Rice combine harvester use and its effects on yield loss reduction and farm income among smallholder farmers in Banten, Indonesia

Purpose This study aims to examine the determinants of rice combine harvester adoption and evaluate its impact on rice yield and crop income among smallholder farmers in Banten, Indonesia. It addresses the persistent challenge of low mechanization adoption by assessing both the drivers and the welfare effects of this technology. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 497 farm households, the study employs an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to address selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity, complemented by propensity score matching (PSM) for robustness checks. The adoption decision is modeled through a probit framework with valid exclusion restrictions. Findings Adoption is significantly influenced by farming experience, access to extension services, farm size, participation in training, group membership, mobile phone ownership and location. ESR results show that adoption increases rice yield by 5.7% and crop income by 20.9%. PSM estimates confirm these positive and significant effects. Adoption reduces harvest losses, improves labor efficiency and increases farm profitability. Research limitations/implications The study relies on cross-sectional data, which limits its ability to capture dynamic adoption behavior or long-term impacts. Future research could integrate panel data or experimental approaches to strengthen causal inference. Nevertheless, the findings highlight key policy levers for information access, credit and mechanization services to accelerate the adoption of mechanization. Unlike biological yield improvements driven by input use, mechanized harvesting technologies primarily reduce yield losses during harvesting. Originality/value While previous studies have examined the role of combine harvesters in reducing yield losses, many fail to distinguish clearly between biological yield and yield loss reduction across production stages. Moreover, limited empirical studies explicitly integrate this conceptual distinction into impact evaluation frameworks. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirically grounded evidence on the role of combine harvester use as a harvest-stage efficiency-enhancing technology, focusing on its effects on effective yield and farm income among smallholder farmers.