The impact of agricultural mechanisation on production and employment in rice areas of West Java

Agricultural mechanisation is beginning to bring far reaching changes in the farming structure and institutions of Indonesia. The authors use three different methods to analyse the effects of mechanisation on production and labour use in rice areas of West Java. According to their findings, on a per hectare basis, mechanised farms used more fertiliser, less pesticide and less labour, and obtained higher yields. The yield differences between mechanised and non-mechanised farms are primarily due to these other factors rather than to any mechanisation effects per se. (DÜI-Sen)