Logistics Management of Agricultural Machinery for Solving Labor Shortage Problem

Abstract

Currently, there is a labor shortage issue in rice cultivation, and the investment cost for purchasing agricultural machinery with low annual usage exacerbates the problem. This leads farmers to rely on hiring labor for rice production activities, resulting in relatively high rice cultivation costs and difficulty in maintaining product quality. The objective of this research is to develop logistic management tools to optimize the utilization of existing agricultural machinery innovations in rice production (mechanization), aiming for greater efficiency. The study found that it could reduce labor and working days by 83.33% and 84.67% respectively. Comparing the production costs of organic rice for sample farmers in Surin Province, there was an increase in production yield by 35.64% and increased returns from the sale of paddy by 74.10%. Although the use of mechanization may increase costs, it also leads to higher yields and returns, as well as reduced labor and working days in rice farming activities.