The Choice of Technology in Strategies for Agricultural Development: Mechanical Innovations in East Africa

Johnston, B.F. (1979). The Choice of Technology in Strategies for Agricultural Development: Mechanical Innovations in East Africa. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-79-092

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Abstract

Agricultural innovations in low-income developing countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda must be capable of increasing productivity as well as employing a growing labor force. A major thesis of this paper is that animal-drawn implements have a strategic role to play in these countries. The choice between animal- and engine-powered implements is discussed and an attempt is made to point out the principal obstacles to the identification and diffusion of improved farm equipment. Section III of the paper emphasizes the problems involved in absorbing a rapidly increasing labor force into productive employment. In the concluding section, an attempt is made to apply "good policy analysis" to some of the more important and controversial issues that arise in the choice of technology for agricultural development.

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