Agricultural Mechanization Assessment in Boroujerd County by Mechanization Evaluation Indices

This study aimed to investigate agricultural mechanization status by agricultural mechanization indices in Boroujerd County. Statistics and Data were collected by specially designed questionnaires, field surveys, and data received from Boroujerd Agricultural Jihad Management and National Meteorological Organization. In this research Degree, Level, Economic Efficiency, Ratio of Power Sources to cultivated area and stakeholder, Executive Power, Productivity Coefficient, and Capacity of Mechanization indices were investigated. Based on the obtained results, in terms of the degree of mechanization of the Boroujerd county, the degree of power-intensive operations e.g., primary tillage had the highest value compared to control-intensive operations. The level of mechanization was computed in two forms that are standard and real, and values of 1.41 hp per ha and 3.08 hp per ha were obtained respectively. Economic efficiency was determined to be 261630.35 ton per hp for standard and 119772.33 tons per hp for real forms. There are approximately 6 tractors and 8.08 cereal combine machines for a 100 ha of underplanted area in the region. Also, the results show that one tractor and one cereal combine machine belong to 8.8 and 915 Stakeholder respectively. Executive power potentially is 520797.42 ha and with regard to Real Executive power (32369 ha), the productivity coefficient is 6.21 percent. The capacity of mechanization for harvested cereal by combines and harvester machines is 7.50 and 17.82 hp per h per ha respectively, and 7.40 hp per h per ha for alpha and clover crops.
Introduction
Agriculture plays an essential role in providing the basic necessary needs of humans. The increase in population and the decrease in production resources indicate the need to change the attitude in different sectors of agriculture by producers, specialists, and decision-makers. In the first view of this change, agricultural mechanization appears as a general concept. In the first step, agricultural mechanization appears as a general concept. The role of mechanization is more than a principle and an input in agricultural production. The most comprehensive definition of agricultural mechanization says that: agricultural mechanization is the use of mechanical equipment and tools, and in more general terms, it is the use of modern technology in agriculture to increase productivity, and in other words, it is a way to achieve sustainable development. Agricultural mechanization has experienced different situations in Iran. A review of the process of agricultural mechanization in the country and looking at the current situation reveals the non-implementation of written programs, which is caused by hasty decisions and a lack of logical justification. The first step in order to improve the agricultural mechanization of any region is to recognize and analyze the current situation. There are defined comparative factors that are called indices. These indices describe the agricultural mechanization status in each region. There are several indices such as Degree, Level, and Capacity of Mechanization. In this research, Degree, Level, Economic Efficiency, Ratio of Power Sources to cultivated area and stakeholder, Executive Power, Productivity Coefficient, and Capacity of mechanization indices were investigated. The purpose of this research is to investigate the agricultural mechanization status in Borujerd County by calculating agricultural mechanization indices.
Materials and Methods
This research was conducted in Boroujerd County. There are 23000 ha of irrigated crops, 35000 ha of dryland crops, and more than 13000 ha of horticulture plants in this region. Necessary data were gathered by questionnaire, field survey, and data received from Boroujerd Agricultural Jihad Management and National Meteorological Organization. About 80% of the cultivated area is cereals and fodder plants (45.66% wheat and barley and 13.43% alfalfa and clover) and the share of other crops is insignificant. For this reason, this research is focused on the mechanization status of six important and major crops in the region, namely water wheat, dry wheat, water barley, dry barley, alfalfa, and clover. In this research, Degree, Level, Economic Efficiency, Ratio of Power Sources to cultivated area and stakeholder, Executive Power, Productivity Coefficient, and Capacity of mechanization indices were investigated.
Results and Discussion
Based on the obtained results, in terms of the degree of mechanization in Boroujerd County, the degree of power-intensive operations e.g., primary tillage had the highest value compared to control-intensive operations. The level of mechanization was computed in two forms, standard and real, and values of 1.41 hp per ha and 3.08 hp per ha were obtained respectively. Economic efficiency was determined to be 261630.35 and 119772.33 tons per ha for standard and real forms respectively. There are approximately 6 tractors and 8.08 cereal combine machines for 100 ha of cultivated area in the region. Also, the results show that one tractor and one cereal combine machine belong to 8.8 and 915 stakeholders respectively. Executive power potentially is 520797.42 ha and with regard to real executive power (32369 ha), the productivity coefficient is 6.21 percent. The capacity of mechanization for harvested cereal by combine and harvester machine is 7.50 and 17.82 hp per h per ha respectively, and 7.40 hp - h per ha for alpha and clover crop.
Conclusion
According to the results of this study, the following offers will be effective in improving mechanization evaluation indices in Borujerd County and other places with similar conditions:
 
- Observance of all necessary standards in the manufacture of agricultural machines and equipment by Producers
- Renovation of the agricultural machines and equipment
- Facilitating the conditions of receiving self-propelled machines and other equipment
- Supply of agricultural machines with various brands if there are suitable after-sales services.
- Timely provision of the machines and equipment
- Production of simpler machines and equipment that requires a lower level of technology
- Reducing the interest rate of bank facilities
- Preventing land fragmentation
- Teaching and explaining the need for mechanized agriculture instead of traditional agriculture
- Continuous and targeted training on the principle use of machines and equipment, including settings, time, and manner of use