Abstract

Agricultural productivity can only be increased today using advanced technology, in Mexico a forgotten technology for various reasons that go beyond the purpose of this work, is mechanical technology, i.e. agricultural mechanization, is a crucial input for agricultural production and one that has historically been neglected within the context of developing countries. Factors that reduce the availability of agricultural energy compromise the ability to grow enough land and have long been recognized as a source of poverty. By increasing the supply of energy to agriculture, more tasks can be done at the right time and larger areas can be grown to produce larger quantities of crops and conserve natural resources. Several authors conclude that agricultural mechanization is necessary to increase the productivity of crops, among others. For this reason present the trends and perspectives of agricultural mechanization in Mexico for the 21st century, the former being necessary for national agriculture to emerge from the lethargy it has been in during the last century, which has led the country to a state of food in security, which has been hidden by government agencies for years. It presents a great opportunity to detonate the agricultural and industrial sector by taking advantage of the conditions of lack of equipment and agricultural machinery for all agricultural processes, since the design and national manufacture of these goods would turn the country into an agricultural and industrial power, increasing employment and development of both sectors and reduce poverty.

KeyWords: Agriculture Tractorization; Harvester: Planter.

Agriculture in Mexico is currently a complex productive system, from small plots that cannot even be self-sufficient, due to multiple problems such as competition from imports of lower-priced agricultural products, lack of technology, among others, to large properties with use of high technology mainly exporters, going through a range of properties with different qualities of use of intermediate technologies, having the challenge of food security, although in the country is currently deteriorating due to large imports of basic products. In the national context, Mexico addresses some of these indicators - albeit in a dispersed manner - which prevents achieving a real impact in the agricultural sector. In the agri-food sector, it is a common initiative to increase the yield of crops by making production processes more efficient, applying inputs such as water, fertilizers and pest control; favoring prevention and not correction [1].

Agricultural productivity can only be increased today using advanced technology, in Mexico a forgotten technology for various reasons that go beyond the purpose of this work, is mechanical technology, i.e. agricultural mechanization.

Mechanization is a crucial input for agricultural production and one that has historically been neglected within the context of developing countries. Factors that reduce the availability of agricultural energy compromise the ability to grow enough land and have long been recognized as a source of poverty. By increasing the supply of energy to agriculture, more tasks can be done at the right time and larger areas can be grown to produce larger quantities of crops and conserve natural resources. The application of new environmentally friendly technologies allows farmers to produce crops more efficiently using less energy. Sustainable agricultural mechanization can also contribute significantly to the development of value chains and food systems, since it has the potential to make activities and functions of postharvest, processing and commercialization are more efficient, effective and friendly to the environment [2].

Several authors conclude that agricultural mechanization is necessary to increase the productivity of crops, among others [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] for this reason  present the trends and perspectives of agricultural mechanization in Mexico for the 21st century, the former being necessary for national agriculture to emerge from the lethargy it has been in during the last century, which has led the country to a state of food insecurity , which has been hidden by government agencies for years.

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The information sources for data collection were mainly the Eighth National Agricultural Census conducted by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI), and FAO estimates. To collect information searches on agricultural mechanization in the country were made in printed data bases and the Internet, of importers and distributors, scientific journals, professional thesis, newspaper articles, etc.

 

Mechanization and Agricultural Machinery in Mexico

Agricultural Mechanization

 

Definition: The agricultural mechanization is an instrument of management of agriculture. The change of level or type of mechanization or industrialization will produce an increase in crop yields, only if it is used by the producers to eliminate or reduce the specific limitations, in order to achieve the production potential of their resources. However, production is determined by many individual elements and by the way they interact. Mechanization is only one element of the set of inputs that determine production and generally, it is not possible to isolate the effect on said production and define it in quantitative terms. Mechanization is a development process that must be determined, mobilized, assigned and supported according to technical, economic, social, and political conditions and in line with national development objectives. Mechanization is part of the strategy to achieve development objectives and should not be confused with a national development policy [11].

