Examining the Role of Farm Mechanization in Enhancing Farmer's Income: A Panel Data Study of Rice and Wheat

The escalating wages due to labour scarcity in Indian agriculture is a major challenge in the way of enhancing farmer's income. One way of dealing with the rising labour issue is its substitution with the other power sources. Here, mechanization is a crucial input in increasing farmer's income by facilitating timely and precise farm operations, input use efficiency and thus increasing cropping intensity and farm productivity. In the present study, an attempt has been made to examine the level of mechanization in Indian agriculture and its impact on yield, cropping intensity and profitability. The time series regression shows that with every unit increase in farm power availability (kW/ha) there is an increase in productivity (t/ha) by 0.575 unit and in cropping intensity by 9.649 units. The panel data regression in paddy and wheat crop has revealed a positive impact of machine use on the profitability of both the crops.