Mapping Effectiveness: Farm Mechanization Initiatives by Lumbini Province of Nepal (Fiscal Year 2018/19)

An effective farm mechanization program should increase crop production and be profitable to the benefitting households. Increasing labor shortages and decreasing animal draft power in agriculture demanded farm mechanization to increase food productivity in Nepal. To increase crop yield, the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperative (MOLMAC) of Lumbini Province in Nepal distributed 1994 subsidized tools and machinery in Fiscal Year 2018. The farm mechanization program by the government was an ambitious program and was implemented without research to address the actual need of the geography. However, the program had a positive impact on the community. It is found that by using machines agricultural work became quicker, and easier through an increase in profit of 3.65 times to the direct program beneficiaries. Finally, the study concluded that MOLMAC’s farm mechanization program has had a positive impact on technology transfer and was an effective initiative