless, there is a lot more that needs to be done by the private sector in working
more closely with research institutions, including universities and national research institutions, in
the development of machines and technologies that are appropriate to local contexts (MMP, 2018).

Agricultural mechanization research occurs through the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
(EIAR), which is responsible for the design, implementation and coordination of federal-level
agricultural research, and the Regional Agricultural Research Institutes (RARIs), which are
expected to conduct targeted research based on the various agro-ecologies to identify region-
specific needs and recommendations. EIAR and RARIs collectively form the National Agricultural
Research System (NARS) together they contribute and play an important role in developing and
disseminating research on agricultural best practices for Ethiopian smallholder farmers. In 2000, the
Agricultural Mechanization Research Directorate was established within EIAR. Parallel
restructuring also took place at the regional level and the major regions (with the exception of
SNNP) established their own research programs on mechanization, which are Mekelle
mechanization and rural energy research center under Tigray Agricultural Research Institute;
Assella, Bako, Jima and Fedis agricultural mechanization research centers under Oromia
Agricultural Research Institute; and Bahir Dar Mechanization and Food Science research center
under the Amhara Agricultural Research Institute. In addition to the public research institutes, the
contributions of private institutions such as Selam Vocational Training centers to the development
of agricultural mechanization technologies have been significant.

In terms of budget, Ethiopia spends 0.24% of its GDP on agriculture research, which is below the
1% target set by the African Union’s Executive Council in 2006. Many other African countries are
spending more than the suggested amount – for example, Botswana, South Africa, and Kenya are
spending 4.32%, 2.02%, and 1.3% respectively (World Bank, 2010; AASR, 2013). Of the limited
agricultural research budget Ethiopia does spend, it dedicates a large amount, more than 30% of its
agricultural research expenditure towards crop research (EIAR, 2014). Approximately only 2% was

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dedicated towards mechanization in the overall agricultural research spending budget over the past
three years. Additionally within the mechanization directorate of EIAR, much of the prioritization
for funding allocation does not go directly to R&D, but rather to assessment, evaluation and
promotion activities. Another key constraint is a lack of current spending dedicated to
mechanization R&D is not utilized effectively; the majority of the output is of relatively low
quality, and is not easily produced at scale (ATA, 2014). In addition to this, only a select few
prototype designs have made it out of the research system and are produced at scale. As a result of
its low resource allocation, Ethiopia’s agriculture R&D sector suffers from limited R&D
infrastructure and a lack of advanced equipment (EIAR, 2014; ATA, 2014). Specifically, Ethiopia’s
mechanization R&D infrastructure landscape lacks in a number of areas including R&D facilities
lack basic equipment and infrastructure such as basic field and laboratory instruments, workshop
facility and related tools and machineries, field and service vehicles. Additionally, there are a
limited number of testing sites which, in turn, limit technology testing across major agro-ecologies.
While progress has been made in recent years to improve the overall infrastructural landscape in
Ethiopia (road infrastructure for example), the country lags significantly relative to its peers.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2014 Competitiveness Index, Ethiopia is ranked 112 out
of 148 in terms of quality of overall infrastructure, lagging by a large margin behind Ghana and
Côte d’Ivoire (90 and 96 respectively). When looking specifically at R&D infrastructure indicators
such as the quality of scientific institutions and technology transfer, Ethiopia’s ranking is not much
better at 108 and 118, respectively, once again lagging behind comparable countries. Therefore,
strong R&D activity is critical, among other things, to develop, test and adapt technologies suitable
to Ethiopia. It is critical that the Government is made aware of the many social and economic
impact of investing in R&D and also be given direction on the R&D activities that will yield the
greatest impact.

Tigray Regional State, the Mekele Rural Technology Center was established in 1995. It was meant
to demonstrate, multiply and popularize technologies developed elsewhere. After 2004 this
department was established as an agricultural mechanization research center. The center since its
establishment has been focusing on pre-harvest, post-harvest, agro processing, biomass energy and
fuel saving technologies, alternative sources of energy and water lifting technologies. Since its
establishment the center has been promoting similar technologies to the Region like the other
regional research centers (Freiw, 2015).

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 1.2.1.3 Business/rural enterprises situation

If governments can develop clear strategies on how to attract and support Africa’s rural youth to
succeed in agriculture, the youth bulge can yield a powerful demographic dividend with tremendous
impact on African economies. Increased adoption of agricultural mechanization - especially
machines and technologies that are small, affordable, easy to maintain, and adapted to local
contexts, such as the two-wheel tractors, solar-powered cold storage facilities, and tunnel dryers -
could stimulate jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people in each segment of the
agriculture value chain (MMP, 2018). As of GIZ (2018), mechanizing farm operations does not
only improve the conditions of farming itself, but also - directly and indirectly - creates off-farm
employment opportunities in rural areas. Smallholder farmers do usually not own modern
agricultural machinery as it is too expensive and not profitable for a small plot of land. Often, so-
called mechanization service providers who own machines offer the service to smallholder farmers.
Agricultural mechanization service providers often operate on a seasonal basis, focusing on land
preparation (ploughing) and harvesting, which leads to temporal employment. Agricultural
mechanization also generates economic activities which occur after the farming operations.
Specifically through the use of combine harvesters, crop residues can be marketed as animal feeds,
for instance to cattle fatteners. Furthermore, animal husbandry (including dairy production) can be
expanded since the utilization of modern agricultural machinery substitutes the utilization of
livestock as draught animals. Increased crop productivity makes it more attractive for downstream
value chain actors to engage in a geographical area, when critical quantities (and qualities) of the
respective commodity can be sourced. Commodity traders (transportation services) and aggregators
(including warehouses) as well as processors (including packaging and marketing) can then
generate additional employment in the rural area.

