Consumption Linkages of Mechanical Wheat Production inPakistan

In many developing countries like Pakistan, most research workon farm mechanisation has focused especially on farm labour displacementand income effects. These studies measure only the micro or directeffect of mechanisation on a specific farm unit, area or locality. Theylack macro level impact of technologies that emerge from lin~agesbetween farm and non-farm sectors and between farm and the household:The importance of these production anq consumption linkages inagricultural growth has been emphasised [Hazel and Roell (1983); Mellorand Lele (1973); Mellor (1976); Yotopoulos and Nugent (1976)]. Thegrowth linkages between farm and non-farm economy are primarily due toincreases in household consumption expenditures. Increases in householdconsumption expenditure is directly related to escalation in income.Leontiefs (1951, 1966) inpu-output system provides a framework measurethe overall effect of farm mechanisation employment an income. King andByerlee (1977) measured links between changes income distribution andits effect on employment. Rangarajan (1982); Hazel an Roell (1983)showed that agricultural growth has substantial effects on other sectorseconomy. Ahammed and Herdt (1983 1985) also used the input-outputsystem. The present study is basically an adoption of Ahammed andHerdt’s (1983) model. A system of linear homogenous equations whichpermits solutions by simple matrix inversion operations hsa beenused.