A Study on the Utilization Pattern of Farm Machinery and Farm Mechanization in Korea

Abstract

The objectives of this study is to measure the current status of farm mechanization and its investment by analyzing the results of a survey conducted in 1989 on farm machinery use and mechanized farming acreage.
Followings are summaries of the study.
1. Use of power tillers and binders are generally limited to own farming work. However, tractors, rice transplanters, and combines are utilized more intensively for custom work and joint utilization with neighboring farmers.
2. The number of tractors for each 100 farm households is 1.8 units rice transplanters 6.3 units and combines 1.9 units being equivalent to those of Japan in the early 1970s or, for the cases of rice transplanters and harvesters, of Taiwan in the early 1980 s.
3. Percentage of area worked by machine to the total farm area is 81.7% in powing and leveling, 66.3% in transplanting, 87.5% in pest and disease control, 62.1% in harvesting and 12.5% in drying.
Mechanization for rice transplanting harvesting and drying still remains relatively at a low level.
4. Expenditures for farm machinery and implements are about 10.2% of the total farm management expenditures (23.6% in Japan), and 13.2% of the total farm household asset to farm machinery and implement (29.4% in Japan) still reflecting a low level below that of Japan in 1970 s.