This manual is specifically designed to help train actual and potential farm mechanization service providers, in order to increase access to sustainable farm power to raise the productivity of smallholder farmers. It focuses on two crucial aspects: the provision of farm mechanization services as a viable business opportunity for entrepreneurs, and the essential criteria of raising productivity in an environmentally sensitive and responsible way i.e. that includes conservation agriculture. Practical guidance on the essential business development and management skills required to successfully run a mechanization service provision business are presented, with a focus on the equipment required to offer services compatible with conservation agriculture. The manual will be of particular interest to policymakers’ intent on achieving sustainable intensification in the agricultural sector. It is also a valuable resource for trainers charged with increasing the supply of well-trained and well-equipped entrepreneurial mechanization service providers through the implementation of training courses tailored to the specific course locations.

This book distills lessons gained from the author’s 20 years of experience, building out and staffing two enormously successful Internet startups and helping firms land the talent they need to reach their greatest potential. Don't rely on instincts alone. Hiring is king and while the lesson seems so basic, so many good companies stumble and lose their stride just when they were poised for rapid growth. Why? Their leaders treated hiring as a tedious chore. They posted an ad hoc ad. Took the first person with the right skills. Hired for immediate needs, rather than future flourishing. Whether you're a high-tech entrepreneur taking a startup public, or a food truck vendor with a concept that's taking off, Hire Smart from the Start offers a proven formula to help you: Find candidates whose values and working style fit your business Spot the 5 types of applicants you should never, ever hire Motivate "reach" candidates to leave their jobs and take a chance on your vision Develop meaningful incentives that make people stay Accelerate success: hire smart from the start. This book shows you how.

This document serves as a review of mechanization Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (Nepal) and the Asian region and presents a set of recommendations for their sustainable management. The report begins with a brief historical background of Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) and current perspectives by academics, donors, and policy planners. It attempts a critical analysis of CHC performances in Nepal and the region to understand better their efficacy. Next, the report reviews India and China’s efforts in establishing CHCs. Over the last decade, these two countries have put enormous resources and time into establishing CHCs. Still, based on the current study's findings, there has been minimal reliable reporting or evidence on the success of their efforts. Yet, there is very good reason to believe that with refined backstopping and informed selection, CHCs can be successfully used to provide mechanization access for underserved geographical areas and their communities. The last section proposes a plan of action to improve Nepal's CHCs. There are recommendations, observations and considerations for policy and agricultural development professionals and the existing CHC's management committees (MCs) around establishing and/or the improving CHCs and their management. In summary, this preliminary document establishes a need for additional programming and training that support the many existing CHCs. Further, it highlights the necessity to support multiple comparative research that can quickly investigate the current situation of the hire services sector for agricultural machinery.

There has been a surge in the attention to sustainable agricultural mechanization for Africa. The need to support agricultural mechanization in the value chain in order to achieve agricultural and rural development is well recognized. Therefore, it is vital to address the major challenge of ensuring that business models for mechanization hire services driven by the private sector (including farmers, cooperatives, and small and medium enterprises) are not only profitable, sustainable and inclusive for smallholder farmers and vulnerable community members including women and youth, but also resilient to the effects of climate change. For a better understanding of how agricultural mechanization hire service provision can contribute to agricultural and rural development, this publication aims to (i) showcase a variety of business models of private-sector businesses providing agricultural mechanization hire services in Africa, (ii) identify success factors, and (iii) provide entry points for investment.

Sustainable agricultural mechanization covers all levels of farming and processing technologies, and takes into consideration technological, economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects when contributing to the sustainable development of agrifood systems. This publication strives to comprehensively and systematically summarize the status and strategies of China's agricultural mechanization development, its impacts, experiences and practices, and business models. Furthermore, the publication investigates the related investment and policy recommendations to reach the goal of agricultural and rural modernization by 2035, to drive smallholder farmers to enter modern agriculture, and to achieve sustainable development. It is estimated that by 2035, agricultural production in China will predominantly be mechanized. The concept of integrating mechanization and digitalization will be applied to agricultural mechanization management and operation monitoring and services, and mechanization will comprehensively support all agricultural and rural modernization. The development of sustainable agricultural mechanization in China provides cases and examples of innovations with global value, not only for developing countries but in particular for middle-income countries and emerging countries.

Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally, and more particularly in the developing regions. This is especially so in Africa where traditional agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe exploitation of natural resources with negative impacts on the environment and food system. In addition, agricultural land use in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs, climate change and a need to transform to more sustainable production intensification systems. Conservation Agriculture has emerged as a major alternative sustainable climate smart agriculture approach in Africa and has spread to many African countries in the past decade as more development and research, including in sustainable mechanization, has enabled its extension and uptake. It is key to transforming Africa's agriculture and food system given its ability to restore soil health, biodiversity and productivity of millions of smallholder farms as well as larger-scale farms. This book is aimed at all agricultural stakeholders in the public, private and civil sectors in Africa engaged in supporting the transformation of conventional tillage agriculture to Conservation Agriculture. The book will be of interest to: researchers, academics, students, development stakeholders, public and private sector investors and policy makers as well as institutional libraries across the world.