THE EFFECT OF OXEN ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND FARM INCOME IN NICARAGUA

• Main Authors: Pablo A. Garcia-Fuentes, Yoshi Fukasawa, Edgar A. Martinez Rodriguez, Conney Vargas, Rodrigo Mireles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics 2018-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics
• Subjects: Agricultural productivity; Farm income; Oxen; Nicaragua
• Online Access: http://www.foodandagriculturejournal.com/Vol6.No4.pp21.pdf

This study1 uses survey data to assess the effect of oxen as draft animals on agricultural productivity and farm agricultural income in Nicaragua during the year 2017. The results suggest that farms that use oxen to plow the land have higher bean productivity than farms that use stick to plant crops. On average, using oxen increases farm’s bean output by 7.75 100-pound bags, and hiring oxen increases farm’s bean output by 8.5 100-pound bags. Also, using or hiring oxen increases total farm planted area. The main finding about the effect of oxen to plow the land through farm planted area on agricultural farm gross income suggests that using oxen to plow the land increases agricultural farm gross income by 18.13 percent, and that hiring oxen increases agricultural farm gross income by 25.55 percent.