Evaluation of Labour under Manual and Mechanized Practices for Potato Production in Jordan Valley

Potato is considered a cash and strategic crop, important for human nutrition. In Jordan, potato is usually produced manually. To contribute sustainable self-sufficiency and meet the growing demands by farmers for profitability, this research analyzed the labour performance under both mechanized and manual practices for some processes in potato production in the Jordan valley. The processes involve ridge making and dislocation of tubers, using two row tractor-drawn diggers. Two approaches were used to evaluate the performance of the agricultural worker postures during potato production process: the Ovako Working-posture Analysis System (OWAS) and the evaluation of various work postures method. Results obtained show that the quality quantity product was improved under mechanized practices by 1.2 times as compared with manual practices. There was a 93% reduction in work burden. These improvements were accompanied through maintaining 44% in the physical fitness of the agricultural worker. Results also reveal towards adopting mechanized potato practices in Jordan Valley after promoting campaign.