Annexe 1: Country report - Burkina Faso
Annexe 2: Country report - Senegal
Annexe 3: Country report - Uganda
Annex 5: Country report - Zambia
Burkina Faso
1 The introductory and descriptive opening sections of this report are based on information gathered during training sessions in qualitative research methods with the national staff who were to conduct the study (all of whom had deep knowledge of the rural situation), on information collected during individual interviews, and on available literature. Some general information has also been lifted from the results of the Focus Group Discussions with rural people when it was considered that it would best fit in these opening sections.
Context for the Study, its Scope, and Methods
The study was conducted within the context of the IFAD Special Programme for Soil and Water Conservation and Agro-forestry which is operating over a broad area (seven Provinces) of the Central Plateau of the country. This is the most densely populated part of Burkina Faso, and much of the land has suffered, and is continuing to suffer, severe degradation as a result.
The area is extremely poor; according to the IFAD Project document for the Phase II, dated December 1994, per capita income is about US$ 75 per annum, about half of the level of US$ 147 normally considered to be the threshold of poverty.
Soils in the Central Plateau are problematic. They are mainly lateritic, of complex gravely texture, and of generally low fertility, and when dry, they harden and become difficult to work.
The field research for the study was conducted with a team of eight people - five women and three men - made available by the IFAD Project. They received two days of formal workshop-type training and two days of supervised work in the field, after which the team divided into two groups of four. One group remained in the area around Yako, Province of Passoré, while the other went to work in the area around Koudougou, Province of Boulkmiende.
Although the maximum number of participants in a Focus Group Discussion should not normally exceed 12 people, this proved difficult to maintain in the area around Koudougou where, despite having asked the development agent responsible for each village to limit the numbers to 20, who would be divided into two groups of 10 for the discussions, many more women turned up. When they did, groups were further divided, and on some occasions, the facilitator had to double as the observer, which is certainly not ideal. However, it was the only solution in the circumstances and it appears not to have influenced the results of the discussions. For these showed a remarkable degree of homogeneity in, and between, both areas where the research was carried out.
A total of 41 group discussions were conducted, 35 with women, and 6 with men. A total of about 370 people were involved The participants in the group discussions were always asked to bring their production tools to the meeting.
After the training and supervision of the field researchers, the Consultant and the APO held detailed discussions with groups of blacksmiths in Zougoungou, Ouahigonya, and Kombissiri They also had interviews with various people in Government concerned with planning, research, farm mechanization, women's extension services, and credit. A meeting was also held with a women's NGO. Finally, a round-up meeting with the field researchers was held to review, discuss, and note the results of their work.
The Agricultural Production System and Women's Role in it.
Agricultural production is essentially at subsistence level, with significant quantities of produce for sale only in years of favourable rainfall. The situation, and the pressure on the land, are such that there is an increase of migration towards more fertile areas, especially in the east of the country.
The land resources used by each family in the Central Plateau are divided into different plots. The family plot, is where the principle crops are grown, usually staples such as millet, sorghum or maize for consumption "d sale. Part of the family plot is close to the village (champs de case -house plot) while the rest of it may be some distance away (champs de brousse - bush plot) This total area of the family plot averages about 3 ha in the Central Plateau. It is almost invariably under the complete control and management of the head of the family, who is usually male.
Each woman is allocated an individual plot, usually some 500-1,000 sq. m. on which she grows various crops, mostly to provide ingredients for sauces to accompany the family's cereals and also for sale. The women's plots are usually adjacent to the family plots.
Formally reognized women's groups may be allocated a collective plot to work
'Women work their individual plots very early in me moming or late in the afternoon when they don't have other tasks such as cooking and when they are freed by their husbands.'. Conclusion by field research team. |
Many women walk 1-2 hours to reach their family or individual plots. Seen in this context, a bicycle virtually becomes a 'production tool' in the sense that it could save women many hours of walking time in a typical cropping season. But bicycle ownership is very rare among women in the poorer areas. Indeed, whenever a discussion group was held with men, almost all of them rolled up on their bicycles, whereas women almost invariably turned up on foot.
'Women do the work men are in charge.' Statement by extension worker. |
The women are involved in all of the family's agricultural wore The priority is work on the family plot, and women help their husband with all of the operations on this plot, before turnip_ to their own mot. Furthermore. it is usually the women who transport any produce to be sold to market. They are also responsible for the poultry and small ruminants normally kept by the family. In addition, of course, they look after the children and do the household chores. It is generally accepted, and by the men too, that women work much harder than men do.
According to a Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources paper of May, 1994, entitled Femmes, Agriculture, et Devéloppement Rural, women make up 86 per cent of the adult rural population. However, within a typical rural family, the men control the financial resources, and women's only direct income comes from the possible sales of surplus from their individual plots.
It is difficult to obtain figures for the use of animal traction in the Central Plateau. Field staff of the IFAD Project estimate that about 5 percent of families own animal draft equipment and animals, while according to a Government spokesman, about 20 percent of the land in the Central Plateau is cultivated with animal traction. The above-mentioned 1994 paper on women and agriculture estimates that, nationwide, some 27 percent of farm families own animal traction equipment. However, this figure includes agricultural areas that are much richer than the Central Plateau.
When animal traction is available, it is controlled by the men, and it is used mainly for primary tillage and inter-row cultivation. When it is not available, direct planting without primary tillage is the norm, except in the case of maize and groundnuts which need a loose and deep seedbed for water retention ant growth. Once the annual rains start, there is great urgency to complete planting for the short cropping season. There is seldom time for land preparation, hence the common practice of direct planting.
The Production Tools Encountered and their Use
The tools found in every group were basically the same. (Details and photographs are provided in Annexe 6)
The tools found everywhere were:
· The daba, (hoe) made by local blacksmiths from scrap metal. The handles of the dabas are invariably short to medium in length compelling their user to bend deeply to use them. In most cases, the handles are cut from trees by the farmers themselves, but in some areas where the blade of the daba is fixed to the handle by a tang that is heated and driven through the wood, dabas are sold by blacksmiths as complete tools. The daba is used for cultivating, bund building, and weeding
· The pioche (pick), also produced by local blacksmiths, has a narrow, chisel point, made from old vehicle leaf springs. The handle is always short. It is used for planting, when it is held in one hand, while a gourd or calabash containing the seed is held in the other. Bent double, the user drives a hole in the soil with the pioche, flicks a seed from the gourd into the hole with the fingers of the other hand, and then presses his/her foot over the hole to fill it.
Harvesting Tools, a variety of knives, sickles, and machetes, most made locally, though machetes were usually imported from Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Other tools found, but by no means in all groups, were:
· Animal draft implements, produced by local blacksmith and fitted with a duckfoot tine for inter-row work. Plough and ridger bodies are also manufactured locally, but at the time of the study, only duckfoot tines were seen mounted. The design and apparent quality of these animal draft implements varied considerably. Only implements built by blacksmiths were encountered in the field, despite the availability of industrially-produced or imported models. However, these generally cost about twice as much.
· Row markers, to be pulled by hand. Most of these are made of timber cut from trees and left as roundwood. They have three steel spikes driven through the cross member at the desired row spacing, so that when dragged across the field they mark the lines for seeding, thus enabling inter-row weeding using animal traction. Other row markers seen were made of steel and had the marking spikes set at different distances on the top and bottom of the cross member. Thus, by fuming the whole marker over, different line spacings can be marked in the soil.
According to verbal reports, only in one part of Burkina Faso - Manga in the south - are these row markers just beginning to be used to mark, firstly, up and down, and secondly, across the plot at right angles, so that planting can be done on the square. This allows inter-row cultivating with animal traction in both directions and virtually eliminates the considerable work with a daba that is still required for weeding between the plants in the rows when lines are marked in one direction only.
In the 41 groups that participated in the research, only three groups mentioned that they owned an animal-drawn seeder, and one had been broken down for a long time.
Additional items that were mentioned by groups were: wheelbarrows, donkey carts, two-wheeled hand-carts known as pouses-pouses, and bicycles for transport. These items were secondary to the main emphasis of the study and no special attention was given to them.
New Production Techniques that Require New Tools
In quite recent years it has been shown that local placement of farm yard manure and compost, and planting in that mixture before the rains arrive, gives far better results - in terms of plant survival and yield - than traditional planting methods. Known locally as the practice of zaï, it involves digging a hole about 10 cm deep, by 10 cm square, filling it with well-rotted manure and compost, and planting the seed to await the rain. The results are so dramatically visible that the practice is being increasingly adopted in the Central Plateau.
However, according to opinions expressed by mechanization specialists, to practice zaï more efficiently would require some tools that are not yet generally available. Firstly, rakes would be useful for gathering the crop residues that are added to the manure in the pits where it is placed to mature and rot; secondly, forks, preferably with steel tines, for extracting the manure from those pits would facilitate the task. Thirdly, wider use of the existing and available donkey carts would help in the transport of the manure to the planting holes in the field; and finally, it would be easier to dig the planting holes speedily, and to the appropriate shape, depth, and size, with a spade, rather than with a daba. With the exception of the donkey cart, which costs some CFA 200,000 (about US$ 330) the other tools are not generally available in Burkina Faso.
It should be stressed that these ideas did not come from the discussion groups with farming women and men in Burkina Faso, but rather from government and specialist staff.
Cultural and Socio-Economic Considerations
Working posture
'If a woman has not worn out her daba during one season, her husband will think she is lazy.' Comment from a group of blacksmiths. |
The cultural tradition of the Mossi people of the Central Plateau is to cultivate. plant. and weed with short-handled tools that cause them to bend double. No doubt, the short-handled tools of the Plateau Central have evolved to meet the general needs of working the difficult and often hard soils in the area, especially for weeding when sowing has taken place with no seedbed preparation. However, the people recognize that they work in an uncomfortable posture and complain of the back pin it causes.
In some parts of the country, people work standing up with long-handled hoes. This is particularly the case of the Peul people in the north, where the soil is lighter. While soil conditions have certainly affected the evolution of tools and related working posture in the Central Plateau, it is also true that there is today an established cultural attitude that work in the field can only be done properly while bent double. Anything less is laziness.
According to one interviewee, the fact that the Peul people, who work standing up, are primarily herders may add to the perception that it is lazy to work upright, for it is common for fanners in many parts of Africa to think of herdsman as being work-shy.
The Influence of Polygamy
'Sowing is not a problem for me. I have two wives and seven children'. Farmer replying to mechanization specialist talking about the advantages of a hand seeder. |
Polygamy is very common in rural areas of Burkina Faso, and it has an effect on the production technology available to women. For example, when a man has only one wife, and uses animal traction, it is very common for him to work his wife's plot for her But if he has several wives, he seldom works the plots of any of them, fearing that if he does not finish all of them, there would be family strife. Only if the wife of a polygamous husband is going to grow groundnuts on her plot is there any significant chance that he will plough it for her.
To what extent polygamy has an influence on the willingness of a farmer to invest in new technologies is a very interesting - but so far unanswered - question. In simple words, will a farmer 'invest' in another wife or in animal traction, if given the choice? In one scenario, he would marry another wife a a cheap source of labour; in another scenario, he would only marry another wife when he had the real means to do so; and if those means derived from his successful farming, say through using animal traction, more women might benefit from this technology.
Credit
CNCA - National Bank of Agricultural Credit was founded In the mid-1970's as part of an FAO-supported project for animal traction, which had three components: the manufacture of implements, training, and credit. Thus, CNCA began life as part of the Ministry of Agriculture and devoted its main attention to credit for animal traction. However, it was later moved to the Ministry of Finance, since when it has virtually abandoned credit for agricultural production, mainly confining its activities to financing commercial operations. In 1996, only about 1 percent of its total loan portfolio was for activities by women's groups. Overall, according the above-mentioned 1994 Ministry paper on women in agriculture and rural development, less man 5 percent of rural women had benefited from credit, compared to more than 95 percent of men. |
With agriculture mainly at subsistence level, and low cash income, credit is a crucial issue for improving production technology. But credit is only granted to a farmer when he or she has cultivation rights on a reasonably-sized plot of land. In this, women are at a disadvantage: they are seldom recognized as having cultivation rights because the land chief in a village apportions these rights only to men
In general, unless women have grouped together for a cash crop activity - as they have for horticultural produce in a few areas -or for some commercial activity, such as the processing of farm produce for commercial sale, they have no chance of securing credit. Furthermore unless women have formed a group for an activity, they have virtually no say in financial matters of their family, with the result that individual women will almost never seek credit, for they know that they would have no control over reimbursing the loan. In fact, if their husbands needed cash when a credit repayment was due, they would be forced to default.
However, there is a broader issue of credit to farmers in the Central Plateau, whether they are men or women in such a subsistence-based economy, in difficult soil conditions, seriously aggravated by erratic rainfall, there is insufficient regular cash generated to be able to service and pay back loans. Indeed, a spokesman for the Caisse National de Credit Agricole (CNCA) -National Bank of Agricultural Credit - reported that loans for such things as animal traction in the Central Plateau were not economically viable.
Mechanization Policy and Institutional Factors
In general, the area of manually-operated tools for agricultural production has not attracted significant attention in Burkina Faso. The Agricultural Mechanization Service of the Plant Production Division (Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources) is working in the areas of motor-powered mechanization and animal traction, but it has never worked in the area of manually-operated equipment, and has no plans to do so.
In connection with animal traction, the Service is developing a cheap seeder - copied from a Bolivian model - that can be attached to the plough beam. It is also working to introduce a single-point ripper - copied from Zambia - which, the staff believe, could bring significant benefits in the difficult soil conditions of the Central Plateau. For example, working a plot up and down and across, at the appropriate planting distance between runs, would create a deep planting hole at each intersection. Manure or fertilizer could be locally applied at each planting point.
