Browsing by Author "Blaker, Timothy Nigel"

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    Farm-level barriers to the adoption of precision agriculture technologies in the South African maize industry : variable rate application, section control, and guidance
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Blaker, Timothy Nigel; Greyling, Jan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Agricultural Economics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : This research focuses on the farm level barriers to precision agriculture, specifically guidance/auto-steer, section control, and variable-rate application. The research was focused on the summer rainfall maize producing areas of South Africa. The first objective was to identify adoption rates of PA technology in South Africa, the second objective of the study was to identify the farm level barriers, the third was to quantify the perceived benefits of these three forms of precision agriculture (PA) and the fourth was to establish how farmers manage their machine data and view privacy considerations. In response to the farm problem as the continual cost-price squeeze, farmers must continually strive to increase their productivity and reduce their input costs. A key component of the response by maize farmers to counteract the farm problem is the adoption of PA technologies. In my sample, the adoption rates were found to be at 65% for guidance, 51% for section control, and 49% for variable-rate application. This compares favourably to the international literature which estimates the aggregate adoption of these technologies at between 29% for VRA and 59% for guidance in maize production. However, the South African adoption rates still leave ample room for improvement especially amongst smaller farms that were underrepresented in this study. Concerning the drivers of adoption this study had inconclusive and, in some instances, contradictory results (e.g., age and education) relative to the international literature. However, I found that farmers who use PA technologies have the perception that the latter technology has clear benefits for productivity and efficiency. Concerning the farmers not using PA, responses were mixed to the extent that it created the impression that this subset of farmers is uninformed about the extent of the benefits and for some farmers the suitability of the technology given the computer literacy of their operators. The results from the surveys indicate that the perceived benefits of PA technology outweigh that of the farm-level barriers. Farmers should depreciate their capital cost over five to ten years, in terms of feasibility, instead of looking at the initial capital outlay. It is difficult to measure the efficiency improvements in terms of increased productivity and reduced driver fatigue, these variables although intangible, do play a big role in equipment management.