There is scope for reducing the level of labour required by vegetable farmers by use of small machines. Thirty-five farmers from the main vegetable growing area who purchased hand tractors were interviewed along with 35 farmers who did not purchase and who were matched with the purchasers for location of farm, ethnic background and age. A 34-quescion interview schedule covered farm-related, innovation-related, personal and social variables. Agricultural training, source of information, size of farm, tenure and relative advantage were positively related to adoption of hand tractors. The high cost and scarcity of labour was not a factor affecting adoption behaviour.