The emphasis on animal traction is understandable in the country's circumstances. However, as already mentioned, there are serious constraints to its expansion in the poorer regions due to physical, economic and credit conditions. Indeed, staff of the Agricultural Mechanization Service confirmed the view of the credit services to the effect that, generally, animal traction in the Central Plateau is not viable in strict economic terms. Although it may reduce drudgery, the returns in terms of reliable increased production are insufficient to pay for the investment.
The CNEA made available 1,000 hand-operated plunger-type planters to fanners, and had to take back 840 of them. When asked why this was so, the Director speculated that it might have been because the planter was not suitable for the soil conditions, or that perhaps it was because it could be used standing upright, and that this was contrary to the work tradition of the Mossi people. |
Although there may be other experiences. notably among the numerous NGOs at work in Burkina Faso, the only institution encountered by the Consultant and the APO that has attempted to do anything about manually-operated equipment was the National Centre for Agricultural Equipment (CNEA). This is a State-run operation that produces animal draft implements, carts, pumps, and other tools. Its several attempts to introduce manual seeders and plunger type-planters have not succeeded.
Nor were attempts to introduce foot-operated water pumps successful.. In neither case was there an investigation into the real reasons for the rejections, though it seems from anecdotal evidence that the foot-operated pumps were considered dangerous to women's health during pregnancy, and the force required on the pedal made its use impossible for small children.
There are no institutions in the country with capacity in fields such as ergonomics that could assist the mechanization specialists in developing improved manually-operated tools
Producers of Agricultural Production Tools
Burkina Faso has no industry producing tools on a significant scale. As already mentioned, the state-owned company, CNEA, produces animal traction implements, carts, etc. but sales are decreasing and none of their ploughs or cultivators were seen in the field. (Most in evidence were the donkey carts made by CNEA). As mentioned already, CNEA has also undertaken unsuccessful efforts to introduce manually-operated planters.
The sole providers of hand-tools are local blacksmiths. All of the hand tools that were encountered in the field were made by them. Blacksmiths are often concentrated in villages where clusters of them - up to twelve in number - work together.
Blacksmiths are now also the main producers of animal traction implements. All ploughs/weeders seen in the field were produced by blacksmiths, rather than by industrial producers. One imported plough from Tamale Implement Factory (TIF) in Ghana was seen at a roadside outlet in Yako, but again, none were seen in the hands of farmers.
The only group of hand-tools that are mainly imported are machetes from Ghana and the Ivory Coast and smaller knives from various countries, mostly China. The imported items were not common to all groups.
Quality and Technical Considerations
Blacksmiths use traditional techniques. They work kneeling or squatting on the ground, using a traditional forge and a heavy piece of metal - such as a truck crankshaft or half-shaft - driven into a heavy log in the ground to serve as an anvil. Using these traditional techniques, many blacksmiths manage to produce hand-tools that are quite well made and sell for a low price.
The build-quality of hand-tools varies from blacksmith to blacksmith and seems to depend more on their experience and skills than on the tools and technology available. Thus, the introduction of improved (raised) forges, and items such as Western anvils under a project does not ensure production of higher build-quality. One group of blacksmiths was working with such improved technology but was producing tools of a significantly poorer quality than those found in more traditional forges. The surfaces of their daba blades were rough and their thickness irregular. Greater skills were seen in other blacksmith groups who were producing better quality items, with a lower level of technology.
There are also design deficiencies in animal traction implements. One group of blacksmiths was making plough bodies, to be mounted on the same toolbar as the duckfoot tine. It was not evident how this could be done, but in any case, the toolbar clearly lacked the rigidity to be used for ploughing. The construction' dimensions and proportions of the plough bodies were not in accordance with basic requirements for efficient ploughing and would result in poor performance and high draft. There were cases too where the bolts used to mount the shares to the frog were not countersunk.
Even if the quality and durability of the tools depend partly on the skill with which they are made, the mild steel plate used for soil-engaging parts is bound to give them a relatively short life. Blacksmiths themselves consider the limited availability and accessibility of raw materials of appropriate quality to be their main constraint.
Overall, for the production of more complicated tools and implements, such as those for animal draft, the village blacksmiths' techniques, equipment, skills and knowledge are insufficient For instance, they depend on workshops in major towns/villages where welding can be done for production of the frame of animal traction implements. The blacksmiths themselves produce only the soil engaging parts, mostly duckfoot tines and even wheels.
In sum, if blacksmiths are to produce better animal traction implements, or tools that are more complicated than existing hand-tools, and on a large scale, upgrading of skills, knowledge and equipment is still needed. And even for the hand-tools that they are currently producing, improved skills could be beneficial. Past training programmes for village blacksmiths need to be improved, intensified and expanded.
However, the fact that animal traction implements are now being produced, used, and repaired without any external support, shows that the supply and repair chain is viable as it is now, even if the implements are of low quality.
The Practice and Perceptions of Rural People regarding Production Technology
Some of the factual information that came out of the Focus Group Discussions has been combined with information from interviews and available literature to provide the foregoing general descriptions concerning the agricultural production scene in Burkina Faso.
In addition, the following specific points emerged from the group discussions:
Time Spent by Women Working in the field
Days/year | |
Application of compost and manure |
15-30 |
Land preparation and planting |
20-30 |
Weeding |
60 |
Harvesting |
30 |
The point was made by many groups that they frequently needed to repeat their planting twice, and even three times, when early rains are not followed by full rains.
When groundnuts are grown, the harvest period can extend to as many as 60 days. No specialized groundnuts lifters were seen, but a few groups mentioned that they used a duckfoot tine for the purpose.
Renewal of Tools
The hand-tools are generally renewed annually in the case of the mild-steel daba, and in some cases even twice a year. The pioche, made from leaf springs, lasts 2-3 years. However, they are sharpened annually.
Locally-made plough shares are normally replaced every other year. Sickles last up to 10 years, but with several changes of the wooden handle. Knives often "get lost by the children", but if not, they will be replaced every 2-3 years.
Where Tools are Purchased and at what Cost
Tools are almost invariably bought from local blacksmiths. The figures in the table below provide an overview of the prices being paid by farmers for their tools, as well as prices obtained from dealers and industrial producers. Prices in the area around Koudougou were generally somewhat higher than those around Yako, though there were also differences associated with the particular type of implement. For example, the most expensive daba, ironically dubbed the 'deluxe model' by the research term, was more curved in the blade and was made from heavier-gauge material.
Hand-tools
Tool |
Francs CFA2 |
Tool |
Francs CFA |
Pioche |
250-500 |
Sickle |
600 |
Daba (hoe) |
500-1,000 |
Machete |
500-750 |
Knife |
100-150 |
Row Marker |
750-2,500 |
Animal Draft (donkey)
Type |
Source |
Francs CFA |
Plough/cultivator |
built by local blacksmith |
20-24,000 |
Plough/cultivator |
imported from Ghana |
28,000 |
Plough/cultivator |
built by national farm equipment centre (CNEA) |
54-56,000 |
Other Tools and Implements known by Groups but seldom owned by Group Members
Groups identified seeders, long-handled hoes for removing manure/compost from pits and for digging the holes for it in the fields (pioche de zaï), power-tillers, and tractors.
2 1US$ = CFA Francs 600 approx. (September 1997).
The only variation on a traditional implement - being used in a different part of the country and mentioned by groups - was the long-handled hoe of the Peul (Fulani) people in the north No value-judgement on this was expressed by the groups, but from numerous conversations with many people with intimate knowledge of the country, it seems that the Mossi people believe that it is impossible to work properly standing up. The same people also commented that the soil in the north is lighter, calling for less effort and not needing the purchase that is available through a short-handled hoe.
Who Decides what Tools to Buy
The groups invariably said that it is the man who decides on the tools to be bought, and in most cases that he buys them. Some women said that they might help with the purchase, especially if they had some income form their individual plots. However, it is quite possible that there were socio-cultural reasons for people saying that the full responsibility for decision-making lay with the men, for in many societies it would be indecorous for women to state openly that they played a role in decision-making with their husbands. This would be the case even when, behind closed doors with their husbands, they contributed significantly in the discussions leading to decisions.
Improvements that Women would Like for their Tools
The women stated that their hand-tools were heavy, fragile and tiring to use. They complained of pains in the back and rib-cage during and after their use, to the point where after a long day in the field, they had difficulty sleeping. One women's group only, among the 36, said they would like longer handles on their tools. When pressed as to why they did not have them, since they were made in the village, they replied that their husbands would think them lazy if they worked standing up straight.
The women also complained that hand-tools were slow and time-consuming compared to animal traction
'Animal fraction makes the difference between day and night!'. Statement during a women's discussion group. |
Overall, the women did not identify any practical improvements to their hand tools, or propose that improvements might be possible. Rather. they almost unanimously stated that the solution to their problems could only be achieved through widespread use of animal traction with donkeys. During several discussions, the women stated that they would need three animal-traction packages per group. With these, they would be able to service the needs of all their members.
Willingness to Pay More for Better Tools
There was a general willingness by groups to pay more for better tools, however, their were qualifying comments to the effect that they really must be better.
'Good things sell themselves.' Statement by men's discussion group. |
The Constraints and Opportunities
The determinant factors governing improved production technology for women in Burkina Faso fall under three main categories: socio-cultural, economic, and technical.
Socio-Cultural Factors
Women's lowly place in rural society brings with it many related problems. Especially important is women's lack of formal access to land rights: they do most of the work, but they are basically unpaid farm labour on the land assigned to their husbands. Thus, they have very limited access to cash or credit. In addition, they are seldom part of decision-making processes in the community, and even final decisions regarding the farm tools to be used by them seem to be taken by the men.
This situation seems to be so entrenched that it is beyond individual women to make any impact in changing it. Thus, empowering women through effective groups seems to be the only solution. Furthermore, recognized groups get access to land, even if it is not the best.
It is important to note, however, that men were found to be generally in favour of seeking improvements in the production technology available to women, so any attempts to do so would not necessarily be working in a hostile environment.
The work already being done by NGOs and various institutions in the area of women's groups must clearly be continued and expanded. Women's groups themselves recognize that access to resources, e.g. land and credit, is crucial for their success, as is education to mobilize and empower them, and also to sensitize men to women's capacities and needs.
Women see animal traction as the solution to their production problems. However, the only avenue for making it available to them is through the promotion of viable women's groups, especially when those groups have an activity in cash crops, such as horticulture in some parts of the Central Plateau. Some animal-traction packages could be made available to groups on credit. And following the group responsibility concept pioneered by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh could give high probability of good loan-recovery rates. It would be worth carrying out a more detailed study on how, precisely, animal traction could be made more accessible to women in Burkina Faso.
Whatever the specific and independent access by women to animal traction in the future, the traditional priority of working the family field first will surely remain in force. This means that animal traction for weeding, even if used by men, could considerably reduce women's work load in the family plots. In general, farmers in Burkina Faso using animal traction cultivate up to four tunes more land than those using hand tools only, so unless animal draft weeding is part of the technology used, the hand weeding task for women is greatly increased The conditions in the Central Plateau may not lend themselves at all times and in all places to the use of animal drawn planters, but where they generally do, any promotion of animal traction should include them and inter-row cultivators. Where they do not, expansion of the existing practice of hand-planting along lines scratched by simple row markers should be energetically encouraged so that animal draft weeding can follow.
The issue of longer handles for hoes - often assumed by outsiders the key to improved posture and less fatigue - appears to be decided by cultural conditioning and tradition in the Central Plateau. The people seem to believe that work can only be effectively done when bent double with a short hoe. Given the relatively heavy and stony soil conditions. this may in fact be true.
Only practical experiments with women in the field could answer this question. A project such as the IFAD supported one that provided the field researchers for this study could easily bring in a few long-handed hoes from the Peul areas to the north, or long hantle-hantled push-pull hoes of the sort widely used in Senegal, and conduct some comparative field trials with women's groups. It seems possible that a long-handled hoe might be suitable for overall weeding and for weeding within the row after an animal-drawn cultivator had worked along it.
Hard Work but Effective Watching women weeding with dabas in crops not planted in rows showed that the short handle allows them to make circular, sweeping movements around individual plants. It would be more difficult to get this precise control with a longer handle. And since the user was already bent double, she could use her other hand to shake soil from the roots of the weeds pulled out by the daba or to remove any soil that had been piled on to the plants. |
Economic
At least in the Central Plateau, where most of the country's farmers live, the agricultural economy is so poor thee hardly any investments in production technology, other than traditional hand-tools can be envisaged. The situation may be different in the cash crop (mainly cotton) areas in the west of the country, but the general conclusion must be that extreme poverty, coupled with erratic rainfall, makes improvements extremely difficult, if they involve higher costs. This is especially so given the widespread opinion that even credit for animal traction is not economically viable in the Central Plateau, at least for individual farmers.
In such a situation of subsistence agriculture with almost no cash income, even when a farmer recognizes that a tool is of higher than normal quality and will perhaps last twice as long, he simply cannot afford the initial outlay. This could be the reason for the fact that virtually all of the animal traction implements seen in the field during the study were the relatively cheap ones built by blacksmiths, though it is not certain that farmers would buy higher quality even if they had the money available.
Technical
The request from women that their hand-tools be lighter does not seem practically possible, for blacksmiths already use as little steel as they can when making them. And higher-quality steel that could be forged into thinner, stronger blades is not available.
The potential for improving the design of hand-tools, in terms of their shape and form, appears limited However, the same is not true for their quality and their durability. Certainly, the lack of quality raw materials is a major constraint, but even without them, better production techniques by blacksmiths could improve working efficiency and durability of the tools.
With regard to the possible introduction, production, and maintenance of improved or more complicated tools, the skills and technology used by blacksmiths at present would be generally insufficient to support them. Hence, any attempt to introduce new tools would need to be entrusted, at least initially, to a semi-industrial concern such as CNEA, working closely with the Division of Mechanization of the Department of Crop Production.
