TY - JOUR
T1 - Technology transfer and agricultural mechanization in Tanzania
T2 - Institutional adjustments to accommodate emerging economy innovations
AU - Agyei-Holmes, Andrew
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Recent economic growth in Tanzania has been biased towards industry and services, denying farmers potential distributional benefits. Correcting this anomaly requires in part appropriate technologies to raise agricultural productivity. Attempts to either develop local tools or import advanced country technologies had limited benefits. Recent studies suggest that for poor producers in Tanzania, mechanization technologies from emerging economies are more appropriate in relation to their production characteristics. However, being locked-in advanced country technologies means both market and non-market institutions responsible for mechanization technology transfer in Tanzania have evolved to suite machines from the EU, Japan and USA. To accommodate the new market dynamic, where attention is shifting to emerging economies, modifications to the current technology transfer infrastructure are required. Using firm, farm and government level data on importation, distribution, usage and maintenance of tractors in Tanzania, this paper argues that the potential benefits of emerging economy tractors can be greatly enhanced if calculated attempts are made to modify the existing technology transfer and diffusion process.
AB - Recent economic growth in Tanzania has been biased towards industry and services, denying farmers potential distributional benefits. Correcting this anomaly requires in part appropriate technologies to raise agricultural productivity. Attempts to either develop local tools or import advanced country technologies had limited benefits. Recent studies suggest that for poor producers in Tanzania, mechanization technologies from emerging economies are more appropriate in relation to their production characteristics. However, being locked-in advanced country technologies means both market and non-market institutions responsible for mechanization technology transfer in Tanzania have evolved to suite machines from the EU, Japan and USA. To accommodate the new market dynamic, where attention is shifting to emerging economies, modifications to the current technology transfer infrastructure are required. Using firm, farm and government level data on importation, distribution, usage and maintenance of tractors in Tanzania, this paper argues that the potential benefits of emerging economy tractors can be greatly enhanced if calculated attempts are made to modify the existing technology transfer and diffusion process.
KW - Emerging economies
KW - Mechanization
KW - Tanzania
KW - Technology transfer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84991577006&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/2157930X.2016.1196545
DO - 10.1080/2157930X.2016.1196545
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84991577006
SN - 2157-930X
VL - 6
SP - 195
EP - 211
JO - Innovation and Development
JF - Innovation and Development
IS - 2
ER -