抄録
An on-farm analysis of farm machinery and production cost was conducted to determine the mechanization status and financial viability of wetland, direct seeding paddy cultivation system. A mean mechanization index of 0.92 and a total machinery energy of 478 MJ/ha were recorded for the paddy cultivation in Malaysia. Highest mechanization index and machinery energy were obtained in the harvesting operation (0.99 and 337 MJ/ha), while the critical values were in chemical spraying operation (0.19 and 4 MJ/ha). Raising the mechanization index of spraying operation to 0.87 will lead to about 32% (6.89 h/ha) reduction in the total cultivation time. The benefit-cost ratios for an average farmer with and without government support within the block were respectively 1.37 and 1.68 at a mean yield of 7.63 tons/ha and mean total production cost of USD 2055/ha. This suggests that paddy farmers in the country will be in bad economic position in the absence of government support package due to low returns.
