Sustainable agricultural mechanization for small farmers: What is it and how can we implement it?

The paper addresses the need for sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) for smallholder farmers and the challenges they face in its implementation. It underlines the importance of smallholder farmers as the world's leading food producers and the need to increase agricultural production sustainably to feed the world's growing population. It also discusses models and strategies to improve access to mechanization for smallholder farmers, emphasizing collaboration between the public and private sectors. It highlights the importance of innovation platforms and regional centers of excellence to develop and test suitable SAM technologies, especially in Africa. Furthermore, it proposes the creation of public-private partnerships as effective vehicles for the delivery of mechanization technologies and underlines the need for a holistic approach that considers all aspects of the agricultural value chain, from production to market,