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Ethiopia's agricultural development strategies bypassed smallholder mechanisation for decades. Mechanisation returned to the policy agenda in 2013 but recent pro-mechanisation rhetoric lacks operational commitments. Based on primary and secondary data, this paper traces the policies and policy narratives that have led to low mechanisation, and finds that mechanisation was deprioritised on the grounds that Ethiopia is labour- and land-abundant, but short of capital. With policy encouraging multiple cropping, but farming vulnerable to climate change, the paper argues for the development of a market for mechanisation, including mechanisation service provision through private and cooperative agents, to enhance smallholder access to mechanisation and unleash human energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews agricultural mechanization and reduced tillage use in the context of sustainable intensification in developing country agriculture. The scoping review includes selected and contrasting cases – including Zimbabwe (manual systems), Bangladesh (2-wheel – single axle tractor systems), India (4-wheel – i.e. 2 axles tractor systems), Kazakhstan (mechanized systems) and Brazil (diverse systems). The expansion of reduced tillage appears strongly associated with the level of agricultural mechanization – facilitated by a number of common drivers and contextualized by the prevailing farm power and intensity of tillage. Soil conservation, timely planting and farm power savings in crop establishment are important drivers for the expansion of reduced tillage across the world, facilitated by conducive markets, institutional and policy environments and the integration of diverse actors to introduce, adapt and promote the necessary components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]