Experiences from Ethiopia’s Arsi zone on-farm employment show that employing a full range of
on-farm mechanization through service providers can increase smallholders’ gross margins by up to
100% compared to the common technology of using draught animals. The report shows that the use
of improved inputs and modern mechanization seen as a business by the rural youth and
government employees, because mechanized farming is less labour-intensive and profitable. About
735 people are directly employed in agricultural mechanization service provisioning by 150
mechanization service provider enterprises that are operating in the Arsi zone; The hotels are fully

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booked during the ploughing and harvesting seasons; Initiative to establish fuelling station by a
service provider; Three wheat flour mills established during the last five years (which was attributed
to increased productivity through improved inputs and mechanization). Each mill is directly
employing 20-25 people; there is a total of 300 flour mills and 10 pasta factories in Ethiopia; People
are now generating income from cattle fattening since the cattle is no longer needed for ploughing.
When using combine harvesters, the crop residues can be sold as animal feeds (GIZ, 2016).

1.2.1.4 Institutional integration

2 End state
2.1 International Experience – Lessons from selected current state to be used as
Benchmark for Tigray

The journey to agricultural mechanization in Asia, Bangladesh in particular, for example, provide
interesting insights – in terms of experience, lessons learned and knowledge exchange – on how
Ethiopia, Tigray can mechanize its agricultural and food sectors. To this effect, if Ethiopian, Tigray
farmers in particular could be helped to intensify their farming through increasing levels of
mechanization, it would lead to improved land use, increased food production, enhanced rural
prosperity and, on a national scale, greater export potential and less reliance on imports.

Today Ethiopia is in a lower level stage of mechanization (less than 1 kw/ha) compared to
Bangladesh (1.83 kw/ha). This is in contrast to Ethiopia where mechanization started from planting,
harvesting, and threshing using larger, more expensive, and more complex 4WTs and combine
harvesters. There is a vibrant and committed private sector working in the agricultural machinery
sector in Bangladesh. Machinery importers are well organized and have networks established
throughout the country. This is in contrast to importers in Ethiopia that are located in the national
capitals and some regional cities, but with limited direct access to farmers. Importers in Bangladesh
provide after-sales services with warranties that help owners receive low-cost access to timely repair
services and spare parts in the early stage of ownership after their purchases. They respond to calls
for service from customers within 6 to 8 hours; while in Ethiopia, importers provide limited after-
sales services. A critical element in raising use of agricultural mechanization is to induce suppliers
to open sales and service centers in the major farming areas of the country. Some Bangladesh
importers also provide credit to buyers. Bangladesh importers and manufacturers promote the
benefits of mechanization and inform farmers on available mechanization equipment using
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signboards, street advertisements, and other advertising. The companies also collaborate with the
agricultural extension system. Similar collaboration between private agricultural machinery supply
firms and the agricultural extension system is needed in Ethiopia.

There is no public enterprise in Bangladesh to distribute or manufacture tractors. This is in contrast

to Ethiopia where there is one public tractor industry, Adama Tractor Industry that is engaged in
assembling tractors and manufacturing small scale irrigation pumps. The marketing strategy for the
Ethiopian tractor factory is not well studied, but it is clear that is not as well organized as those of
agricultural machinery firms operating in Bangladesh. Whether in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, major
growth in the manufacturing of agricultural machinery, if it occurs, will be led by private firms.
Thus, the private sector is far more active than the public sector in Bangladesh in addressing the
needs of farmers for mechanizing their agricultural activities. Mechanization in Bangladesh has
largely grown through increasing demand for machinery. The experience of Bangladesh suggests
that farmers have to be aware and convinced of the benefits of mechanization technologies. Local
demand has to be in place before agricultural machinery firms establish service providers and open
supply points in specific areas. Ethiopia must both strongly consider shifting the practice of
distribution of agricultural machinery to farmers through government programs to the private sector
for sustainability and efficient use of resources.

R&D activities for machinery design in Bangladesh are commendable, being focused primarily on
problem solving. Coordinating organizations for R&D, like BARC, enhance the role that
agricultural mechanization can play in the country. Such organizations are absent in Ethiopia.
Moreover, the level of mechanization research in Bangladesh has a longer history than what is seen
in Ethiopia. For example, Ethiopian scientists have engaged in agricultural mechanization research
for less than 25 years. It is important to develop a system, like that in Bangladesh that aligns and
coordinates agricultural mechanization research in a strategic manner with other agricultural
research. Agricultural engineers in Bangladesh also have designed and produced tools, like simple
maize shellers, that can particularly benefit female farmers who are often involved with post-harvest
processing.

In terms of employment, mechanization brings opportunities to the rural sector. One such
opportunity is employment creation in transporting, operating, repair, maintenance, and other
related services for agricultural machines. Educated youth can be retained in rural areas to work in
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the agricultural mechanization industry instead of migrating to urban centers. Youth and farmer
entrepreneurs can employ themselves in the provision of tillage and other services to farmers. This
can be replicated in Ethiopia with the proper selection of service providers, arrangements for loan
services, and proper awareness creation programs on the technologies that farmers can hire for their
crop operations.

To sum-up, the experience from Asian countries, particularly Bangladesh shows that public sector-
supported private sector mechanization is the best model for Ethiopia, Tigray in particular through
the development of public-private partnerships (PPP).

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