The article “The effect of oxen on agricultural productivity and farm income in Nicaragua” is written by Garcia-Fuentes, Fukasawa, Martinex Rodriguez, Vargas, and Mireles. Nicaragua’s economy depends on the agricultural sector since it generates 20% of the GDP, which describes the total output of the economy. Moreover, approximately 40% of people work in agriculture, and the majority of crops are exported to other states. This paper will summarize the main findings from the study by Garcia-Fuentes et al. about the impact of using ox on Nicaragua’s economy.
An ox is one type of animal used for drafting, which is the process of carrying heavy loads. The use of draft animals is essential for developing countries’ agriculture because it helps decrease the time required to prepare the land. In Nicaragua, these farm animals help to plow, and Garcia-Fuentes et al. aim to determine if this cattle’s use helps increase the bean output. The authors compared several farms in Nicaragua that either had ox or hired them with those that did not use oxen to study this.
The economic measures that Garcia-Fuentes et al. used include bean output, planting area, and gross income. In Nicaragua, farms that used oxen had an 18.13% higher revenue. Moreover, they were able to gather more beans, more specifically, the difference with other farms is 775 pounds of beans. These numbers were calculated for farmers that owned an ox. However, those who hired this cattle also benefited, since their total income increased by 25%.
Overall, the use of ox helps Nicaraguan farmers increase the total output from their fields. These cattle are used for drafting and can be either hired or bought. In both cases, farmers who use oxen increase the number of beans they collect and their income. Hence, the use of oxen contributes to the Nicaraguan agricultural sector of the economy. Ox plays a vital role in the agriculture of developing countries.