ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with searching for major generalizations regarding the cost and benefits generated by mechanization in agriculture for the main groups in society affected by it. It shows that the distribution of gains and losses varies a great deal from one technology to another, from one commodity industry to another, and from one socio-economic setting to another. What degree of competition exists in the various markets linking farmers to consumers? How well organized is labor at the various levels of the food chain? And, how equally are capital and other technological prerequisites distributed among potential adopters of the new technology? The answers to these questions may vary tremendously from one innovation to another. Because the answers to these questions may vary greatly, so also may the costs and benefits of mechanization in agriculture. Mechanization has done more than increase a farmer’s vulnerability to the market price of his output.
