Agripreneurial Models for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Bangladesh

Overwhelming majority of farm households in Bangladesh are smallholder. Purchasing all the agricultural machines for farm activities is beyond the reach and not rationale for them. Even, a smallholder farmer cannot utilize the full capacity of a small-sized machine. Micro agripreneurs (single) with one or two machines also cannot maintain their livelihoods on custom hiring business because of seasonal use of machines. Agripreneurs having machines for all farm activities under a single shed would provide all the necessary services to farmers on custom-hire basis and on the other hand able to maintain their livelihoods round the year. Organized farmers' group may also acquire agricultural machines and ensure farming services to her members. However, these agripreneurs (youth and adult farmers) are lacking knowledge and skill on operation and maintenance and custom hiring business of agricultural machinery. To address these issues, a study was conducted to compare the performance of single, single shed and farmers' group agripreneurship models for custom hire service provisions of agricultural machines. All three models are found beneficial for the agricultural machinery service receiving farmers. However, from the point of business model, single shed service point (S3P) is found more sustainable in terms of benefits and maintaining livelihoods of the agripreneurs round the year and ensure services to the farmers. Beyond service provisions to the farmers, the S3P is also acting as the center of awareness, knowledge, capacity building and networking for the potential agripreneurs, youth and adult, farmers, students, academicians, researchers, extension officers and policy makers. S3Ps are also promoting the operation and maintenance of agricultural machines, custom hiring business strategies, day to day accounting, business scheduling and sustainability of the business. Farmers' group agripreneurship is also found beneficial in terms of financial resource mobilization for having the machines and providing services to group members; however, management of operation and services are found lacking in motivation as the operator of the machines does not personally own them. Since, farmers are getting agricultural machinery services from the S3Ps hence they are adopting synchronize cultivation practice of crops- a key concern for sustainable agricultural mechanization for a country having fragmented land like Bangladesh. Considering the above mentioned situational analysis, it is imperative that the single shed service point (S3P) service model would have played an important role for strengthening agricultural mechanization in Bangladesh.