Harvester Evaluation Using Real-Time Kinematic GNSS and Hiring Service Model

To reduce human drudgery and the risk of labor shortages in the Asian developing countries, the appropriate introduction of agricultural machinery, especially combine harvesters, is an urgent task. Custom hiring services (CHSs) are expected to contribute to making paddy harvesters prevalent in developing countries; however, the economic performance has been rarely quantified. The study was carried out to precisely evaluate the machine performance attributes of medium and large combine harvesters using the real-time kinematic (RTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and to estimate the economic performance of CHSs of paddy harvesters in Japan, as a typical case of Asian countries. The financial profitability was evaluated by four major indicators: net present value, benefit-cost ratio, internal rate of return, and payback period. The financial indicators showed that both types of harvester could be considered financially viable. Thus, the investment in combine harvesters can be highly profitable for CHS business by a local service provider and custom-hire entrepreneur, providing a great opportunity to use a combine harvester without initial investment by general farmers. The findings demonstrated the high feasibility of CHSs of paddy harvesters in Japan, while they highlighted that further study is needed to estimate the feasibility of CHS in the other Asian developing countries.