Satisfaction with the Quality of Agricultural Machinery and the Propensity for Replacement Purchases

National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju, Korea Received: September 30th, 2014; Revised: November 4th, 2014; Accepted: November 17th, 2014 Purpose: This study was conducted to serve as a basis for strengthening policy support and R&D to improve the domestic and international competitiveness of domestic agricultural machinery. Levels of satisfaction among farmers and service engineers were analyzed regarding the current quality of agricultural machinery and the primary consumers' propensity for replacement purchases. Methods: A survey was carried out targeting farmers in over 150 townships and 300 villages in South Korea who collectively used 711 tractors, 286 rice transplanters, and 221 combine harvesters. Furthermore, agricultural machinery service engineers from 20 different after-services were surveyed regarding the quality of main components in domestic agricultural machinery versus those in imported agricultural machinery. Results: The farmers' overall quality satisfaction ratings for tractors, rice transplanters, and combine harvesters ranged from 57.1% to 62.6% in consideration of operating performance, failure rate, and durability. Compared with imports, satisfaction ratings for domestic agricultural machinery were 19.1%p to 38.1%p lower for quality. Regarding engines, transmissions, hydraulics, planters, reapers, threshers, and electrical components, only 5.3% to 25.0% of service engineers indicated that domestic agricultural machinery was higher in quality compared with imports. By contrast, 33.3% to 78.9% of those surveyed indicated that domestic components were lower in quality compared with imports. Intent to purchase replacement agricultural machinery at the end of their respective products’ lifecycles was indicated that they planned to purchase imported tractors, rice transplanters, and combine harvesters comprised 25.2%, 46.9%, and 43.9%, respectively. This clearly shows that a very high percentage of farmers were satisfied, particularly for transplanters and combine harvesters. Conclusions: The level of desire for purchasing imported agricultural machinery was very high among those who expressed intent to purchase replacement machinery. Therefore, strong policy support and R&D for domestic agricultural machinery is critical for improving competitiveness on the domestic and foreign markets.