Agricultural mechanization in Nepal: a review

Agriculture is the backbone of the Nepalese economy; however, it continues to be characterized by small, fragmented landholdings, shortage of labor forces, and dependence on outdated tools and technologies. Agricultural mechanization is a key driver for transforming Nepal’s predominantly subsistence-based agricultural system into a modern and commercialized production system. This narrative review synthesizes peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, institutional grey literature and Nepal-specific government policy and statistical documents accessed from Scopus, Google Scholar, and key institutional repositories and government websites. Agricultural mechanization in Nepal is marked by regional disparities, with greater mechanization in the Terai region as compared to the Hills and Mountain regions. The use of machinery has increased in recent decades, but it remains highly uneven and concentrated on only a few agricultural operations. The adoption of machinery is limited to tillage and harvest operations, such as tractors (39.7%) and threshers (28.4%), and the use of specialized equipment such as milking machines (0.7%) remains negligible. Although mechanization is being driven by increasing labor outmigration and rising rural wage costs, its expansion is constrained by several structural challenges, contraction in cultivated land, small and fragmented landholdings (0.54 ha per household, with an average parcel size of 0.19 ha), weak extension services and poor road infrastructure, particularly in hilly and mountain regions. Sustainable agricultural mechanization requires not only increased machinery adoption but also the removal of structural barriers through scale-appropriate technologies, improved rural infrastructure, accessible subsidies and strengthened custom hiring mechanisms.