THE TRACTOR IMPACT IN THE RURAL AREA OF DISTRICT PESHAWAR

Transcription

1 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.25, No.3, 2009 THE TRACTOR IMPACT IN THE RURAL AREA OF DISTRICT PESHAWAR NAUSHAD KHAN*, SHAHZAD*, MUHAMMAD IDREES**, MUSAWAR SHAH***, AKHTAR ALI**** and NIAZ MUHAMMAD***** * Institute of Development Studies, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan ** Department of Agricultural Extension Education & Communication, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan *** Department of Rural Sociology, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan **** Rural Development Academy (PARD), Peshawar, Pakistan ***** Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan ABSTRACT The study was conducted with the aim to analyze the tractor impact in rural area of district Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan. The study was carried out in Feb Ten percent of the total population (1385) i.e. 138 households were selected through systematic random sampling. There were total 19 tractors in the research area (1.3%). The job of tractor is ploughing, leveling, threshing and transportation etc. Tractor has increased the income level of the tractor owners and has brought social and economic changes in the project area. Owners have changed their life style (62%) and living standard (53%). Majority of the owners (76%) send their children to private schools rather than government schools. People used tractors for carrying the dead body to graveyard (92%), in marriage procession (93%), for making of kacha roads (96%), for leveling village streets (93%) and for making bridges on rivers and canals on POL charges or on free(100%) basis in the project area. Tractor had played an important role in natural disaster and had facilitated the school going children, disable persons and women as well as who go to schools and nearby markets by tractor trolly (100%). Fifty three percent of the respondents called it an expensive and 47% of the respondents have no problem in purchasing a tractor. Finding of the study reveals that tractor installation has speed up the development activities not only in agriculture sector but also in other sector of the project area. Key Words: Tractor, Rural, Ploughing, Threshing. Citation: Khan, N., Shahzad, M. Idrees, M. Shah, A. Ali and N. Muhammad The tractor impact in the rural area of District Peshawar. Sarhad J. Agric. 25(3): INTRODUCTION Pakistan is basically an agricultural country and it's almost 70% of the economy is based on agriculture. Agriculture accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Pakistan s national income (GDP) and employs 44 per cent of its workforce. Agriculture also supplies raw material to Pakistan s Industries, notably textile industry the largest industrial sub-sector of the economy. Most importantly, 67% of country s population living in rural areas is directly or indirectly depend upon agriculture for their livelihood (Econonmic Survey Govt of Pakistan, 2005). Mechanization as a tool for modernization of agriculture has been well recognized. Mechanization generates greater cropping intensity and as such improves productivity. It also results in considerable saving of fodder and feed through a reduction in bullock population. Thus, a transition from subsistence farming to commercial farming can only be achieved through the transfer of the latest, most efficient and cost effective technology to the farming system. The efficient use of scarce agriculture resources and accelerated agriculture mechanization is, therefore vital and demand comprehensive strategic planning for the future. Presently, Tractors and agricultural equipments play a major role in mechanized farming instead of conventional way of ploughing lands. Due to shortage of water resources, high input prices of agricultural seeds and fertilizer, lack of research and development and having no advisory services to farmers, the total land utilization could not be significantly increased. In 1991 it was million hectare and till it was million hectare. Despite the fact, that tractor population has been increased over the last 10 years which is 500,000 today but in 2004, the number of total tractors in Pakistan was 401,663 i.e. Panjab 331,905, Sindh 36,245, Balochistan 9,244 and N.W.F.P. 24,269 (Census of Agricultural Machinery, 2004). The trac tor sale in the year 1999 was about 20,000 units whereas today it is 70,000 units per annum. State Bank of Pakistan finance the agriculture machinery and inputs with substantial allocation of mandatory funds for