Both for improved hand and animal traction tools, as well as for possible new tools and implements, past training programmes for village blacksmiths need to be improved, intensified and expanded
With regard to possible introduction of hand-operated implements such as planters, wheeled hoes, and the like, the Division of Mechanization could devote some resources to this. In the same way that they are testing and copying animal drawn equipment developed in other countries, they could do the same with manual equipment. Just to cite some examples, there are plunger or jab-type hand planters, manually drawn seeders and wheeled hand hoes in production and use in numerous countries, ranging from Thailand to Zimbabwe, India, and Brazil. However, for this approach to be successful, the tests in the field and possible modifications to the equipment would need to be done in the closest collaboration with the intended users. Participatory qualitative research techniques, such as those used for this study, would be essential.
Members of Field Research Team
The Coordinator for the Study was Mr Fimba Julian Lompo, the Director of the IFAD supported Special Programme for Water and Soil Conservation and Agro-forestry in the Central Plateau
The actual research team was made up of the following people, all of them field staff of the Special Programme.
Mr Mamadou Barry
Ms Noëlie Bauda
Mr Joseph Kiendrébéogo
Ms Sié Orokia
Ms Fousséïna Ouédraogo
Ms Rosalie Ouedraogo
Mr Jean Chrysostome Pizongo
Ms Blandine Tiemtoré
Senegal
Context for the Study, its Scope, and Methods
1 The introductory and descriptive opening sections of this report are based on information gathered during training sessions in qualitative research methods with the national staff who were to conduct the study (all of whom had deep knowledge of the rural situation), on information collected during individual interviews, and on available literature. Some general information has also been lifted from the results of the Focus Group Discussions with rural people when it was considered that it would best fit in these opening sections.
The study was conducted within the context of the two IFAD projects, the Projet de Organisation et Gestion Villagois, and the Projet de Devéloppement de l'Agroforesterie. Field work was conducted in the areas around Kaolack and Diourbel, to the south-east and east of Dakar respectively.
These areas are in the groundout basin of the country, where the soils are generally light and even sandy. According to IFAD-project documents, this is the part of the country most threatened by environmental degradation and desertification. It is densely populated and annual rainfall declined from 700 mm in 1956 to 400 mm in 1985.
The field research for the study was conducted with a team of eight people - four women and four men. The women were field workers from the agro-forestry project, and the men were field workers in the village organization and management project. They received two days of formal workshop-type training and two days of supervised work in the field around Kaolack, after which the team divided into two groups of two couples each. One group remained in the area around Kaolack, while the other went to Diourbel.
A total of 25 focus group discussions were conducted, 18 with women, and 7 with men. A total of over 250 people were involved. The participants in the group discussions were always asked to bring their production tools to the meeting.
After the training and supervision of the field researchers, the Consultant and the APO held detailed discussions with blacksmiths in Kaolack and with other blacksmiths encountered on the roadside. They also held interviews with the following: industrial producers of animal draft equipment and hand tools; NGO's, government staff concerned with agricultural development and women's interests, the Senegalese agricultural research institute, the national agricultural credit organization, and an importer of agricultural equipment.
The Agricultural Production System and Women's Role in it. 2
2 The information provided here is only an outline. For a more detailed account, see the Senegal case study in Gondor and Agricuttural Engineering, FAO/AGSE occasional paper, December 1996.
The basis of the agricultural economy in the area where the research was conducted is groundnut production as a cash crop, with millet, sorghum, and maize as the staple grain crops. Minor cash crops are water melon and sesame.
Typically, there is a family plot of land, controlled by the head of the household, on which all the members of the family contribute their labour. In addition, women normally have smaller individual plots allocated to them by their husbands on which they grow produce for home consumption and sale. They may also have small vegetable gardens for year round cropping when water is available. In some cases, it is the male head of the household who determines what the women grow on their plots.
The whole family must give priority to working on the family plot, and if there is then another male member of the household, say an adult son, his plot is second in line. And it is only after this that the women's plots receive attention. The men prepare and seed these plots with animal traction, beginning with the plot of the first wife when there is more than one. This system means that, in effect and with timeliness is so important in the short cropping cycle, the women's plots may be worked later than would be ideal.
Formally recognized women's groups may be allocated a collective plot to work. However, they are normally assigned poor land, that may be distant from the village; and it is only allocated to them for a season or so at a time, for were they to cultivate the same plot for three seasons, they would acquire the right to do so permanently.
More than half of the farming families cultivate land holdings in excess of 6 ha and on average, there are 10 people in each family. The size of family holdings is decreasing because of population pressure. In recent years, farm incomes have been declining because of poor and irregular rains.
Concerning the contribution of women in farm production, according to several interviewees, there are 'two Senegals': in the south, the women are far more active than the men, whereas in the centre/north, men play the predominant role. In the south, rice growing is the exclusive domain of women. However, even in the centre of the country where the field research took place, women were also very much involved, and their role is constantly increasing as a result of an accelerating male exodus from rural areas. Some 15 per cent of rural families are estimated to be headed by women.
There is generally a division of labour between the sexes. Land clearing is carried out by the men, for it is seen to call for greater strength. Seedbed preparation - which normally involves a single pass with a cultivator to scratch the surface - and seeding are done by the men using animal traction. Inter-row cultivation is done by men or male children, while the hand hoeing that follows is done by both men and women. However, from general observation in the central part of the country, men appear to predominate in this work.
Women play a particularly important part in the harvest, especially of groundnuts. After a man passes an animal-drawn groundnut lifter, the women gather the crop into small piles for collection by the men. Once it has been left to dry for some time, the women thrash and winnow it by hand. a particularly arduous task which also depends on there being a suitable wind. In addition, the women spend further time gleaning in the soil with their hands for any groundnuts still left. These gleaned groundnuts are theirs to consume or sell.
As is usual in Africa, women are also responsible for the poultry and small ruminants normally kept by the family.
Within a typical rural family, the men control the financial resources, and women's only direct income comes from the possible sales of surplus from their individual plots, or from groundnut gleanings.
As an example of unexpected and unwanted reaction to the introduction of new technologies, there is the Senegal case of an improved groundnut litter that left less groundnuts in the soil. This implement was resisted by the women because it would reduce their Income from gleaned groundnuts. |
The Production Tools Encountered and their Use
The tools encountered in each group were basically the same. (Photographs are provided in Annex 6).
Animal Traction
All groups had animal traction implements that included hoes, seeders, and groundnut lifters. In the main, unless they had been built by blacksmiths, they were extremely old, for reasons that will be explained in the next section.
Two basic types of cultivators are the commonest: a spring-tine cultivator, known as the houe sine, and fitted with either chisel points or duckfoot sweeps; a rigid-tine cultivator fitted with duckfoot sweeps, known as the houe occidentals. In the area where the study was conducted, only horses and donkeys are used as draft animals, whereas in the south, oxen are also used
Hand Tools
Among the hand tools, three types of hoe were encountered.
Hilaire. 3 This is by far the commonest hoe. It has a kidney- or heart-shaped blade attached to a very long handle. It is used standing upright and with a horizontal pushing and pulling movement. It is exclusively used for weeding in light sandy soils; it is seldom used in the heavier soil conditions of the south. According to verbal reports, the hilaire was introduced to Senegal some 55-60 years ago. Before that, all weeding was done, bent double or squatting, with short-handled tools.
3 It was not possible to determine the origin of this name. One might speculate that it is a French spelling of the English hiller which is used to describe a certain type of tine fitted to cultivators. The other local names provided in this report are in Wolof.
The handle for the hilaire is the only one that is made by the farmer by cutting it from a suitable tree. Virtually all of the other hand-tools have crafted wooden handles that are made by the country's carpenter caste, known as the Laobé. Tools, apart from the hilaire, are therefore bought by farmers complete with their handles.
Soth-sokh. This hoe is used in a deep squatting position or bent double. It has a horizontal action like a hilaire but is has a very short handle with a crafted pistol-like grip at the end. The flat blade is oval. This hoe is used by men exclusively, particularly the weaker and the elderly. The squatting position is not considered suitable for women. The sokh-sokh is considered to be effective when there is dense weed growth. Today, it is a far less common hoe than the hilaire; in fact, while travelling around the countryside, only one person was seen using one, whereas hundreds of people were seen using hilaires.
Ngos-ngos is a small hoe in the form of a traditional African hoe but with a very short handle, which is usually made of wood The blade of the ngos-ngos is fixed to the handle by a spike (tang) that is heated and driven through the wood. Some ngos-ngos are made with handles of steel tube welded to the blade. There is a tendency to fit longer handles to the ngos-ngos so that it can be used in a more upright position. It is then usually called a daba or a larmet, and it is also used for building bunds
Axes/Cuffing Tools
Traditional axes (khep) in varying sizes are used for cutting shrubs and clearing fields before planting. Machetes (coupe-coupe) were also found. These are imported, generally from Brazil.
Harvesting Tools
A variety of knives and sickles, most made locally.
Rakes and Five-tined Forks
These have come into use in recent years with the expansion in the practice of compost making, though they are also used for raking groundnut haulms during harvest. They are produced by local blacksmiths. The rakes are made from a piece of mild-steel plate from which the gaps between the teeth are cut with a hammer and chisel. The forks are made from round-steel rod duly worked into points. According to some reports, the rakes are especially prone to breakage, though during the group discussions it was said that they could last up to ten years.
Miscellaneous
In one village, an imported European scoop shovel with a D-shaped handle, like that used in Northern Europe for coal, was found. There were also an imported digging hoe and a pick-axe, but none of these appeared to have been used much. Similar implements were not seen in any other villages.
An animal-draft rake, to be mounted on the frame of the spring-timed cultivator, was seen in one village. It was 75 cm wide, with teeth 45 cm long. It was made by a local blacksmith, from steel reinforcing rod, at the request of the farmer.
Mechanization in Senegal - Past and Present Developments
Animal traction was introduced in the early 1960s and is the basis for agricultural production in the country. A state company, Siscomar, was created in 1963 to manufacture implements under licence from a French company. Three sizes and weights of frame were produced for use with horses/donkeys on the one hand, and oxen on the other. They mounted up to three or five tines for cultivating, and various sizes of mouldboard ploughs and ridgers. Seeders were also produced.
This range of equipment was made available to farmers under a credit programme launched by the Government of President Senghor in 1970. About 800,000 units were produced and sold before the credit scheme was abandoned in 1980, by when there were unpaid farmers' debts reportedly in excess of CFA 20 billion. At that time, Siscomar had a production capacity of up to 150,000 units a year.
Siscomar was sold to a group of private entrepreneurs and changed its name to Sismar in 1981. The Government assured it that there would be credit for further purchases of equipment by farmers, but this did not materialize. Thus, from 1980 onwards, virtually no implements built by Sismar were sold in Senegal, except through externally-funded development programmes. The company survived through exports, mainly to the Ivory Coast, and through diversification into other fields, such as manufacture of school furniture.
Meanwhile, blacksmiths began to repair and renovate existing Siscomar implements, so most of them seen in the field were ancient and had been repeatedly patched up. In rarer cases, blacksmiths also build complete implements. Those encountered showed considerable variation; they tended to be copies of copies and mixtures of different models, all produced from scrap metal.
However, at the time of this study, there were prospects for a considerable improvement in the mechanization scene, for in 1997, after some 16 years with practically no credit available, the Government launched its 'Agricultural Programme'. This aims to re-vitalize this seriously depressed sector, which occupies over 70 percent of the population and provides about 30 per cent of export earnings.
With support from World Bank and other lending institutions such as the West African Development Bank, credit and other farming support services are to be regenerated. In the specific field of farm equipment, credit for 5 years at 7½ per cent interest is being introduced. This should open new horizons for updating and improving the implement park, and for making animal traction more available to women.
However, the situation is still complicated by several factors, which in essence are as follows:
· The credit system is based on CNCA providing coupons to farmers who then give them to the manufacturer in exchange for new implements. The manufacturer, once he has delivered the implement to the farmer, presents the coupon with the invoice to CNCA who pay him directly. This is a satisfactory system for the very few industrial manufacturers, but it is not yet clear how blacksmiths, who seldom become involved in paperwork and invoices, can be included in the scheme. According to one interviewee among the manufacturers, CNCA may also be reluctant to provide credit for equipment made by blacksmiths, usually using scrap materials, and for which there is no guarantee of quality.
· Implements are invariably purchased just before the rainy season, and at no other time. This means that manufacturers have to build the implements over a period of several months earlier, say between January and June, and have them ready for delivery in a very concentrated period around July. In 1997, there was a delay in announcing the funds that would be available, and Sismar and another major manufacturer, URPATA Sahel, could not start building implements in time to have sufficient available in stock to meet demand.
· For 1998, there was a further problem. Sismar believed, from a market survey it had conducted, that it could sell 30 - 40,000 animal draft units for the cropping season, worth about CFA 1.5 billion. However, to produce these implements, Sismar needed to order the raw materials in Europe, to a value of about CFA 500 million, in October-November 1997, for delivery in December. CNCA does not begin paying manufacturers on the basis of their coupons for sold implements until about 2 months into the cropping season, i.e. around September. Thus, even with 90-day terms of payment to the European suppliers of the steel, there would be a credit gap of several months. In September 1997, Sismar was looking for the CFA 500 million it needed to buy its raw materials, and it seemed that this aspect has not been taken into account in the Governments plans. Unless a solution were found, the potential market for new implements might not be satisfied; credit would be available to farmers, but the implements would not be.
Cultural and Socio-Economic Considerations
Working posture
Senegal does not have the cultural conditioning found in some countries to the effect that work can only be properly done with a short-handled implement and while bent double. The introduction within living memory of the long-handled hilaire, and its almost total adoption in the areas of the centre and north - where it is particularly suitable because the soils are relatively light - testifies to this openness. In addition, the study team noted while travelling in the countryside that the very short-handled and traditional sokh-sokh was hardly being used for hoeing today, and this was confirmed in the discussion groups, another change that testifies to a level of flexibility and interest in adopting less tiring tools. Animal traction was also adopted very readily and widely in the years after its introduction.
