Effet de la mécanisation sur la productivité des exploitations agricoles dans le Bassin arachidier au Sénégal.

This study was carried out in the groundnut basin of Senegal, which is characterized by a cereal/legume rotation system in rainfed agriculture. It aimed to analyze the impact of equipment used on farms on crop yields. The methodology used is based on producer surveys and econometric analyses of the log-linear type. The results revealed an under-equipment of farms in the rainfed system. The current level of farm mechanization has a positive effect on land productivity, but yield increases are small and insignificant for groundnuts, millet and especially maize. The study showed that the current level of equipment on farms, even when doubled, does not conducive a significant increase in yields per hectare of the different crops in the groundnut basin. This study reinforces the argument that the optimization of farm equipment on farms plays a determining role in the expression of yield and ultimately in agricultural productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]