Agricultural mechanization in Ecuador

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to characterize the current situation of agricultural mechanization in Ecuador, identifying the factors that limit its use in agriculture, mainly by small and medium farmers. This agricultural sector is little technically oriented with the exception of crops destined for export, which have adequate machinery and technology. According to the last National Agricultural Census realized in the year 2000, the country had 14,652 tractors, but there is not official information on the types of tractors and agricultural machinery at present. By means of the bibliographic analysis of the agriculture department databases, reports of crop performances, reports of other organizations, scientific articles and other bibliographic sources, it was determined that, at present, the operation of soil preparation is the most mechanized activity in the majority of the crops. Most of the small and medium farmers contract the services of soil preparation to informal contractors. The Ecuadorian agriculture is highly dependent on the import of agricultural machinery. China, Brazil, United States and Italy contributed more than 56% of the total of imports realized in 2017. An increasing trend in the machinery and technology used to stimulate the growth and the productivity of the sector has been observed. To carry out the strategy of agricultural mechanization, it is indispensable to qualify the producers, bearing in mind that 89.24% of them has not received training.

Año de publicación:

2019

Keywords:

Fuente:

scopus