The Senegalese have been consistent travellers for decades, even if only as members of the French army, and perhaps this helped to develop an openness to the outside world, and a readiness for change, even if it happened under duress.
The System of Groupement d'Interêt Economique
Senegal has a system of Economic Interest Groups, known is GIEs. Under this, two or more people can get together to create a GE, and once formed, this gives them formal status, access to credit, and the like. The capital required to create a GE is about CFA 45,000. Women's groups normally form themselves into a GE.
Access to Land and Credit
As already mentioned, credit for agricultural production was basically unavailable in the years 1980-97. But even now, obtaining it depends on being able to provide certain guarantees. the most usual of which is being able to show access to a reasonable area of cropland. Unless they are heads of households or form a GIE, women's lack of access to land automatically debars them from obtaining credit. For this reason, as in many other African countries, women have benefited from credit to a much lesser extent than men.
There is not much point trying to improve production technology for women if they don't have access to/and' Memer of field research team during Focus Group Discussion training. |
Although women's lack of access to land is the main reason for their not being eligible for loans, it was also pointed out by one interviewee that, compared to men, they have less availability of time and other resources that would permit them to embark on the long bureaucratic procedure involved in obtaining credit. For example, a woman living in a rural area will have to make trips to the nearest major town, and possibly spend one or more nights there. This involves costs that she may be unable to meet, as well as an absence from her home and children that may be difficult to organize. Thus, it is extremely difficult for an individual women to obtain credit; only by working through a GE, sharing costs, and relying on group support, can a member of the group undertake the procedures on behalf of the rest and provide the necessary guarantees.
The Caste Systems
Certain occupations in countries of West Africa are subject to a caste system. For example, castes exist for blacksmiths, carpenters (the Laobé mentioned earlier), leather workers, story-tellers/singers, and jewellers. Blacksmiths are on the lowest rung of the social ladder.
That blacksmiths are a caste has importance in a village context, for in effect, their caste is a group with a certain solidarity and commonality of interests. For example, they often share forges and seem to set common prices for the tools they produce. This gives them a degree of power in their relationships with villagers, who depend mainly on them for the tools they need. And it also affects tool-buying habits, in that farmers prefer to buy from the blacksmiths - rather than buying industrially-produced tools - in the interests of harmonious relationships in the village and in order to obtain follow-up repairs and maintenance more easily.
Draft Animals for Women
Horses are the most commonly used draft animals in the central part of the country where the study was conducted. A horse costs from CFA 80 -120,000, whereas a donkey can be bought for CFA 12-30,000. Prices are influenced by the time of year, for no one will sell any draft animal during the cropping season and when fodder is abundant.
Unlike donkeys that manage to survive by browsing on almost any available vegetation, horses are less hardy and are generally fed peanut straw. :This makes it very difficult for women to own horses, for peanut straw belongs to the men, and it is expensive to buy. Thus, if a women manages to acquire a horse, when she needs peanut straw for it, she has to rely on her husband provide it, thereby effectively relinquishing much of her ownership rights in the horse. For this reason, as well as for their lower initial price, donkeys are generally considered to be more suitable for women.
Institutional Aspects
Government Research
ISRA, the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research, has a Mechanization Section at its headquarters in Bambey. However, at the time of the visit by the study team, the Section had no professional staff. The head of the Unit had been posted elsewhere, and there was no indication of when he might be replaced.
For this reason, it was difficult to obtain precise information, but it seems that the area of manually-operated or animal traction tools for agricultural production has not attracted significant attention. On the other hand, considerable attention seems to have been given to post-harvest technology. This was also confirmed by URPATA Sahel, initially a manufacturer of grain mills before becoming involved in animal-drawn implements, who stated that they worked closely with ISRA's Mechanization Section in developing their products.
There are no institutions in the country with capacity in fields such as ergonomics that could assist the mechanization specialists in developing improved manually-operated tools
Blacksmith Development and Training
A project called Projet Artisans Metal et Cuir (P.A.M.E.C) is supported by French bilateral aid and is located in Thies.
Government Programmes for Women
The Ministry for Women, Children, and Family is very much interested in technology for women, but so far its programmes and projects in the rural sector have concentrated on postharvest operations and reducing women's work and drudgery on the domestic front, for example through devices to lift water from wells and pumps.
Producers of Tools and Implements
Sismar
This company has already been mentioned in connection with the new credit situation. It has the largest production potential in the country and employs about 100 workers. At its peak in the 1970s, it employed about 1,000.
URPATA/SAHEL
This organization, which produces animal draft implements, mills, thrashers, and the like, merits a short description; for unlike Sismar, which is a commercial operation only, URPATA is also a development organization. Its name is an acronym for the French version of 'Unit for Research, Production and Assistance for Appropriate Technology Adapted to the Sahel'.
It was founded in the early 1990s as a GE by a group of people who had worked in local NGOs. In addition to manufacturing and selling equipment, it provides training and follow-up services. It has received financial support from a number of international NGO donors. This enabled it to set up its production plant and create a revolving fund that provides 3-year credit to purchasers of its products. The plant was deliberately established in a village - N'guekhokh, about an hour's drive from Dakar - where it has created about a hundred jobs. The operation is now commercially viable, with a turnover of CFA Francs 418 million in 1995,496 million in 1996, and an estimated 600 million in 1997.
Sorex-Chim
This is one of two or three small companies in and around Dakar that manufactures and sells hand implements such as hoes, shovels, pick-axes, and manure forks copied from European models.
The hoes seen at Sorex-Chim's sales outlet were long-handled, but instead of having the flat blade for a horizontal pushing-pulling action like the hilaire, they had a blade set more or less at right angles to the handle. The user chops downwards into the soil and pulls the hoe towards him/herself. They were lightweight hoes and made of quality, new materials, but they cost more than twice as much as a hilaire produced by a blacksmith.
According to a Sorex-Chim interviewee, these hoes have only been on the market in quite recent years, and so far they have not been bought by farmers directly; most sales have been to NGOs who then distribute them. However, none of these hoes were encountered during the field work for the study.
Blacksmiths
Blacksmiths in Senegal fall into two broad categories: those working where electricity is available and who have been able to buy an arc welder, and those in remoter villages who have only a forge and hand-tools. The former can and do produce animal traction implements, as well as forging hand-tools, but the latter are confined to making hand-tools.
The blacksmiths generally use scrap for the implements, though some, working within the context of the French supported project based in Thies, are reportedly using new materials.
The animal-draft implements are generally copies of the ones built by Sismar, but with considerable variation.
The Practice and Perceptions of Rural People regarding Production Technology
Some of the factual information that came out of the Focus Group Discussions has been combined with information from interviews and available literature to provide the foregoing general descriptions of the agricultural production and social scene in rural Senegal.
In addition, the following specific points emerged from the group discussions:
Time Spent by Women Working in the field |
Days/year |
Weeding |
60 |
Harvesting, including hand thrashing and winnowing |
90-120 |
Differences in Tools used by Women and Men
The only tool used generally by women in the fields is the hilaire hoe, though a few may use the ngos-ngos, the traditional type of African hoe. A few men still use the sokh-sokh, but the squatting position needed for it is generally seen as being uncomfortable and tiring, hence its tendency to disappear.
It was difficult to obtain a coherent picture of the situation with regard to the use of animal traction by women. Some interviewees among government staff stated that women made extensive use of animal traction, but in the group discussions with the women and men farmers, the contrary was stated. Indeed, those discussions showed that animal traction was the exclusive preserve of men, but with boys also using it for inter-row weeding. It is possible, however, that the situation varies in different regions of the country.
Discussion groups with men revealed the opinion that animal traction tools were too heavy for women, and that they were not trained to use animal traction. However, the commonest hoe, the rigid-tine houe occidentale, is in fact quite light. And if boy children use it, as the consultant and the APO saw for themselves, why not women too?
A possible interpretation of the opinions expressed by the men is that they want to continue to monopolize animal traction, and/or that for historic and cultural reasons it is seen to be their preserve.
A few group discussions with women showed that they wanted access to animal traction, but they repeated the view of the men that the implements were heavy and that they were not trained to use animal traction. A spokeswoman in the Ministry for Women, Children, and Family, when asked for her views on the issue of animal traction for women, said that she thought that women almost certainly would like to use it, if given the chance.
Time and resources only allowed a short period of orientation and training for the research team in the objectives of the study and in the qualitative research method to be used. Overall, they did a truly outstanding job, but they did not delve sufficiently into this issue of women and the use of animal traction during the Focus Group Discussions.
Renewal of Tools
The hand-tools are generally renewed annually, although handles may break and need replacing more frequently. Rakes were said to last up to ten years
Where Tools are Purchased and at what Cost
Tools are almost invariably bought from local blacksmiths. The figures on the next page provide an overview of the prices being paid by farmers for their tools, as well as prices obtained from dealers and industrial producers.
Preference for Industrially- or Blacksmith-Produced Tools
The groups all recognized that the quality of industrially-produced tools was superior, that they performed better and lasted longer. However, they were much more expensive.
Furthermore, as mentioned in the earlier section on the social relationships surrounding the blacksmith caste, farmers prefer to buy from blacksmiths in the interests of harmony in the community and follow up repair and maintenance.
Changes that have taken Place in Hand-Tools and Implements in Past Decades
The only spontaneous change mentioned by the groups was the tendency to fit longer-handles to the ngos-ngos, and the issue of handle-length was evidently recognized as being of importance for comfort and reduced fatigue.
New tools that were identified as having been brought in from outside were the hilaire hoe and animal draft. The animal-draft seeder was mentioned as having made the greatest difference to the production systems. Some women got up from their groups to demonstrate how, prior to the arrival of the seeders, they had planted by making each hole by hand. They showed the action with a ngos-ngos, but mentioned that there had been a special small planting tool, even smaller than the ngos-ngos and known as a konko, which had disappeared with the advent and spread of the seeder.
'When animal-draft planters arrived, and some people started to use them, the others laughed at them and said that they were throwing their precious seed away. But it was not long before everybody wanted one." Statement by participant in a discussion group. |
Other Tools and Implements known by Groups but seldom owned by Group Members
No other hand or animal draft implements were known by the groups, but some mentioned tractors, and ploughs and seed-drills for them, that they had seen elsewhere.
Who Decides what Tools to Buy
According to group discussions and to the research team, it is invariably the man who decides on the tools to be bought, and in most cases he buys them. It was said that he may consult his eldest son, but the women are not involved in the decision-making, though they may contribute to the cost if they have income from their plots. However, the study team thinks it is quite possible that people said this for socio-cultural reasons; for it could well be unseemly in their society to state openly that women play a role in decision-making, whereas behind closed doors with their husbands, they may well contribute significantly to the decisions taken. This was declared to be the case in most of the other countries of the study.
Improvements that Women would like for their Tools
'We had never really thought about trying to improve the tools that we and our women use, and we have no dialogue about this with technicians or blacksmiths.' Mens discussion group near Kaolack |
Longer handles for the ngos-ngos was a common request. These tools are generally bought complete with their handles, and therefore, to obtain longer ones would call for more dialogue between the producers and their clients.
Some groups said that they would like to have wider blades on them, and also on their hilaires.
With regard to animal traction, both men and women's groups identified an improvement they would like in the cultivators/weeders: they would like to be able to alter the working width on the move, as and when the space between the rows becomes narrower or wider, and they would like to be able to do this by simply opening or closing the handles on the implement.
Willingness to Pay More for Better Tools
There was a general willingness by groups to pay more for better tools, provided they in fact performed better. Some men's groups said that they would like women to have access to credit so they could buy better tools.
The Constraints and Opportunities
The determining factors governing improved production technology for women in Senegal fall under two main categories: socio-economic and technical.
Socio-Economic Factors
Women's lack of access to land title, and the fact that most of their work is not remunerated, gives them very limited cash or possibilities for obtaining credit. In addition, they are seldom part of decision-making processes in the community, and even decisions regarding the farm tools to be used by them seem to be taken mainly by the men.
'We would like our women not to have to work in the fields at a/l. We would like to be mechanized so that we can do an the field work and come home in the evening to our wives who only have to look after our homes and children. In that way they would not get old so quickly. Comment during a men's discussion group |
This situation seems to be so entrenched that it is beyond individual women to make any impact in changing it. Thus, empowering women through effective groups and GIEs seems to be the only solution. Furthermore, recognized groups get access to land, even if it is not the best, and even if it is not granted for more than a year at a time. found to be in favour of seeking improvements in the production technology available to women, so any attempts to do so would be working in a favourable environment.
The work already being done by projects, NGOs and various institutions in the area of women's groups must clearly be continued and expanded. Women's groups themselves recognize that access to resources, e.g. land and credit, is crucial for their success, as is education to mobilize and empower them, and also to sensitize men to women's needs and capacities.
Technical
The only opportunity for improving hand-tools lies in the area of quality and handle-length. For reasons explained earlier, people prefer to buy their tools from their local blacksmiths, and therefore these artisans are the key to improvements.
In addition to the obvious area of blacksmith training and development, which needs further reinforcement, it would certainly be worth trying to create more technical dialogue between blacksmiths and their customers. (The case of the customer, cited earlier, who had asked a blacksmith to make him an animal-drawn rake was a rarity, for normally there is no significant consultation).
Development projects - such as the two IFAD ones worked with in Senegal - and government extension services could quite easily organize forums in which blacksmiths, farmers, and technicians could meet and discuss tools, handle length, and the like. And women's groups being formed by NGOs and development programmes could be encouraged to enter into discussion with the blacksmiths supplying their tools. This would be the most obvious way to meet the requests made for longer handles and wider blades in the discussion groups.