2 Naushad Khan. The tractor impact in the rural area of district Peshawar 510 agricultural development and disbursement through commercial banks, Zarai Traqiatti Bank Limited ZTBL) and other financial institutions which enabled the farmers to get easy loans for purchase of agriculture Inputs.. At present there are two tractor companies in our country which are involved in manufacturing of indigenized tractor, A local company Millat Tractors Limited produces Massey Ferguson Tractors under franchise from AGCO and Al-Ghazi Tractors Limited which is an entity of a foreign UAE based Group Al-Futtaim purchased under privatization in 1992 and manufacturing Fiat New Holland tractors. The production capacity of each company is tractors per annum. Both the companies had failed to meet the supply against increasing demand and the limited capacity of production resulted into abnormal delay in deliveries to the farmers. Both the companies could deliver 49,500 units against the demand of 77,261 units in Approximately units are yet to be delivered which were booked with 100% advance payment and the farmers would have to wait for a minimum of 8 to 10 months for MF and months for Fiat to get the supply. The farmer, have not only to pay the markup to the banks till delivery but also have to bear the rental cost of tractor which they use to plough the lands during the period between booking and delivery. Both the companies are enjoying billions of rupees taken with advance bookings from the farmers and reinvesting their amount to earn profits over profits. Al-Ghazi Tractors Limited earns about two billion rupees profit per annum and the major share is taken out of the country by AI-Futtaim. They have also imposed condition of non-refundable advance money in case of delay in delivery; no markup is paid to the farmers. It is also worth mention that Al-Futtaim purchased AI-Ghazi under Privatization in 1992 in only 160 million rupees. Despite of earning billions of rupees they have no made any further investment for updating technology or expansion in plant capacity. In 1998, the then Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif offered support price to the tractor manufacturing companies in order to give relief to the farmers. Approximately 100,000/- PKR per unit price was reduced and waived off custom's duty and sales tax as compensation for the support price, it enabled both the companies to get the prices de-linked from the government and enjoyed all the previous concessions in duties and rebate of taxes. Taking undue advantage of the interim government both of them have increased prices of tractors approximately 100,000 PKR per unit with an average increase in Price by 22%. The increase in prices further add to the miseries for farmers as they would have to face difficulty in getting loans form banks due to their existing land limit and unit index price. The banks will also have to revise their limits and unit price of land to match the new prices. The local companies were allowed to import CBU tractors to fill the gap in demand and supply with the condition that they would establish tractor plant to manufacture tractors in Pakistan. Particularly, Dewan Group had acquired fully equipped tractor plant in 2004 with intent to manufacture Tumosan Tractors in collaboration with the Turkish Company and John Deere Tractors were being imported by Agro Tractors from China respectively. But meanwhile the vested interests exerted their influence and the then government introduced TBS (Tariff Based System) in year budget. By Implementation of TBS the new entrants have to achieve 90% localization of parts to avail the concession in custom duty and sales tax. Otherwise they will have to pay 35% custom duty on import of CKD components. It is pertinent to point out that Millat and AI-Ghazi has achieved this much deletion level in 40 years, which is not possible for any new entrant to achieve in just one year. Our neighboring country India has 10 major tractor manufacturing companies who are manufacturing over 300,000 tractors per annum and the government facilitates any foreign/local investor who likes to put up any industry in their country.two well-known local Groups had signed technical licensing agreement with renowned foreign companies for transfer of technology into Pakistan. Deletion program of Dewan Tractors is pending since two years for approval by the Government. Dewan Group has already completed all the requirements under SRO 656 (1) 2006 but the approval has been abnormally delayed due to unscrupulous objections raised by AGTL.. This is inherently self-evident. Success in agriculture means elimination of water-logging and salinity, judicious and economic use of water, maximum production, adequate use of fertilizer and pesticides and production of quality seeds and well-organized system of rural credit, elimination of the exploitation by the middle man, coordinated and harmonious arrangements of communication, good prices for the agriculture products, a suitable cropping pattern, a vigorous vigilance from the beginning to the end, from sowing to harvesting and from harvesting to distribution. During the period when the Hybrid Yield Varieties technology was being adopted in Pakistan there was also a rapid introduction of tractors. Tractors in Pakistan are being used on the agricultural farms for primary tillage, ploughing, sub-soiling, leveling, land reclamation, preparation of seed beds, sowing of seed, weeding operations, maintenance of irrigation channels, manuring and fertilizing, plant protection operations, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, crop marketing, storage of produce, construction and up keep of live-stock(tractor Industry and Budget 2008 Pakistan News Paper Daily).

