Historique, problématique et panorama de la mécanisation de la culture du coton dans le monde 16èmes Journées annuelles de l’A.C.A. 14 mars 2018, Abuja, Nigeria Gérald Estur, consultant

Outlines of the presentation Introduction History of mechanization of cotton production in the USA Overview of mechanization of cotton production in the world Constraints and challenges Conclusion

Cotton is a very demanding and labor-intensive crop. INTRODUCTION Cotton is a very demanding and labor-intensive crop. The production of cotton involved three distinct “labor peaks”: land preparation, planting, and cultivating; thinning and weeding; harvesting. Labor costs are rising as farm labor availability is decreasing due to urbanization,. Mechanization increases the output per worker rather than the output per unit of land, in order to produce more efficiently and reduce the cost of production. Cotton production is labor-intensive in developing countries and capital-intensive in developed countries.   .

HISTORY OF THE MECHANIZATION OF COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE USA

mechanization of agriculture in the usa 1797 – First patented cast-iron plow 1837 – First steel plows 1862-1875 – First agricultural revolution: change from hand power to horses 1868 – First steam tractors 1902 – First gasoline tractors 1926 – Light tractors developed 1930s – All-purpose rubber-tired tractor 1945-1970 – Second agricultural revolution: change from horses to tractors 1954 – Number of tractors on farms exceeds number of horses and mules Sources::www.thoughtco.com, USDA

Farm mechanization in the usa (million) 1910 1930 1945 1960 Number of horses and mules 24.0 18.7 11.6 3.0 Number of tractors - 0.9 2.4 4.7 Source: USDA

Cotton before the civil war Cotton planters projected the amount of cotton they could harvest based on the number of slaves under their control. Planters expected a good “hand,” or slave, to work 4 ha of land and pick up to 90 kg of cotton a day. The cotton gin allowed a slave to remove the seeds from pounds of cotton a day, compared to one pound if done by hand. By 1850, of the 3.2 million slaves in the country’s fifteen slave states, 1.8 million were producing cotton.

mechanization of cotton PRODUCTION 1793 – Invention of the cotton gin 1850 – First patented cotton harvested 1871 – First patented cotton stripper 1926 – Cotton stripper experienced in Texas 1933 - First patented one-row mechanical cotton picker 1942 – Spindle cotton-picker produced commercially 1944 – First cotton crop produced totally without hand labor 1980 – 4-row cotton picker introduced 2008 – First 6-row baler cotton picker Sources::www.thoughtco.com, USDA

Cotton stripper in the 1950S

COTTON ROUND BALE HARVESTER Source: John Deere

ECONOMIES OF SCALE 1949 1992 2002 2007 2012 Number of cotton farms 1.1 million 34,800 24,805 18,605 18,115 Average cotton area cropped 10 ha 130 ha 200 ha 230 ha 210 ha Source: USDA

Labor-hours needed to produce 100 lbs lint PRODUCTIVITY GAINS Year Labor-hours needed to produce 100 lbs lint Equipement 1945 42 2 mules; 1 row-plow; 1 row-cultivator, hand hoe; hand pick 1965 5 Tractor; 2-row stalk cutter;14-foot disk; 4-row bedder; planter; cultivator 2-row harvester 1975 2-3 Tractor; 2-row stalk cutter; 20-foot disk 4-row bedder; planter; 4-row cultivator; 1987 1.5-2 Tractor; 4-row stalk cutter; 20-foot disk; 6-row bedder; planter; 6-row cultivator; 4-row harvester Source::www.thoughtco.com,

OVERVIEW OF THE MECHANIZATION OF COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE WORLD

Picking cotton in the USA in the early 1900s Picking cotton in tAfrica nowadays Harvesting cotton in the USA nowadays

Top Cotton Producers Source: ICAC

Average Yield by Country Source: ICAC

production costs According to ICAC, the world average cost of production of lint in 2015/16 was 1.16 $/kg (about 53 US cents/kg ex-gin, after deducting value of seeds): Production costs highly variable among countries: Fertilizers Harvesting Weeding Ginning Insecticides Seeds Irrigation 22 % 21 % 18 % 15 % 10 % 8 % 6 % USA China Pakistan Brazil Turkey Australia India 1.88 $/kg 1.70 $/kg 1.18 $/kg 1.15 $/kg 1.08 $/kg 0.97 $/kg 0.71 $/kg Source: ICAC

harvesting methods Country Average farm size (ha) % machine % hand India 1.5 100% China < 1 25% est. USA 250 Pakistan 3 Brazil 150 Australia 400 Turkey 10 75% Uzbekistan ? 10% est.

Harvesting methods Cotton is also machine-picked in the following countries (source: ICAC): Argentina (75%) Colombia (65%) Greece (90%) Israel (100%) Mexico (?) South Africa (100%) Spain (95%)

Constraints and challenges

Constraints to mechanization Higher costs (investment, operation, maintenance) Farm size (economies of scale) Skills (operation, maintenance) Availability of ancillary services (fuel, spare parts, maintenance)

Mechanical cotton harvesting Manual harvesting of seed cotton is labor intensive: a worker can typically hand pick between 15 and 50 kg of seed cotton depending on variety, yield and plant density. As a result, manual harvesting becomes a bottleneck for larger fields and higher yields. Adoption of mechanical harvest is not an overnight process: it took 30 years in the USA and 45 years in Brazil to achieve 100%-machine harvesting. Turkey reached 75%-machine harvesting in 15 years, and China reached 15%-share in 20 years. Premium market for machine-picked cottons.

Mechanical cotton harvesting The transition from hand picking to mechanical harvesting means huge changes in the farming system and in the ginning process: Mechanical harvest requires suitable varieties (compact type, variety with uniform plant height and shorter varieties) and higher plant density. The use of growth regulator, defoliants and boll openers is needed to enable the harvesting process and minimize harvest losses. High impact pre-cleaner is required at the gin. Cotton pickers are only suitable for harvesting relatively large fields with high yield (above 3 t/ha). Mechanical harvest requires heavy investment: a state-of-the art 6-row cotton picker, with a field capacity of 3 hectares per hour, costs more than USD 600,000.

Conclusions The benefits of mechanization are greatest where labor is scarce, and therefore expensive, or land is plentiful. Small farm sizes inhibit mechanization. As timing of cultural operations is crucial, mechanization of cotton production is a way to increase productivity, which stands out as the top priority for improving the competitiveness and profitability of cotton production in Africa. Cotton mechanization is more than just putting machines into the fields. It is closely interlinked with the other intensive production practices. .

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