Increasing utilisation of government-assisted agricultural machinery for rice planting areas

Abstract

From 2015 to 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture distributed massive machinery assistance with one of the aims was to increase the planting area. However, several studies have shown that the usefulness of government-assisted agricultural machinery is not optimal. This study analyses the utilisation efficiency level of government-assisted agriculture machinery on the increase in rice planting areas. Using stochastic frontier analysis and provincial-level data, this study analysed rice planting areas (2018-2021) and machinery assistance (2017-2020). The results reveal that the national rice planting area is not technically efficient (0.52), with variations across provinces, while the potential exists to increase efficiency by 48%. Water pumps and the number of beneficiary groups significantly affect the technical efficiency. Other machinery types were not statistically significant, potentially because of program concentration in high-density areas. Additional challenges include limited access to repair facilities and spare parts, unskilled operators, and weak management capacity within beneficiary groups. To improve utilisation, central and regional governments should prioritise lower-density areas for machinery distribution, implement support programs for machinery maintenance, provide training programs for operators, and provide technical guidance to managers. By addressing these factors, the program can contribute more effectively to expanding rice-planting areas in Indonesia.