3 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.25, No.3, Haider (1981) reported that there is a lot of demand of tractors in Pakistan from the big landlords as well as small farm owners. It is interesting to note that only the big landowners used to have tractors because only those could make optimum use of tractors and pay huge amount of its price. For example, the big landlords who own farms of 50 acres and above possess 75% of the tractors in the country and nearly 50% of tube wells. Of the small landholders, whose size of land-holdings is below 13 acres, own hardly four percent of tractors and five per cent of tube wells in Pakistan. But, now the awareness has emerged even among the small farmers regarding blessings of the tractor. They are demanding that the Government should make available tractor and their hiring services (Haider, 1981). Adoption of new technology and implementation of the necessary programmes are pre-requisites of technological change in agriculture. People in Pakistan are trying to adopt new equipments of modern agriculture technology, new seeds and fertilizer, insecticides and pesticides and it has helped in increasing production, which has direct impact on the socio-economic condition of the masses (Gene, 1983). Tractorization leads to increase in both production and employment; the net social returns from tractorization in Pakistan were negative. Nevertheless, the number of tractors in Pakistan continued to grow apace (Akmal, 1988). National Bank, New-Review (1991) concluded that investment in tractors is viable and has significant benefits for farmers, both in terms of income and employment in Madhya Pardesh.It is, no doubt, true that agricultural mechanization can raise yield per unit of labor and land. The problem is that the growing use of tractors in agriculture has frequently been labor displacing despite its advantages. The issue of farm mechanization in labor surplus economies has been controversial. Many seem to think that the introductions of modern technology like tractors and combine harvesters, despite increase. Kalima et al. (1994) found that 4 pairs of oxen could do the work of 1 tractor. But because the investment and operating costs of oxen are much lower than those of tractors, oxen can be 10 times more cost-effective than tractors. The move to animal tractorization brings other benefits to the rural sector: Zaffico hires oxen from farmers thus generating income for them. Research and development efforts on improving animal tractation technology are continuing. This includes the design of new implements for log skidding and ox-drawn transport. The specific objectives of the study were:-(i) to analyze tractor availability in the area, (ii) to measure the main socio-economic benefits of tractorization and (ii) to give suggestions and recommendation for further improvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS This section highlights the methodology used for analyzing the problem under study. The study was conducted in rural area of District Peshawar in Feb, 2008, in order to see the tractors availability and impacts in the project area. This study was based on primary data. And interview schedule was prepared in light of the objectives, to cover all the relevant information. Interview schedule was pre-tested and modified according to the feedback from the respondents. Due to time and financial constraints three villages Sarkhana, Shaghali Bala, Wazir Qilla were selected randomly. According to District Census Report 1998 Peshawar, the total households of the three villages were 1385.Out of total, 10% (138 households) were selected on the basis of systematic random sampling from the project area (Table-I).. Simple frequencies, percentages and means were estimated and SPSS pakage applied for analysis. Table I. Number of households and sample respondents in the study area Village Households size Sample size Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Wazir Qilla Total Source: Census Report 1998 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section deals with the results and discussion of the data, collected through interview schedule in the field survey regarding the social and economic benefits of tractorization in District Peshawar. The analysis focuses on the available number of tractors, problems in purchasing, increase in income after purchasing, agricultural uses, helping in purchasing, social and economic changes because of tractor and especially social benefits of tractorization such as carrying the dead body to graveyard, leveling of village street, use in natural disasters, use in making kacha