For women who grow vegetables, lifting water from wells by hand and carrying it in buckets to the plots is time-consuming and tiring. AnimaI-powered pulley lifts and simple pumps are made in Senegal under the aegis of the French-supported artisan development programme (P.A..M.E.C.). It would also be possible to install a pipe or channel system to take the lifted water by gravity to the plots. However, the introduction of these improvements reverts us to the underlying issue of women's access to credit. Once again, it is only women's groups that have formed GlE's that have any opportunities in this direction. And even then there may be serious problems, for it is not uncommon to find a group of 100 women who have been allocated one hectare of land. Again, the economic viability is so low that credit would not be granted.
Credit is also the factor that limits women's access to animal traction, though for reasons explained earlier in connection with peanut straw, women would in practice not be able to use horses independently. They would, however, be able to use donkeys.
The groundnut harvest is certainly labour intensive and tiring for women, and so are their gleaning operations by hand. One interviewee stated that he had seen women gleaning in the soil with a tablespoon. The issue was not specifically raised by the groups, but one is forced to wonder whether it would not be possible to develop a hand tool that would make this task easier and quicker.
Furthermore, even if threshing and winnowing is technically a post-harvest activity, and therefore beyond the scope of this study, this operation is considered to be gruelling for women and enormously time-consuming. Some years ago, a Brazilian machine was imported which was similar in some ways to a combine harvester. After the groundnuts had been lifted in the normal way and allowed to dry, the machine moved along the row, gathering up the groundnuts and their haulms, thrashing and winnowing them, and depositing the haulms or straw back on the field. Quite apart from the cost of such a machine, it was not suitable because the peanut straw is so valuable as fodder in Senegal.
What is really needed, but what does not exist in Senegal, is a stationary groundnut thrasher that could be bought by groups or contractors.
Members of Field Research Team
The Coordinator for the study was Mr Wally Ndiaye, the Technical Director of the IFAD-supported project for Village Organization and Management based in Kaolack The field researchers named below were drawn from this Project and from the IFAD-supported Agro-Forestry Development Project based in Diourbel. All of the men in the team were from the project based in Kaolack, while the women were from the one in Diourbel.
Mr Balla Moussa Dabo
Ms Arame Fall Dieng
Ms Thioro Ba Fall
Ms Aminata Ndiaye Ka
Mr Babacar Seck Mbaye
Mr Baba Mboup
Ms Fatou Kane Ndiaye
Mr Mamadou Sane
Uganda
1 The introductory and descriptive opening sections of this report are based on information gathered during training sessions in qualitative research methods with the national staff who were to conduct the study (all of whom had deep knowledge of the rural situation), on information collected during individual interviews, and on available literature. Some general information has also been lifted from the results of the Focus Group Discussions with rural people when it was considered that it would best fit in these sections.
Context for the Study, its Scope, and Methods
The field work for the study was coordinated by the Agricultural Engineering and Appropriate Technology Research Institute (AEATRI), which is part of the National Agricultural Research Organization and is also the government facilitating body for the SIDA/FAO FARMESA programme.
The field work for the study in Uganda was conducted in two different parts of the country: the District of Mubende in Central Uganda (to the west of Kampala) and the District of Soroti, in the north-eastern part of the country.
There are distinct differences in the farming systems in these two areas. Mubende is favoured by rainfall throughout most of the year, and by heavy rains in the periods March-April and September-November. The high altitude near the Equator provides a favourable climate with temperatures in the 23-29°C. range. About three-quarters of the population of 580,000 are involved in agriculture, which is mainly at the subsistence level.
The main food crops in Mubende District are plantains (for the staple matoke), finger millet, maize, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, and groundouts. The main cash crops are coffee and tea, though some cotton, vanilla, sunflowers and soya beans are also grown. Although livestock exists, it is not an integral part of the farming system.
The soils are generally of medium texture but also stony in some areas. The morphology of the District is varied: much of it is hilly, with small sloping plots, but other areas are flat. The average size of holding is about 3 ha.
The District of Soroti is larger in area than Mubende, but has a smaller population (about 431,000 according to the 1991 survey). It is generally drier than Mubende, but it also has two rainy seasons, in the periods March-May and August-October. The main crops include sorghum, cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, and cow peas, with rice and maize as minor crops. Until the late 1970s, cotton was a very important cash crop in the area, but its role has declined drastically due to its high cost of production and poor marketing infrastructure. In recent years, sunflower, soya beans and a number of what used to be traditional food crops have been assuming increasing cash-earning roles.
The average size of land holding is about 8-12 ha, but the amount of land actually under cultivation has declined significantly as a result of a period of internal strife in the area in the years 1986-1992. More than 80 per cent of households depend on agriculture, usually at subsistence level, for their livelihood. Livestock has always formed a strong part of the farming system in Soroti District, though during the insurgency of recent years in the north, the cattle population has been seriously depleted through rustling by marauding tribes from neighbouring areas. However, there are still an estimated 77,000 head of cattle in the District.
The field research for the study was conducted with a team of eight people - five women and three men. Two of the team were from AEATRI, two were from the Department of Women Studies of Makerere University, and the other four were from the extension services in Mubende and Soroti.
Care was taken to chose people who were fluent in the main local languages of the Districts in which the study was to be conducted. However, given the number of languages in Uganda, and the fact that several may be used in one community, problems could have been expected. Fortunately, only two facilitators reported some language difficulties in one group in Mubende and in one in Soroti.
A total of 26 focus group discussions were conducted, and of these 17 were with women, and 9 with men. A total of about 245 people were involved. The participants in the group discussions were always asked to bring their production tools to the meeting.
The Agricultural Production System and Women's Role in it.
The agricultural production system varies considerably across Uganda's different regions. For example, animal traction first introduced in Tororo Dictrict in the eastern part of the country in 1909, spread from there into the northern regions around Soroti. However, it was then blocked from spreading further west by the tsetse fly and by the shortage of bovines, which were not part of the farming system further west. In the extreme south-west of the country, cattle are so highly prized and regarded that to use them for draft tillage would be unseemly.
'People in the south west look upon cattle like the Hindus in India. It would be an insult to use them to pull a plough!' Comment by member of field research team. |
There is a recent draft proposal to FAO to create an Animal Traction Development Centre in the country. This proposal identifies that only about 27 per cent of Uganda's arable land is under cultivation, and that almost 90 per cent of the land that is cultivated is worked by human labour with hand tools. Only 8 per cent is tilled with animal power and 2 per cent with tractor power.
In most parts of the country, the men play an active role in the clearing of land before primary tillage, and if they have draft animals, they usually do the ploughing. They also help out with most operations for labour-intensive crops such as potatoes. Although women may also participate in land clearing, it is usually after this operation that they become fully involved and indeed often take a leading role.
'For a man, a crop means Income. For a woman, a crop means food. Whenever cash Is involved, men also become involved' Comment by member of field research team. |
In Mubende District, planting in rows is not common. For example, groundnuts are planted randomly, and millet is broadcast. This naturally means that weeding can only be done with hand hoes. Nor is planting in rows universally applied in Soroti District, and where it is, inter-cropping is quite common' which again complicates the control of weeds.
Typically in Uganda, there is a family plot of land, controlled by the head of the household, on which all the members of the family contribute their labour, as a priority. In addition, women normally have smaller individual plots allocated to them by their husbands on which they grow produce for home consumption and some sale. Women are also responsible for most of the poultry and small ruminants normally kept by the family. They also assist with cutting and carrying forage for zero-grazing. The men generally take the responsibility for selling farm produce.
'Men only wait for the end results [of our work] - food at the dining table!.' Comment by a women's discussion group in Mubende. |
Women's groups have been forming in quite recent years. They may borrow land, but they have to pay for it. On occasion they are granted government land
A feature of women's groups in Uganda, and a difference compared with some other countries, is that they usually include a few men. This is generally a positive step because the men become involved in the group, know what is going on, and can mead its causes with other men in the community. And in addition, it may open the door to credit for the group in that men may be persuaded to put up their land as collateral.
The Production Tools Encountered and their Use
Photographs of the tools encountered are provided in Annexe 6.
Animal Traction Implements
In the Mubende District no animal traction implements were found whereas in Soroti they were fairly widespread. Some were imported from India or Brazil. The country's factory producing animal traction implements, the Soroti Agricultural Implements and Machinery Manufacturing Company (SAIMMCO), founded in 1990. is now the main source.
'In the days when we used an A-H 2 seeder for planting, weeding was easy and the yields were higher. ' Comment during a women's discussion group, Soroti |
2 A-H were the brand initials for an engineering company in Soroti which was mainly concerned with equipment for the cotton ginning industry but which also produced animal draft implements.
Animal traction is mainly limited to ploughing, with relatively little use of animal drawn planters, or cultivators/weeders. Some groups mentioned that there were broken down planters, weeders, and ploughs imported from Brazil in the area, and that no spare parts were available to repair them.
Hand Tools
The hoes encountered were all of basically the same, traditional, chop-downwards-and pull type. Curiously, there were few made by local artisans, for it seems that in Uganda, blacksmiths are relatively rare in the rural areas compared to other countries.
The majority of hoes seen had been imported from China, the Cock Brand. Some others seen -Crocodile Brand - were made in a plant at Jinja owned by Chillington of the UK.
The Cock Brand Chinese hoe has an industrially forged eye-ring fitting for the handle. The hoe comes in at least two different weights, 2½ and 3 pounds. There may be additional weights in the range, but these were the only variations actually found. People generally do not know that different weights exist: they simply buy what they find available in their local store or market. In general, the Cock Brand hoes were well thought of, though some damaged and broken ones were brought to the discussion groups.
It was stated by one interviewee that there were as many as five 'fake' Cock Brand hoes sold in Uganda and that these were not as good as the originals. One of these 'fakes', or 'duplicates' as they are more politely termed, is said also to be made in China, while another is said to be made in India The appearance of them all is identical, but the quality of their steel varies, according to the opinions heard
One particular type of hoe that was much praised in the Mubende area was known as the 'Finland hoe'. It is not clear exactly how it got this name, but according to one source it was brought into Uganda under an IFAD project and distributed at a subsidized price. This tool has a socket fitting for the handle, created by folding the same steel plate that forms the blade, and it does not look like the product of industrial production techniques, which mainly turn out hoes with forged ring fittings. However, the Finland hoe was particularly appreciated for the quality of its steel, and many groups commented that they were sorry it was no longer available. They particularly liked it because it was light yet robust, and maintained a sharp cutting edge over time.
Some tools that were shaped like a hoe but which had three or more teeth in place of the hoe blade were seen. These were said to be excellent for some weeding operations, particularly where there were infestations of couch grass, but they were also said to be expensive. Such 'fork-hoes' are quite often lent, or in effect hired out. from one family to another.
'We women often go out as hired labour to well-to-do neighbours in exchange for borrowed tools instead of cash.' Statement during women's discussion group in Mubende. |
Handles for tools are in some cases made by men in the family, or in other cases bought from specialist handle-makers. Tools are very seldom bought complete. Handle length is dictated by personal preference, but in general, handles tend to be medium in length
Small weeding hoes, with very short handles were found in some communities, especially in Soroti District. In addition, for the fine task of weeding millet, the commonly used tool is a strip of flexible steel normally used as a strap for fixing roofing timbers together. It is about 18-20 cm. long and about 2-3 cm. wide. It can be bent into whatever shape is required for scratching around the millet plants. Some groups mentioned that in the extreme north of Uganda, specially-shaped pointed sticks are used for this tedious and back-breaking task.
Axes/Cutting Tools
'The heavy axes have turned out to be tools only for men. Children, especially, cannot use them.' Women's group in Mubende |
Axes in varying sizes are used for cutting shrubs and clearing fields before planting. The axes tended to be very heavy and were used mainly by men. Pangas, or machetes, were also found. The best were said to be those imported from China. Those from India were considered to be of lower quality. The Chillington plant in Jinja also makes machetes but they cannot compete on price with the Chinese imports.
There were traditional curved knives and modem straight-bladed knives. The curved type is a multi-purpose tool that is used for various agriculture practices, as well as for basket-weaving. But today it is being replaced by modern straight-bladed knives, many of them made locally
'Our traditional curved knife used to be given to a girl when she got married, and a/so to any heir as a blessing. It was believed to increase our harvests.' Comment during women's discussion group in Mubende. |
Pruning Tools for Plantains
The tool for cutting old fronds from plantain and banana stems is usually improvised by cutting a small branch from a tree, making a slit through it near one end, pushing a knife through the slit so that the blade protrudes at a right angle to one side, and tying it in place. Reaching up with the stick, the worker places the blade of the knife on the top side of the frond, close to the main stem, and by pulling downwards, cuts it off. The tool can also be assembled so that it cuts when pushed upwards against the base of the frond. Locally-made special tools for this task do exist, but very few were seen.
Tools for Removing Suckers from Plantains and Bananas
Hoes are generally used for this task, which curiously was never mentioned a time-consuming and tiring chore during group discussions. It was only later, when the study had been completed in Uganda, that FAO's Sub-Regional Representative for Southern and Eastern Africa based in Harare, (Victoria Sekitoleko - a Ugandan) mentioned this operation as tedious and that a special hand tool existed for it in Australia.
Harvesting Tools
A variety of knives and sickles were seen. And for harvesting sweet potatoes and yams, a variety of pointed sticks and old spear points fixed to handles were encountered. The traditional hand hoe is also an important tool for the harvesting of tubers and root crops.
Miscellaneous
A few of the groups had rakes, but they were not common.
Cultural and Socio-Economic Considerations
Working posture
'The old hand hoes of the past were not wide enough, had short handles, and caused back pain. That is why most old people from those days have bent backs. Today, you can fit a comfortable handle, and the tools are wide' and more effective compared to the old ones. Comments during a women's discussion group in Soroti. |
Uganda does not have the deep cultural conditioning found in some countries to the effect that work can only be properly done with a short-handled implement and while bent double. Indeed, although no one actually works upright in the areas of the study, it was generally found that people do in fact chose handle lengths that they believe will be the most appropriate for them and for the task to be done. This has not always been so, for in the Soroti area, groups commented that in the past, hoes always had short handles.
