Analyzing the Factors Affecting the Development of Agricultural Mechanization in Kurdistan Province

The purpose of this study was to analyzing the factors affecting the development of agricultural mechanization in Kurdistan Province. To collect the necessary data, 390 farmers were selected and surveyed using cluster sampling methods. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.85), while its validity was confirmed through the results of a pilot study and evaluations by agricultural experts and university faculty members. The effects of economic, social, and technical factors on the development of agricultural mechanization were analyzed using econometric methods and cross-sectional data from a single crop year in Kurdistan Province. Farmers identified several key obstacles to the adoption of mechanization, including fragmented land plots (56%), shortage of tractors and equipment (41%), high rental costs (70%), lack of timely access to machinery (60%), small land size (50%), inappropriate equipment (56%), and the wide geographical dispersion of their farmland. The estimation of the relationship between independent variables and the dependent variable (agricultural mechanization capacity) indicated that literacy, farming experience, educational attainment, access to credit, and the type of irrigation system had a positive and significant impact on mechanization development. Conversely, the number of land plots and the distance of farms from mechanization service centers and agricultural cooperatives had a negative and significant effect. These findings highlight the critical need for establishing localized mechanization service centers, promoting land consolidation strategies, and providing targeted technical training for farmers particularly in areas with dispersed land holdings as essential measures for advancing agricultural mechanization in Kurdistan Province.