4 Naushad Khan. The tractor impact in the rural area of district Peshawar 512 roads, grinding of wheat and maize, pick and drop of school going children and suggestions and recommendation for further improvement. Tractor Owners Table II shows that there are 1385 households in the project area, 193 in Wazir Qilla, 465 in Sarkhana and 727 in Shaghali Bala. The table further shows that there are 19 tractor owners in the project area. Tractor owners in Wazir Qilla are 7 (3.6%), in Sarkhana are 5 (1%) and in Shaghali Bala are 7 (0.9). This means that 98.7% households have hired the tractor and manage 5 to 20 acres land easily. Therefore people don t want to give land on lease. Fourteen percent owner cum tenants indicated that they operated the land of their closed relatives under compulsion because, their relatives are either working abroad or they are government servants in other provinces. Table II. Tractor owners in the project area Village Households Number of Tractor Owner % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total Problems in Purchasing a Tractor by Owner Table III indicates that 53% of the respondents had a problem of money to purchase a tractor and 47% of the respondents had no problem in purchasing a tractor. Tractor owners also claimed that after purchasing a tractor they found a serious problem to purchase equipments such as plough, thresher, trolley, and blade etc. for tractors. Haider, (1981) also mentioned that due to small size landholding, the owners face financial problems in purchasing a tractor particularly its allied parts. Table III. Problems in purchasing a tractor by owner Village Number of Tractor Lack of Finance Total % Owner Yes % No % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total Land Increase after Purchasing Tractor Table IV depicts that there is no increase in the land with purchase of tractor. Eighty nine percent of the respondents stated that their land has not been increased with purchase of tractor because they did not have uncultivated land, while 11% of the respondents were of the view that they have uncultivated land but it was not more than 5 marlas which became cultivated with purchase of tractors. The results are not similar to the findings of Gene, (1983) that tractor has brought a mechanical change in the farming pattern by enlarging their operation to barren areas and thus to boost up the economies. Table IV. Land increase after purchasing tractor Village Increase Total Owner Total % Yes % No % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total

5 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.25, No.3, Tractor Influences in Agriculture Development Table V shows that all the respondents (100%) were of the view that tractors are mostly used for ploughing, threshing and leveling while 73% of the respondents stated that tractors are used for transportation too. The same report has been given by Akhtar (2004) that tractor is used for threshing, ploughing and for haulage of goods from villages to markets and agricultural inputs and non-farm requisites from towns to villages. The table further shows that 95% of the respondents in Wazir Qilla used their tractors for transportation. These results support the earlier findings of Akhtar, (2004) that tractor is used not only in ploughing the farms but also used in road construction, transportation of goods from farms to market etc.that government doesn t cooperate and there is red tapism and procedure is difficult. Similar findings were also identified by (Gene, 1983) that people in Pakistan are trying to adopt new equipments of modern technology like tractors to enhance farm productivity. Table V. Tractor influences in agriculture development in the project area Village Ploughing Leveling Threshing Transportation Yes % Yes % Yes % Yes % No % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total Social and Economic Benefits Brought By Tractorization in Project Area Table VI indicates that social change has also been occurred in the project area due to availability of tractor. All of the respondents expressed that income is increased by the use of tractor, 53% of the respondents were of the view that tractor has changed the living standard of the tractor owners as they have constucted new houses and guesthouses for themselves after purchasing tractors. Other dimension of tractor are; increased their expenses 20%, their life style 62% and sending their children to private schools 76%.The Table further shows that increase in social change of Wazir Qilla is more than Sarkhana and Shaghali Bala because of more and more tractors in Wazir Qilla. Gene, (1983) has also indicated similar direct impacts due to adoption of tractors, as the socio-economic conditions of the masses in other parts of Pakistan. Table VI. Social and economic benefits brought by tractor in project area Village Increase in Change in Change in Change in Sending income living pattern Consumption life style kids to school Yes % Yes % Yes % Yes % Yes % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Leveling of Village Streets by Tractor Table VII shows that all tractor owners in Wazir Qilla, 100% tractor owners in Sarkhana and 88% tractor owners in Shaghali Bala use their tractors for leveling village streets in the project area.. Akhtar, (2004) has also identified such activities like use of tractor in road construction in Pakistan. Table VII Leveling of Village Street by Tractorzatioi n Project Area Village Yes % No % Total % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total