Even so, there is a generalized feeling among men that women should work with shorter handles than men do, but there was no rational explanation of why this should be so and therefore the opinion is probably based on cultural conditioning.
In the north of Uganda, the Langi tribe are reported to use long-handled push-pull hoes. Opinions about these varied between the groups in the Soroti area. Some stated they would like to have them but they were not available in their area. Most were less positive, saying they were not used to such hoes and that the handles would be difficult to maintain.
Land Tenure and Credit
Women have virtually no access to land rights, though in theory they can inherit land. Since land rights are the usual collateral requested by credit institutions, the result is that individual women cannot obtain loans for investment in agricultural production technology. Once again, this confirms the importance of the women's group approach, and with the Ugandan practice of including some men in those groups, there does appear to be at least some opportunity for obtaining credit by offering the men's land rights as guarantees.
Draft Animals for Women
In much of Western Uganda, there are taboos against women working with cattle, and they would therefore be automatically debarred from using animal traction with oxen. In the Soroti area, where animal traction is relatively common but is mostly used by men, there is no bar against women using it. The main constraint here seems to be the weight of current animal drawn implements which are too heavy for the average woman. For this reason, AEATRI has initiated work on implements light enough for women, and with draft requirements that can be met by the small East African as well as by donkeys.
Institutional Aspects
AEATRI has been in operation for just over two years. Its overall work programme is determined by a task-force of nine people appointed by the Director General of the National Agricultural Research Organization. Staff of AEATRI have visited similar institutions in Eastern and Southern Africa, Egypt, India, and the Philippines to gain ideas for their own work. They have not, however, been to Senegal, which could provide some interesting examples of implements and of strategies for their development.
AEATRI is developing a range of new hand and animal-drawn tools for tilling, sowing, and for weeding in paddy fields. Staff state that their designs are adaptations from promising technologies seen during their visits to other countries. However, to an outside observer, it appears that quite a lot of original design work is in progress, involving time and effort that could probably be avoided by closer copying and subsequent modification, if necessary, of equipment from other countries.
The Institute has one lady engineer who is to initiate attention to gender matters in its designs. Initial field testing of equipment is conducted in conjunction with other institutions in the country, and if the results are positive, the equipment is then passed to farmers in different areas for their trail and appraisal. Limited resources often hamper the production and distribution of sufficient numbers of the prototypes for farmer evaluation.
Possibilities for Conducting Ergonomic Tests on Hand Tools
Uganda is the only country covered by the study that has the capacity to conduct some ergonomic tests on people while they are actually working. In the early 1980s, the Agricultural Engineering Department of Makerere University did precisely this to determine men and women's energy output in relation to their diet. Oxygen uptake was measured during hoeing in the field. The Department would be willing and able to resume such work, provided it were given the necessary resources - mainly equipment - to begin. Since it is a training institution, it would be able to continue the research, without further assistance, once it had been set up to begin. It would be extremely worthwhile to have data on, for example, the difference in energy expenditure with different weights of hoe, and relate them also to the job performance.
Mechanization Policy
An interviewee from the Agricultural Engineering Department of Makaere University stated that his Departmant had so far paid no specific attention to women's needs. However, he stressed the importance of having those needs taken into account, especially by manufacturers. He said that the national Agricultural Mechanization Strategy now in preparation did include gender issues, but that manufacturers would need to be influenced in the right direction. This might be done by the Ministry of Agriculture, or through such existing bodies as the National Council of Science and Technology, or by creating a national task force on agricultural mechanization that would include manufacturers.
The same interviewee mentioned that the Ministry of Agriculture and its extension services had hitherto downplayed mechanization, but when they had taken any initiatives in that area, it had been focused on tractors, rather than taking a broader perspective that included animal draft and hand tools. Since more than 80 percent of farming operations are still carried out with hand tools, this should be a priority area Research geared directly towards women's needs was also lacking. Current designs of implements and tools are not based on ergonomic principles, he said, and research in this area would be important.
Producers/lmporters of Agricultural Production Tools
Chillington of Jinia (Crocodile Brand)
The Chillington's plant in Jinja that makes Crocodile Brand hand tools is up for sale. It is possible that a consortium, which will include Zimplow of Zimbabwe and Magric Uganda Ltd. will buy it. The plant has closed down one of its production lines but the remaining one can produce 5-6,000 hoes a day in two shifts. Normal production, however, is about 3,000 per day.
The hoe range produced by the Chillington plant includes 1 ½, 2½, and 3 pound models. The staff of the plant state that there is no market for the smallest of these and that they intend to discontinue its production. This is curious because most women's groups said that they would like lighter hoes for weeding.
SAIMMCO (Soroti Agricultural Implements and Machinery Manufacturing Company)
This company was originally founded in 1990, and a full programme of rehabilitation and development of its plant was begun in 1993 with support from the UNDP/UN Capital Development Fund. It is at present owned by the Government and the UNCDF, but it is up for sale as part of the Government's privatization programme. A Dutch development project working in the Soroti area was potential buyer, but the Government would prefer a commercial venture to take it over.
SAIMMCO's production consists of ox-drawn ploughs, a tool bar system which allows the interchange of plough or cultivator bodies, ridgers, harrows, ox-carts, etc.
SAIMMCO has no system of direct contacts with farmers. Its distributors throughout the country and for export are Magric (Uganda) Ltd. The majority of implement sales are to NGOs, and development agencies and projects. These buyers pass them on to farmers, usually under special credit arrangements.
'Weight [of the cultivator] is not a major problem. People just hew to be trained properly to use it.' The Managing Director of SAIMMCO, an expatriate, shortly before a field trial that clearly demonstrated the difficulty, even for men, of lifting the implement to turn on the headland or to dear it of weeds. |
Many farmers complained that the SAIMMCO cultivator was too heavy, a view not shared by SAIMMCO's Managing Director. Nor did he agree that lighter implements were necessary for women, saying that it was only lack of training that prevented women from using them. When they were trained he added they were often better at steering them than men. (The authors wish to emphasize, however, that the main problem is turning the implement on the headland, not controlling it while it is working). Despite the complaints about the heaviness of SAIMMCO implements, they are highly regarded for their quality and performance. Indeed, when one project bought a batch of ploughs from SAIMMCO and imported a similar number from India, there was difficulty in selling the Indian ones.
In the past, the price of an ox plough was about the same as that of an ox, but the shortage of cattle in the area has increased the price of an ox well above that of a plough. Even so, the plough, costing about Uganda Shillings 115,000 (US$ 105), is beyond the reach of many farmers.
'If you have nothing, anything is expensive!' Managing Director of SAIMMCO |
The Practice and Perceptions of Rural People regarding Production Technology
In addition to the general foregoing information, the Focus Group Discussions produced the following specific information:
Time Spent by Women Working in the field
The two cropping cycles in both Mubende and Soroti made this information more difficult to obtain than in countries with a single rainy season. There were quite wide variations in the figures that groups came up with. The information provided below is based on an attempt to reach some sort of average indications, for which the more extreme figures - on one occasion totalling more days than there are in a year - have been discarded.
Mubende District - two cropping cycles |
Days/vear |
Land preparation 3 |
60-90 |
Planting/Sowing |
60-90 |
Weeding |
60-120 |
Harvesting |
40-100 |
3 It is possible that some of the days for land preparation and for sowing/planting overlap, in the sense that the two operations are conducted to a certain extent concurrently.
Soroti District
Figures provided by groups in Soroti were often for the number of days for a group of people, rather than individuals. For example, they stated, for cultivation, 'Group work (11 persons) - 7 days' and for 'Weeding millet - group (12 persons) - 7 days'. Extrapolating from this information shows that the figures do not vary significantly from those in the Mubende District, with the exception that when animal traction is available, there is a significant reduction in time taken for land preparation (primary tillage). For example, after considering the time taken for their land preparation, one group stated that it took one person 60 days and that she might 'even fail to finish and abandon part of the plot', whereas with an ox drawn plough 'it would take 3 days'.
Women's Hardest and most Tiring Tasks in the Field
The majority in both Mubende and Soroti Districts stated that land preparation before seeding, if using hand tools, was their hardest task, mainly because of the large and tough grasses, such as couch, to be removed. A commonly expressed opinion was that when animal traction was available, there was major relief in the drudgery of land preparation.
'It is weeding mat almost kills women!' Comment by men's discussion group in Soroti District |
Weeding the crops was identified as the next most arduous job, though harvesting, especially of cereals, was also rated by many groups as being about as tiring and time-consuming. Many men's groups mentioned weeding as being particularly hard on women.
Differences in Tools used by Women and Men
The men generally made greater use of axes and pangas (machetes) than women because of their responsibility for land clearing. In the Mubende District, there were no significant differences m the hoes used by men and women, though children generally use hoes that have become smaller through wear. In Soroti there was a marked tendency for women to use smaller lighter hoes than men and men generally stated that women should have lighter tools. An exception, and a minority opinion, appeared in one men's group which did not support the need for difference between women and men's tools, saying that it would double the expense for the men. who buy the tools.
'We buy the same hoes and tools and when they get worn, we pass them to the women.' Comments by men during discussion groups in Soroti 'Our men never know or learn of our [farm] needs." Women's group in Mubende. |
'We have seen pictures of animal traction in our children's' school books, but that is all we know about ft.' 'We do not know about draft animals. We have never seen them or the implements, and we cannot say how useful they might be to lighten our work.' Comments during women's discussion groups in Mubende District. 'Where animal draft power is available, there is food: there is no famine!' Comment by women's group in Soroti expense for me men, who buy the tools. |
With regard to animal traction, in the Mubende District people knew very little about it. However, there was much interest in learning more and in seeing it in practice. Some groups expressed doubts about the possible effectiveness of animal traction in their stony land.
In the Soroti area, a significant proportion of women are already involved with animal traction. All groups expressed positive views about it, saying for example, that it allowed larger areas to be opened up, that it is faster, that it reduces women's workload by transferring the effort to the animals, that it needs fewer people and therefore saves human labour, that it turns the soil well and deep, that it increases production, and so on.
Many groups reported on the shortage of suitable and trained oxen for animal traction, so making it necessary to carry out many farm operations by hand. People said they could not sit and wait to hire the few oxen available; they had to work by hand to catch the rainy seasons properly for their crops.
One women's group identified their fear of oxen as a limitation that they must overcome. Many groups expressed the need for planters and cultivators/weeders in addition to ploughs.
Overall, women want to become more involved with animal traction. This is supported by the men in the area who stress the need to train women in animal draft power. However, some men also felt that this proposal should not come directly from them, for the women might take it as an attempt to get them to do even more work. Men and women's groups also expressed the reservation that women should not use animal traction when they are pregnant, or when there are tree stumps in the ground, for they might be injured. Support for using donkeys as opposed to oxen was also expressed.
Renewal of Tools
In the Mubende area, about half of the groups stated that they bought new hoes every year. The other half said they did so every 1 ½ -3 years. New pangas were generally bought every 4-5 years. Smaller tools like knives tended to get lost and were replaced every 1-2 years.
The situation in Soroti district was very similar, but the groups were more specific in saying that after the 1-3 years initial use of a hand hoe it was worm to the point where it became a weeding hoe.
With regard to the animal traction implements, the soil engaging points of the ploughs have a relatively short life; shares and landsides may need to be replaced every 1-3 months, and even the land wheel may need replacing as frequently. Some groups said these items lasted a year or so, depending on soil type.
The ploughs have no rear wheel to assist transport to and from the field, which may be a considerable distance away. Farmers cannot hold the plough in a raised position for such long periods, so they lie the plough over to the right and it simply drags along. This rapidly wears out the right handle. Government extension agents have recently started to promote the transporting of ploughs on wooden sledges to avoid this problem.
Where Tools are Purchased and at what Cost
Tools are usually purchased at the stores or markets in the nearest town. Their costs are as set out in the table on the next page.
Preference for Industrially- or Blacksmith-Produced Tools
In most of the communities in Mubende there was no blacksmith, so all of the tools were industrially-produced or imported. In those that did have blacksmiths, it was stated that they only made knives and that they were inferior to imports. Only one group said they preferred locally-produced knives saying that imported ones were too expensive.
In the Soroti area there were more tools produced by blacksmiths, but people had a strong preference for imported ones. In the case of hoes, they said that those made by blacksmiths often had parts that were riveted together. The heads of rivets snagged grass, and in addition, they often broke.
Hand-tools
Tool |
Ugandan Shillings4 |
Tool |
Ugandan Shillings | |
Cock Brand Hoe (China) |
3,000-4,000 |
Local hoes (Soroti) |
2,000-2,500 | |
Forked-type of hoe |
5,000 |
Pangas (machetes) |
2,500-3,000 | |
Crocodile Brand, Chillington. |
Axe |
2,500 | ||
Bought in shop/market |
3,000-3,500 |
Small weeding hoe |
500-800 | |
As distributed by Magric Ltd |
2,800 |
(locally made) |
||
Bought at factory gate - |
3 lb |
2,300 |
Hoe handle - hard wood |
400 |
ditto |
- 2½ lb |
2,000 |
||
ditto |
- 1 ½ lb |
1,800 |
||
4 1 US$ = 1,100 Ugandan shillings approximately (September 1997)
Animal Draft
Type |
Source |
Uga. Shillings |
Plough |
SAIMMCO |
115,000 |
Toolbar tillage system |
175,000 | |
Diamond spike harrow |
ditto |
175,000 |
Changes that have taken Place in Hand-Tools and Implements in Past Decades
In the past, hoe blades were tied to the handle using rawhide thongs, sisal, or old banana fronds. The locally-made hoes had a long tang to allow them to be affixed to the handle in this way. Many groups mentioned the improvement brought by today's eye-ring or socket fittings and the firmly-fixed handles that result. Curiously, Uganda was the only country where no hoes were seen that were fixed to the handle by burning a hole through it for the tang, though axes built on this principle used to be quite common in some parts of the country. Perhaps the relatively few numbers of village blacksmiths have limited this method of fixing the steel part of implements to their handles.
