Age of machinery and equipment in the Czech agriculture

Abstract

The paper deals with the estimation and analysis of the average age and the age structure of machinery and equipment in agriculture. The development of the average age of machinery and equipment could be used as an indicator of the modernisation process and the picture of investment support in the industry. For the purposes of the analysis, the official model of the perpetual inventory method is transformed into the Markov chain model. The analysis shows significant differences in the institutional sectors. The average age of machinery and the age distribution depicts the situation in agriculture and it indicates the lower competitiveness of small farmers. The paper contains the prognosis of development of the average age of machinery and equipment in the case of permanent investment on the level of the current year. The international comparison shows that the average age of machinery and equipment in the Czech Republic is close to the level of developed countries. However, the estimated development shows a decreasing average age of the machinery and equipment.