6 Naushad Khan. The tractor impact in the rural area of district Peshawar 514 Tractor Utilization in Natural Disasters Table VIII reveals, that all of the respondents (100%) use their tractors in natural disasters in the project area. The respondents stressed that in such situation with out hesitation we try to reach the place in no time and to help the affected person. As the project area is situated between the two rivers, in summer particularly in June and July the water comes out of the river, creating problem of going from one village to another. In such terrible situation only tractor is a source for shifting of goods, thing and articles etc. They further added that in such situations our tractors are damaged but we get our tractors repaired on our own cost. These findings are in support to the findings of (Haider, 1981; and Akhtar, 2004). Table VIII. Tractor utilization in natural disasters in project area Illage Yes No Total % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total Use of Tractor in Construction of a Kacha Road Table IX indicates that tractors are used in contraction of kacha roads for easy access to market were (96%). As tere are no mattled roads, therefore katcha roads need repair after time. If it is ignore, it may cause a big damage for them and for their guests as well. They called it a combined problem of the three villages by tractors. (Akhtar, 2004) has given the same uses of tractor in Pakistan. Table IX. Use of tractor in construction of a kacha road Village Yes % No % Total % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total Use of Tractor in Grinding Wheat and Maize Table X shows that 24% of the respondents in the project area grind wheat and maize to make flour by tractor floor machine. (a flour machine which works with tractor poly), while 76% of the respondents do not make flour by tractor floor machine. The reason for not grinding or making flour of maize and wheat by tractor flour machine was availability of a lot of flour machines in the project area. That is why they don t want to purchase flour machine for tractors. The other thing which has been observed was that the tractor owners have their own flour machines in the project area. Table X. Use of tractor in grinding wheat and maize in project area Village Yes % No % Total % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total Pick and Drop of School Going Children Table XI shows that the children go to schools often by tractor trolley were 26%, while always by tractor trolley were 76%. The respondents further stated that they not only pick the community children from the roadsides but pick disable, elders and women of the community. No previous studies have indicated such activities. These are in contrast to (Akhtar, 2004; Haider, 1981; Gene, 1983; Akmal, 1988 and Sharma, 1989).

7 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.25, No.3, Table XI. Pick and drop of school going children in project area Village Often % Always % Total % Wazir Qilla Sarkhana Shaghali Bala Total CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The main focus of the study was to analyze the tractor impact in rural area of District Peshawar. The study shows that tractor plays a pivotal role in the cultivation of land and leveling, construction of school, Mosques, bridges, medical care center, kacha puca road, increasing income and consumption in the project area, cultivate the land, carry marriage procession, dead body to graveyard, children to school and their products to market for sale. It also brings self sufficiency in agriculture. It was also analyzed that without tractor rural development is difficult. Based on the findings of the study the following policy implications are recommended: i. Provide loan to the small farmers for purchasing tractor on easy installment ii. Introduce new Tractor Factories for supply of Tractors in project area iii. Increase loan number in the project area for tractor investment iv. Facilitates government Tractor workshop in the study area for repair of tractor v. Open branches of banks in the study area for multiplication of tractor vi. Give training to the masses to know how much tractor is beneficial for rural development. vii. Give training to the masses of self-help and self-reliance to increase their saving for tractor purchasing viii. Provide favorable environment in the project area for tractor multiplication REFFRENCES Akhtar, A General Agriculture. published by Muhammad Saleem, Lahore, Pakistan. 451p. Agric. Machinery Census,. Govt. of Pakistan, Statistic Div., Agric. Census Org. Akmal, H Strategic Issues in Pakistan s Economic Policy. Published by Sh. Raza Mehdi, Progressive Publishers, Zaildar Park, Ichhra, Lahore, Pakistan. 105p. Gene, F.S Technology and social change in rural areas. By Westview Press, Inc. Friderick A. Praeger, President and Publisher, USA. pp Haider, S.M J. Rural Dev. & Admin. XV. Pak. Acad. for Rural Dev. Peshawar. XV: Kalima, C., P. Starkey, E. Mweny and J. Stares Animal traction technology for logging in Zabia. Improving animal traction technology. Proc. 1st Workshop, Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA), Lusaka, Zambia, Jan pp National Bank Tractor financing in Raisen and Vidisha districts Madhya Pradesh: an ex-post evaluation study: summary and conclusions. New Review. Pakistan Economic Survey Govt. of Pakistan, Finance Div. Econ. Advisory Wing, Islamabad, pp.9/15. Sharma, R.K Green revolution and draught power : A case study of a village in West Uttar Pradesh. Livestock Economy of India, New Delhi. pp Tractor Industry and Budget Tractor Plant.

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