Some groups mentioned the introduction of knapsack sprayers in recent years. They are still rather expensive and few in number and they are generally used by men.
Wheelbarrows were also mentioned as an innovation of fairly recent times, with people saying that they made transport work much easier and quicker than in the days of using traditional baskets carried on the head.
Other Tools and Implements known by Groups but seldom owned by Group Members
Although people in Mubende District had some knowledge of animal traction and expressed serious interest in it, they were not using it at all. In the five countries covered by this study, this was the most significant case of an appropriate production technology that was known but not being used For the rest, people usually mentioned tractors, sprayers, and watering cans as items they knew of but did not use themselves.
Who Decides what Tools to Buy
'I have never yet seen a woman In a shop or the market buying a hoe!' Man during discussion group in Soroti. |
The final authority to make decisions about the purchase of tools generally rests with the head of the household whether the person is a man or woman. However, since the head of the household is usually a man, men tend to lead in the decision-making. In a majority of groups, it was stated that the wife would make suggestions about what to buy, but it was the man as the head of the household who made the final decision. In any event, it is usually the man who actually buys the tools. In the case of buying animal draft implements, it is the man who normally takes the decision, for men dominate the animal traction scene.
Improvements that Women would like for their Tools
'If the hoe is too heavy, you try to fix a lighter handle to it.' 'If the hoe is too heavy, you give it to the man to use first.' 'In the old days, if you prepared a local brew, and a man bought it on credit with a view to paying for it by digging, you gave him a heavy hoe so that when he used it, ifs weight would be reduced in the process.' Comments during women's discussion groups, Soroti. 'If you have two hoes, one heavy and the other light, the woman will always want the fight one.' Man during discussion group, Soroti. |
The issue of the weight of hoes was frequently raised. Basically, women would like lighter ones than those they currently use. Two women's groups specifically said they wanted 2-pound hoes, as opposed to the 3-pound ones they used at present. (They apparently did not know of the Cock Brand 2½ pound hoe; nor was the Crocodile Brand 1½ pound hoe mentioned by anyone).
Some groups also said that axes should be made lighter so that women could use them more easily.
In the Mubende area, some groups expressed the desire that blacksmith technology be introduced to allow them to have tools that better fitted their needs. Also in the Mubende area, there was widespread nostalgia for the Finland hoe. In effect, this means that the people want a lightweight hoe made of high quality steel.
The issue of quality and the ability of tools to maintain their cutting edge was raised by many groups. A number of groups stated that tools broke easily and did not last as long as they should.
With regard to animal traction, women and men in the Mubende area were greatly interested in it, wished to know more about it, and also to see it in action. In the Soroti area, they wanted greater access to animal traction and that women should also use it more. For this, and as a first step, women would need training.
Willingness to Pay More for Better Tools
There was a general willingness by groups to pay more for better tools, provided they in fact performed better.
The Constraints and Opportunities
The determinant factors governing improved production technology for women in Uganda fall under two main categories: socio-economic and technical.
Socio-Economic Factors
As elsewhere in Africa, women's lack of access to land rights, and the fact that most of their work is not remunerated, gives them very limited access to cash or credit. In addition, they seldom have any real power in the decision-making processes in the community or family.
This situation seems to be so entrenched that it is beyond individual women to make any impact in changing it. Thus, empowering women through effective groups, which include men so that the door to credit may be opened through using the men's land title as collateral for loans, seems to be the best strategy.
It is important to note, however. that men were found to be in favour of seeking improvements in the production technology available to women, so any attempts to do so would be working in a favourable environment.
The work already being done by projects, NGOs and various institutions in the area of women's groups must clearly be continued and expanded. Women's groups themselves recognize that access to resources, e.g. land and credit, is crucial for their success, as is education to mobilize and empower them, and also to sensitize men to women's needs and capacities.
Technical
With regard to hand tools found in Central Uganda, there is little scope for improvement of the tools themselves. Most of them are industrially-produced or imported and are of reasonable quality. On the other hand, the design, quality and durability of tools produced by blacksmiths in other parts of the country, such as Soroti District, could certainly be improved through intensified blacksmith training programmes.
One basic problem encountered is that rural people do not know what different models of industrially-produced or imported tools exist, for the manufacturers or importers seem to make no effort to inform people, or even to have all their different models available at sales points. Thus, people are forced to buy what they find, whereas in fact, lighter hoe models would be more suitable for women to use while weeding, and the heavier models would be more suitable for tillage and bund-building. For example, the Chillington 1 ½ pound hoe is generally unknown but is being taken out of production for 'lack of demand'. This does not coincide with the often repeated request for lighter weeding hoes from the women's groups.
Something valuable could certainly be done to try to better match tools that are available in the market to women's needs. For example, the manufacturers and importers should be cajoled - and if necessary helped - by Government, development projects and NGOs into doing market research This would allow them to improve their range of tools and their distribution systems so that the tools on offer include weights and sizes best adapted to women's needs.
The need for this is illustrated by what happened after the APO visited the Chillington plant in Jinja He was given a 1½ pound hoe, the model for which the factory staff said there was no demand, and in the following days he was able to show it to women in the Soroti area They had not known of its existence and expressed interest in having it. On the other hand, and to be fair to Chillington, it is also possible that men always buy the heaviest hoe they can find because they think it is better value for money, and because they know that in due course it will be worn down into a lighter hoe that women can use comfortably. Nevertheless, if more effort had been made to inform people about the various hoe models, it is hard to believe that there would have been 'no market' for the smallest in the range.
Development and relief programmes are also implicated in this failure to match tools to people's needs. They tend merely to order a large number of, say, hoes of the most common weight. They could improve people's awareness of the range available by working more closely with the local commercial operators in the tool trade and by supplying at least two different weights.
It would also be worth taking advantage of the capacity of Makerere University in ergonomic studies to ascertain the human energy requirements of working with hoes of different weights and of different blade widths in different soils If indeed it was found that there are significant advantages of certain hoe weights and blade widths for women, this could help to define manufacturers' policies, product lines, and sales promotion.
Uganda most certainly needs to make major efforts to improve and expand animal traction. The progress in the control of the tsetse fly means that animal traction may now be possible in much wider areas of Uganda than its traditional homelands of the east and north of the country. But even there, as shown by this study, it needs to be expanded.
There can be no doubt that there is great scope for increasing agricultural production through the use of animal traction; and this study shows that women and men farmers are seriously interested in it and see it as the solution to their farming problems. However, any initiatives to expand animal traction must take into account women's needs, especially in terms of lightweight implements and training. This study has identified land preparation and weeding as the hardest tasks that women do in the fields. Wider use of animal traction could make a major impact in reducing this drudgery.
However, even if this study has shown the desire among both women and men for the wider use of animal traction by the former, and even if there are no actual taboos against women using oxen in many parts of Uganda, bovines traditionally belong to men. Some cultural resistance to the full involvement in - and even taking over of - animal traction with oxen by women could be expected. Especially important, therefore, would be research into animal traction with donkeys in Ugandan conditions, with special emphasis on lightweight and low draft cultivators/weeders to reduce the time and effort spent by women with hand hoes in this operation.
Inter-row weeding with an animal drawn implement naturally implies planting in rows, but even without row planters, this can be achieved by marking the field prior to sowing or by using a cord. The extension services need to promote row planting as a pre-requisite for inter-row weeding with animal traction, and thus take a first step towards reducing women's workload.
With regard to the work of AEATRI, it is taking some praiseworthy initiatives, but it could also learn from countries in West Africa, particularly Senegal, which has a long history and experience in animal traction implements. AEATRI could also achieve speedier progress in bringing new implements to the market if it gave almost exclusive emphasis to the copying of existing and successful designs from elsewhere, testing them thoroughly in Ugandan conditions, and only modifying them if necessary.
In respect of feedback from farmers who have been lent implements to use, this evaluation must be done by totally disinterested parties, using qualitative research techniques similar to those used for this study. If not, it will be difficult to obtain the farmers' truthful and reliable assessment of the field performance of the implements, for farmers might provide information to please the engineers. Some serious mistakes could be made based on this information' as has already happened in other countries.
Members of Field Research Team
Mr Samuel Okurut - Agricultural Engineer AEATRI (Study Coordinator)
Ms Florence Ebila - Department of Women Studies, Makere University
Mr Elias Egaru - Agricultural Officer, (Animal Traction), Soroti District
Mrs Bemadet Ekemu - Agricultural Officer (Women and Youth), Soroti District
Ms Florence Lubwama.- Agricultural Engineer, AEATRI
Ms Josephine Nakijoba - Department of Women Studies, Makere University
Ms Specioza Namusisi - Agricultural Officer (Home Economics and Women), Mubende
District
Mr Ahmed Walugembe - Agricultural Engineer, Mubende District
Zambia
1 The introductory and descriptive opening sections of this report are based on information gathered during training sessions in qualitative research methods with the national staff who were to conduct the study (all of whom had deep knowledge of the rural situation), on information collected during individual interviews, and on available literature. The latter included briefing material prepared by Mr Martin Bwalya, the Director of the Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization Centre. Some general information has also been lifted from the results of the Focus Group Discussions with rural people when it was considered that it would best fit in these sections.
Context for the Study, its Scope, and Methods
The field work for the study was coordinated by the Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization Centre, and it was conducted in two separate areas of Chibombo District Keembe and Muswishi - in central Zambia.
Chibombo District, which covers about 10,000 sq. kms, is bisected by the main road and the railway that join the capital with the Copper Belt to the north. The Lukanga swamps lie along the north-west boundary of the District, while the Mulungushi dam forms part of the north-eastern boundary. To the west of the railway line, the District is relatively flat, while to the east of the railway it is undulating; the south-west part is hilly. The whole District has been affected by deforestation. The soils in the Muswishi area are mainly sandy, while those in Keembe are sandy loam.
Climatic conditions in Chibombo District make it the part of Zambia with the highest potential for arable farming. Rainfall ranges from 800-1000 mm per annum, mainly falling in the period October to April/May. However, in recent years rainfall patterns have departed significantly from the norm, and there have been serious droughts.
Although the Lenje people are said to be the original inhabitants of the District, its fertile and abundant land and reliable rainfall attracted many other tribes in the past. Most of the tribes that moved into Chibombo come from the South. Many of these are pastoralists and one reason they moved was to escape from the draught and cattle diseases which have affected the southern part of Zambia even more. But today, in the Chibombo area too, soil fertility and reliable rainfall are in decline.
The mixure of different tribes living in the area was evident from the very first Focus Group Discussion that was held in a village, because in that and later ones, as many as three languages were being used However, this was not the major problem one might have expected? for normal social intercourse in the District is multilingual and almost everybody understands the various common languages, even if they often prefer to express themselves in their own.
The field research team was composed of 8 women and one man. One of the women was from the Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization Centre, while the other researchers were field staff from various institutions working in Chibombo District.
A total of 33 Focus Group Discussions were conducted, and of these 25 were with women, and 8 with men. A total of about 340 people were involved. The participants in the group discussions were always asked to bring their production tools to the meetings.
The Agricultural Production System and Women's Role in it.
There are some large-scale commercial farmers in the District, but the study was conducted in traditional-subsistence and smallholder-commercial areas, where maize is still the most widely grown crop. However, even if maize is the staple food. farmers are tending to grow less of it here and elsewhere in Zambia because of the low prices it commands and its high demand for fertilizer. They are replacing some traditional white maize with yellow maize or 'pop corn' maize as it is known - because it fetches a higher price and requires less fertilizer, the farmers say. However, they are also replacing traditional maize with more cotton, sunflower, tobacco, and groundnuts than they grew in the past. In the Muswishi area there is a network of perennial streams that allow widespread gardening to produce fruit and vegetables. Normally, a household will have access to more land than they can actually cultivate.
Small farmers are typically agro-pastoralists, but in very recent years tickborne (Corridor) disease has killed off very high numbers of cattle - as many as 60 per cent of the population according to one informant in the Keembe area. But judging from the information that came from the group discussions, the loss of livestock could be even higher, for many of them mentioned that animal traction had virtually disappeared from their community because the cattle had been wiped out. Thus they had been forced back to farming exclusively with hand hoes.
'In our tradition, men were not allowed to be involved in weeding groundnuts. It was said that if a man became involved, the crop would develop a lot of pop, and that would seriously affect the yield.' Women in Chibombo. |
Women play an increasing role in all aspects of agricultural production. Some verbal estimates were heard to the effect that women now do as much as 80-90 percent of the work on the land, and that about 60 per cent of Zambian farmers are women. However, among the farming operations de-stumping and land clearing remain largely men's work.
Where animal traction is available, the men tend to do most of the ploughing as well, and planting is done at the same time, with women and children dropping seed into the furrow bottom behind the plough.
However, even where animal traction is available, its use is mainly confined to ploughing and harrowing. Cultivators/weeders, ridgers and planters are more rarely found.
The land available to a household is normally divided into men's, women's, and children's plots. The children's plots are often collective, but as they get older, they may be allocated individual plots. The men's plots are mainly given over to cash crops, whereas the women's main concern is for the family's food crops. However, groundnuts are regarded as a woman's crop, and all of the income from it usually goes to them. And cassava too is considered to be a women's crop.
Work in all of the plots is normally done collectively, but after the harvest, the produce goes to the 'owner', and even if there is often some consultation, it is the 'owner' who decides what to do with it or with any income it provides.
'Men just marry more women to have more free labour on the land. women are used as income generating resources. ' Men don't really appreciate all the work that women do, even when it is increasing ah the time. it is normal, traditional and expected, just like a dog is expected to bark and is not appreciated any more if it barks morel' 'Men don't let women use fertilizer because they are afraid that they win steal some of it for their own plots or gardens instead of applying it to the family plot.' 'Men think women are spendthrifts and if they go into town, they will spend money on silly things like having their hair plaited. And they might also pick up bad town habits!' Comments by members of research team during training sessions. |
When animal traction is available in a household, a man is generally willing to use it to plough the women's and children's plots. However, in practice, this often fails to work out, for once the man's plot or plots have been tilled, it is quite often too late to do the others in time to make best use of the rains. Rather than wait, the women and children have to resort to hand hoes. And overall, the hand hoe remains the basic cultivation tool in the area.
