Mauritania - Agricultural machinery, tractors

The value for Agricultural machinery, tractors in Mauritania was 390.00 as of 2006. As the graph below shows, over the past 45 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 390.00 in 2006 and a minimum value of 10.00 in 1961.

Definition: Agricultural machinery refers to the number of wheel and crawler tractors (excluding garden tractors) in use in agriculture at the end of the calendar year specified or during the first quarter of the following year.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.

See also:

Year Value
1961 10.00
1962 15.00
1963 18.00
1964 20.00
1965 25.00
1966 30.00
1967 40.00
1968 60.00
1969 80.00
1970 100.00
1971 120.00
1972 140.00
1973 160.00
1974 180.00
1975 200.00
1976 220.00
1977 240.00
1978 260.00
1979 270.00
1980 270.00
1981 312.00
1982 312.00
1983 312.00
1984 312.00
1985 320.00
1986 330.00
1987 330.00
1988 330.00
1989 335.00
1990 335.00
1991 337.00
1992 335.00
1993 335.00
1994 330.00
1995 330.00
1996 330.00
1997 380.00
1998 380.00
1999 380.00
2000 380.00
2001 380.00
2002 380.00
2003 380.00
2004 380.00
2005 380.00
2006 390.00

Development Relevance: Agricultural land covers more than one-third of the world's land area. In many industrialized countries, agricultural land is subject to zoning regulations. In the context of zoning, agricultural land (or more properly agriculturally zoned land) refers to plots that may be used for agricultural activities, regardless of the physical type or quality of land. A substantial contribution to agriculture in the last century has been the escalation from manual and stock-animal farm work to gas-powered farm equipment. Globally, steel plows, mowers, mechanical reapers, seed drills, and threshers contributed to the development of mechanized agriculture, tractors enabled the farmer to sow and harvest large agricultural lands with less manpower. In modern times, powered machinery such as tractors, has replaced many jobs formerly carried out by men or animals such as oxen, horses and mules. FAO estimates that most farmers in developing countries experience a greater annual expenditure on farm power inputs than on fertilizer, seeds or agrochemicals. Agriculture is still a major sector in many economies, and agricultural activities provide developing countries with food and revenue. But agricultural activities also can degrade natural resources as poor farming practices cause soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. There is no single correct mix of inputs to the agricultural land, as it is dependent on local climate, land quality, and economic development; appropriate levels and application rates vary by country and over time and depend on the type of crops, the climate and soils, and the production process used.

Limitations and Exceptions: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through annual questionnaires. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. The data collected from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: A tractor provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially tillage. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanized. The most common use of the term "tractor" is for the vehicles used on farms. The farm tractor is used for pulling or pushing agricultural machinery or trailers, for plowing, tilling, disking, harrowing, planting, and similar tasks. Planting, tending and harvesting a crop requires both a significant amount of power and a suitable range of tools and equipment. Mechanization of farming has allowed an increase to the area that can be planted and has contributed towards increased yields, mainly due to the precision with which the farming tasks can be accomplished.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Agricultural production