 

In the country there are not many jobs on mechanization and agricultural machinery in Mexico only those of [12,8,13,14,15,16,17,18] although there have been mostly regional works in the state of Mexico [19,16,20,21,22,23,24,25] this situation being the main obstacle to agricultural mechanization in the country: centralization in the area of influence of agricultural research institutions located in Texcoco, Mexico.

 

Tractorization

 

From the study carried out by [15] on the tractor park in Mexico, it is concluded: the obsolete tractors per year are 14 905. The demand for tractor hours per year is 780 562 191.5

 

 

Figure 1: Stocks and linear trend of the Mexican tractor park 1991-2007. FAO Stats (2012).

 

Then considering an annual use of 1 000 hours the demand for tractors is 780 562. The estimated park for 2011 is 223 526. Thus, the deficit of tractors is 557 036 units. The current park tends to decrease in 4 905 tractors per year, despite the contributions, to continue this way by 2015 will have decreased by 100 000 tractors for what needs to be taken, so that the following measures would improve the tractor park in Mexico

 

Increase in the tractor park by around 20,000 units per year because only those that are obsolete are 15,000 so that there is a real increase since the trend is now the constant decrease of this, projecting a smaller amount to the 200,000 tractors for 2015.

 

Introduction of two wheels tractors and  small tractors appropriate to the size of agricultural property, to increase the productivity of these, it would be ideal that the used vehicles were of design and national production, although in principle it will start with import units.

 

Incentives for the manufacture of tractors and two wheel tractors of national technology, because this would cheapen the investments to increase the park of tractors and develop the industry of capital goods.

 

Incentives for the introduction and manufacture of attachment systems of implements to pick-up vehicles.

 

Mexico is a major exporter of tractors in the segment of medium power and a leader in the automotive industry, but the country has high levels of poverty with low productivity in agriculture. Mexico can be a leader in the manufacture of tractors in the segments of low power, harvesters and power tillers, if the manufacturing industry of these goods is not treated as a sector, rather is integrated into the auto sector. Mexico can reduce rural poverty by increasing productivity, by availability of low power tractors, tractor powered combines and power tillers at affordable prices [26] urgent measures in this regard.

 

Harvesters

 

In the systems of agricultural production the crop is the last operation that is carried out in the field, being this carried out of form by-hand ,by hand-mechanical and mechanical ,en this last one self-propelled teams they are used for the gathering of grains (cereals and oleaginous), cotton, cane of sugar, etc. For the crop of grains (corn, sunflower, wheat, etc.), specially designed bolsters are coupled (corn, sunflower, stripper), while it stops cotton and cane of sugar, teams are used with characteristic specific.The combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from the fact that it combines three separate operations, reaping, threshing, and winnowing, into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn (maize), soybeans and flax (linseed). Combine harvesters are one of the most economically important labor saving inventions, significantly reducing the fraction of the population that must be engaged in agriculture. [27].This highlights the importance of the combine for the success of agriculture and complexity involved for both its operation and its design and development. [28]. Being so is had few studies they are carried out on the park of harvesters in the world agriculture due to the previously exposed thing that is given priority to the study of the park of tractors, and in Mexico it is null the work in this sense. Mexico is from the close of AC Mexican factory in San Luis Potosi, in the late nineties net importer, since the distribution of transnational John Deere, Agco, CNH and Claas import them from other factories  in others countries. And in 2007 Mexico imported harvesters for 102 million   US dollars which US 76.6%, 7.6 in Germany, 5.8 in Brazil, and 10% other. John Deere being the leader in the Mexican market for combines [16].

