Abstract

Author:

Sneha Sapkota, Srijana Shrestha, Ajay Kumar Yadav

Doi: 10.26480/magg.01.2025.30.37

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

This study assessed mini-tiller adoption in Palpa’s vegetable sub-sector, focusing on gender differences. A total of 60 households, including 35 adopters and 25 non-adopters, were surveyed using a simple random sampling method with a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed using MS Excel and the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program (Version 25.0). Farmers’ perceptions of production and marketing issues were ranked using a forced ranking scale, while a binary logit model was employed to identify factors influencing mini-tiller adoption. The study revealed that male-headed households were more likely to adopt mini-tillers (91.4%) than female-headed ones (8.6%). Subsidy (88.6%) and training (71.4%) played crucial roles in adoption at 1% and 5% significance levels, respectively. Decision-making in adopter households was predominantly male-led, especially regarding training participation (88.6%) and mini-tiller adoption (91.4%). Male adopters had greater access to land ownership (82.9%) and mechanization training (92%), both significant at 1% and 5% levels. Post-adoption effects included time savings (RII = 0.8) and increased efficiency per unit land (RII = 0.785). The major barriers for non-adopters were accessibility to heavy tractors (RII = 0.9167) for males and difficulty handling mini-tillers (RII = 0.7692) for females. The adoption model indicated that subsidy (p<0.01), landholding (p<0.10), and occupation in agriculture positively influenced adoption, while farming experience had a negative impact (p<0.05). These findings highlight the role of financial incentives, training, and gender dynamics in agricultural mechanization adoption. These findings can be used by policy makers, practitioners, PMAMP and concerned stakeholders to promote gender-inclusive programs, addressing post-adoption barriers, and accelerate agriculture mechanization.