 

 

Figure 2: Quadratic projection Park harvesters in Mexico according to FAO dates

 

In Mexico they have not made efforts to design and develop a national technology harvester, only exists the effort made by Shinichi Kondo for design rice harvester [29], others works are [30]. Designing a system for a combine threshing of grain Stripper type driven by the tractor [31] Design of a combing cylinder for a stripper type grain harvester, powered by tractor. Other works have been directed towards the design of a bean harvester [32, 33, 34, 35, 36]. México is from the closing of Allis Chalmers-Mexican factory net importer for importing combines  in 2007  the amount of 102 million US Dollars  of which the 76.6% OF United States, 7.6% in Germany, 5.8% in Brazil and 10% from other countries. The market for harvesters in Mexico is between 1000-1500 harvesting year.Being the market leader John Deere.The approximate cost of a secondhand harvester JD 9500 -120 000 US $ because the price of a new harvester is in around 400 000   US $, in the country most farmers can only buy second hand harvesters for a new price is too high, and the country can no longer rely machines used to harvest their crops. In India are used “Tractor-mounted” or “tractor-driven” combine, the combine is compact, making it suitable for farm fields that typically range in size from just 0.5 to 10 acres, and they are more economical than self-propelled harvester [37].The cost is 15 000 to 20 000 US $ without tractor and  $46,000 to $48,000 in U.S. dollars included  tractor. There is a high potential for these machines in Mexico since small properties are dominant in the country. The companies  combines manufacturers must take the opportunity manufacturing in Mexico ( self-propelled or tractor driven) Combines, because there customers and do not exist  factories providing the potential  market  and that the country has a global industry leader in auto parts manufacturing in addition to  the free trader export help.That being that the following measures would improve the park that combines in Mexico

 

Increased park-harvesters at around 20,000 units per year for only the remaining obsolete are 15000 so that there is a real increase 2. Introduction of suitable combines the size of agricultural property 3. Incentives for the development of national technology combines, as this would lower the investment to increase the park and develop the capital goods industry.

 

Planters

 

México imports 14 million pesos in seeders of which 53% is from the United States, 16.6% from France, 11.4 from Italy, 8.7 from Brazil, 5.5% from Spain and 4.7% from others countries. Donoso 2007. It is estimated that there is a market of Seeders of about 3,000 machines/year. About 1800 imported and another 1200 of national manufacture, of them 500 of Direct sowing approximately. Predominates the need for planter of coarse grain - conventional - and direct seeding of fine and coarse grain with fertilization. In Mexico, the production of seeders is mainly oriented to the domestic market, but sporadically they are exported. As in other markets, the segment of planters and agricultural implements has more local characteristics, with medium-sized manufacturers that also export and import [38].

 

Planters	Imports	Exports
2008	5541	96039
2007	15328	89262
2006	4718	119407
2005	4966	130412
2004	4030	72575
2003	2271	35974
2002	2296
2001	82206
2000	47993

 

Table 1: Imports, exports of planters from 2000 to 2008. Own elaboration with data from FAOstat.

Manufacture in the country- This is done without the participation of large brands, which is why Mexico should take advantage of this situation and develop the agricultural machinery industry in this sector, and strongly support the industries that are engaged in this, such as local manufacturers Of seeders that are 5 in the area of Bajío or center of the country, in addition to others in other regions of the country, among them produce about 1500 seeders of which a good amount are for Direct seeding. The seeders that produce are all of 3 points, those of coarse grain with mechanical distributor and pneumatic of national origin. They are of 2 and 4 furrows to 80 cm with robust construction, with distributor of fertilizer to the broadcast and located. The fine-grained ones are crawling. The design technology is rudimentary, but the product is adapted to the conditions of production of the Bajío and to the idiosyncrasy of the local producer [39].

Research on seeders

Also there are investigations in seeders made by different authors and institutions; in the Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomous University has given impetus to research in the evaluation system of metering precision seed allows monitoring the quality and efficiency of metering mechanisms for service industry agricultural machinery as well as facilitate the teaching and research systems varying doses of seeds, planting prescriptions changes [40].

It presents a great opportunity to detonate the agricultural and industrial sector by taking advantage of the conditions of lack of equipment and agricultural machinery for all agricultural processes, since the design and national manufacture of these goods would turn the country into an agricultural and industrial power, increasing employment and development of both sectors and reduce poverty.

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