Despite the generally low socio-economic level of women, they are becoming increasingly important in the District, not only in agricultural production as their husbands seek off-farm work, but also in local leadership. Each village has a head person, and of the seven encountered during the study, three were women. In fact, people in the District have become more gender conscious in recent years, often deliberately choosing women for leadership roles. Nevertheless, many of the traditional attitudes towards women are still well entrenched.
Unofficial estimates put female-headed households at 25 per cent of the total in the District. The local perception is that deaths of men from AIDS has been a major factor in increasing the roles being assumed by women. Women-headed households usually have to hire men to help with certain farm tasks, such as land clearing or ploughing.
Most rural women in the District are now organized in groups, or Clubs as they are usually called in Zambia In this respect they are more advanced than the men. After initial suspicion of women's groupings, men in general now appreciate them, and some of the women's clubs now include a few men. Relatively high illiteracy levels among women makes it difficult or them to use modern farm inputs such as pesticides because they cannot read the instructions on the package.
The men generally take the responsibility for selling the family cash crops. Many women state that their men stay on in the towns and squander much of the proceeds on high living, seriously prejudicing their family's financial capacity to meet school and other costs for the rest of the year. Women also accuse men of selling too much of the families food resources, thereby jeopardizing the family's food security in return for some quick cash.
Some men, however, are well aware of the heavy workload of their women and believe that they should be given less to do in the fields. They recognize the efforts made by women in drawing and carrying water, collecting and transporting firewood, looking after the house and children, cooking, and working in the fields as well, usually 'while the men sit under a tree'.
The Production Tools Encountered and their Use
Photographs of the tools encountered are provided in Annexe 6.
Animal Traction Implements
There are ploughs, harrows, ridgers, cultivators, planters, and ox-carts in the District, though the commonest implements by far among these are ploughs and harrows. Many of these implements are not be used at present because of the death of so many animals.
The majority of the animal draft ploughs are imported, for reasons that will be explained in the section below dealing with producers/importers of production tools. Most of the implements seen were very old. All of the implements seen were for ox-power.
Hand Tools
The hoes encountered were all of the same, traditional, chop-downwards-and pull type. Many of them were produced by local blacksmiths. The best had been made from the discs from scrapped tractor-drawn disc ploughs or harrows. Hoes imported from Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe and China were also seen or mentioned. The Chinese Cock Brand hoes were much appreciated. In the past, they had been sold by a store connected to a Chinese rice development project in the area, but with the termination of the project, they was no longer available. People said that they would like to be able to buy them again. In fact, Cock Brand hoes are available in the market in Lusaka, but it seems they are not being distributed to Chibombo District, and the people think they are no longer being imported.
The locally-made hoes had a tang for fitting the blade to the handle. In most countries with tang fittings, this tang is burned completely through the handle, which has been chosen because it has a natural thickening, like a knob, at one end. But in Zambia, there was a variation on this theme in that when a handle is being cut from a tree, a side branch is chosen as the shaft but a small piece of the main trunk is left at the end to form a perpendicular appendix somewhat like a golf club. The tang is burned upwards into this appendix to fix the blade to the handle.
The locally-made hoes were of various sizes, with the smallest used as weeding hoes. The length of handles varied considerably.
Axes/Cutting Tools
Axes in varying sizes are used for cutting shrubs and clearing fields before planting. The axes tended to be heavy and were mainly used by men. Some pick-axes, also used in land clearing, were seen. Slashers (pangas) were frequently seen too.
Harvesting Tools
A variety of knives and sickles were seen. Some sickles were imported. The handles had often broken and been replaced by a rag wrapped around the steel.
Miscellaneous
Shovels with a D-shaped handle were quite common. Some were very old and had been imported from UK. As in the case of the sickles, some of the handles were broken.
A few of the groups had rakes, but they were not common.
Cultural and Socio-Economic Considerations Working posture
The length of handles fitted to hoes is specific to different tribal groups. In Chibombo District, where there are many different tribes, a wide variation in handle length was found. And there was also a wide a range of different opinions on the subject.
'No matter what size of handle on a hoe. What matters is me hoe blade, as it's the one that does the work." Women's group in Keembe |
'Hoes with short handles make weeding easier and faster, but they give us backache. There is nothing we can do about mat' because if we just complain and don't work, we's starve! If the day comes when different fools are brought here, we'll throw our hoes away!' Women's group in Muswishi |
In general, it was said that the people from the Eastern Province use long handles, and the people from the Southern Province use short handles. In Chibombo District, this translates into the Tongas using short handles and the Lenje using longer ones, and both are found in single communities.
For weeding, especially of groundnuts, most people agree that short-handled hoes, which can be used with one hand while the other hand picks up and shakes the soil from the roots of the weeds, are faster and more effective. Long-handled hoes are considered to be slower for this work, and one group said that long handles were 'for lazy people'.
With regard to user fatigue and pain with different lengths of handle, most groups said that long handles caused less back pain, but this was not a unanimous opinion, and there were a few groups who said the exact opposite. These opinions seem to be deeply entrenched in the culture of the particular tribe. Only one group said that ideally one should have hoes with different length of handle for different tasks.
'With short handles, a person gets tired faster but weeding is done nicely.' Women's group in Keemb |
Land Tenure and Credit
'A wife is a foreigner in her husband's family. Comment by a field worker during qualitative research training session. |
Married women do not own land, and if a husband dies, it is quite normal for his land to be taken back by his family, while the widow usually goes back to her own parents, though she may on occasion marry a brother-in-law. Only when a woman is middle-aged and has achieved a certain standard of respect, is she allowed to stay on her husband's land, thereby becoming a female head of household.
Agricultural credit in Zambia is in crisis. The Government institutions that used to be involved in it have folded or suspended their activities, and Government policy is now to privatize credit for farmers. This is functioning in some outgrower schemes where the company contracting to buy the produce provides credit for inputs. However, more generalized agricultural credit is not available to women or men at present. And with women's lack of access to land that they can offer as collateral for loans, they will be disadvantaged, even if such credit were to become available.
Some Ministry of Agriculture staff concerned with women and youth programmes stated the opinion that future credit schemes should be based on the household, and not on women or men. They should be properly explained to people from the beginning, and be accompanied by training, extension and monitoring.
Draft Animals for Women
In Chibombo there is no taboo against women using draft oxen, and many do, or did until the massive destruction of the bovine population by disease in recent years. However, according to verbal reports, there are other parts of Zambia where such taboos do exist. But even in Chibombo, men are the main users of animal traction. The principal reasons for this are that oxen traditionally belong to men and the implements are seen as being designed for men, so that animal traction in general has gained the image of being a man's field of work. This image has been greatly reinforced by past policies that have neglected women in animal traction training courses and has not invited them to field demonstrations.
An NGO called Women in Agriculture is very active and successful in promoting the creation of women's groups. At the time of the interview with the head of this NGO, one of her groups had just succeeded, through lobbying at very high political level, to obtain a tractor as a gift. The tractor had still to be delivered, and the head of the NGO was very concerned about its economic and technical viability. She expressed her strong preference for the introduction of animal draft traction using donkeys, but there is no significant donkey population in Zambia. She stated that she intended to import a batch of donkeys from Zimbabwe or Botswana.
Institutional Aspects
Despite the national need to better exploit Zambia's agricultural potential, and the fact that women do the lion's share of the work on the land, little has been done to date to cater to their needs in production technology. Even in efforts to promote animal traction, little attention has been paid to women: some have attended training courses at the Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization Centre, but they have been very few compared to the men. The Palabana Centre, originally founded with assistance form the Netherlands, trains extensionists, NGO staff, and a few farmers. It also does field research and is at present developing a groundnut lifter and a donkey plough for women.
The accepted wisdom until recently was that women were not really interested in animal traction. This present study, as well as one on animal traction for the Netherlands-supported NGO programme Smallholder Agricultural Mechanization Promotions (SAMeP), show the contrary: women are very much interested in using animal draft power.
The grave reduction in the cattle population caused by Corridor disease in many areas, and the concomitant reduction in animal traction, is blamed by some NGO spokesmen on an ineffectual Government veterinary service.
With regard to the local manufacture of implements and tools, Government policy on import duty has created many difficulties. There is higher duty payable on raw materials, e.g. steel, than on complete manufactured items imported from abroad. This has forced Zambian companies that were making animal draft implements out of business, for they cannot compete with imported implements, especially from Zimplow in Zimbabwe. In addition, the Government of Zimbabwe actually subsidizes steel and exports, thus making it even more difficult for Zambian industry to compete. It is hardly surprising that, in these circumstances, two major producers of implements in Zambia, Northfront Engineering and Lusaka Engineering Company (LENCO) have closed down. Only SAMS, (Smallholder Agricultural Services) which evolved from LENCO has managed to continue, but this is because it is receiving external support. In fact, it is basically a donor project and not yet a commercial operation. Its sustainability will be problematic when donor support terminates, especially in view of the tradition in Zambia of importing implements from Zimbabwe and of the Government's policies on import duty to be paid on raw materials.
Government Programmes for Women
The Government Extension Services have a Women and Youth Section. People working in this Section say that male extension workers are now concerned about women farmers. Each District Agricultural Office now has a committee on which women farmers are supposedly represented, but quite often are not. And there are still few women extension staff in the field compared to the numbers of men.
Producers/lmporters of Agricultural Production Tools
Local Producers of Hand Tools
The area of Lusaka where most farm tools are sold is in Cha Cha Road. Hoes from China, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi are on display, as are locally made ones The price range, including handles, is from Kwacha 5,500 (about US$ 4.25) for locally-made hoes, up to Kwacha 10.500 (about US$ 8) for hoes imported from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Information gained during an interview with a blacksmith making hoes in Lusaka was that there are a total of three similar artisans in the town. The materials they use are mainly offcuts from industrial steel companies. The handle-makers are a separate group and they come together with the hoe sellers in the market, where they fix and adjust the handles to the steel part.
The blacksmith interviewed stated that he made a standard hoe, but that he had no direct contact with his customers. However, his son travelled widely to sell hand tools in the Provinces and that he knew their customers well. This particular blacksmith's output was about 500-1,000 hoes a year. He said that he had a successful business, because even is his hoes were not of comparable the quality with imported ones, there was a good market for cheaper ones. Blacksmiths are also present in rural areas and many people buy tools from them.
SARO AGRI Equipment Ltd
This Company, an Indian family-owned business, is one of the main importers of agricultural and other equipment in Zambia. It also produces items such as hammer mills, hullers and water tanks, but no hand hoes, ploughs or cultivators. It is, however, the main importer of Zimplow animal draft implements from Zimbabwe. At the time of the study, it had imported 350 ploughs for the next cropping season. They sell for about the same price as 10 bags of maize, or a bicycle.
According to the Company's general manager, Zimplow implements are much appreciated in Zambia, but as already noted, there is no real local competition.
In addition to ploughs, SARO AGRI had imported 48 Zimplow cultivators/weeders for the coming season. And they had also imported fairly limited numbers of hand hoes (350) from South Africa
The Company does not pay any particular attention to the needs of women farmers when importing tools.
The Practice and Perceptions of Rural People regarding Production Technology
In addition to the general foregoing information, the Focus Group Discussions produced the following specific information:
Time Spent by Women Working in the Field
'In the past, we used ox-drawn implements, but not any more. The implements have been worn out and most of our animals have died from tickborne disease. The hand hoe is the key to our farming now.' Women during group discussion in Keembe. |
This information was not easy to obtain in a standard form because some groups still had access to animal traction, while others were using only hand hoes. Most of the groups said they combined land preparation with planting, whether it was walking behind the plough and dropping seed, or hand hoeing for part of the day and then spending the rest of the day going back over the area just cultivated to seed it. Therefore land preparation and planting are taken as a single operation.
The groups mentioned that there were variations in the time they spent in the field according to the crops being grown. They singled out cotton as the most demanding in weeding and harvesting time.
Days/year | |
Land preparation/Planting (with animal traction) |
7-30 |
ditto (by hand) |
30-90 |
Weeding |
90-120 |
Harvesting |
30-120 |
Women's Hardest and most Tiring Tasks in the Field
'We punish ourselves to finish weeding a big field in a few days. Most women lose weight during the weeding season.' Women during group discussion in Keembe. |
Almost every group said that weeding was by far their most tiring and tedious job. A small minority mentioned land preparation as their hardest task. Weeding was found to be particularly tiring because it required bending and concentration to do the job properly. And it caused backache. If there were frequent rains, weeding was a never-ending task. In cotton, particularly, one might have to go through the field as many as four times.
Differences in Tools used by Women and Men
The were no significant differences in the tools used by women, men, or children although women and children tend to use lighter hoes with shorter handles than the men. The discussions in the women's groups showed that it was mainly - but far from exclusively the men who used animal traction implements. One group stated that women in their community used animal draft implements better than the men
Renewal of Tools
Almost all of the groups mentioned tools breaking as a common cause for the need to replace them. For this reason, it was not easy to reach conclusions about the normal life of tools. Nevertheless, it was often said that a hoe would last 1-3 years, depending on its quality and how it was used. Plough shares were changed every 1-2 years.
Several groups mentioned that stealing of tools or losing them was quite common, and that these were therefore other causes of replacement.
Where Tools are Purchased and at what Cost
Tools are usually purchased at the stores or markets in the nearest town, from itinerant vendors, or from local blacksmiths, with the latter predominating. Their costs are as set out in the table on the next page.
Hand Tools
Tool |
Kwacha 2 |
Kwacha | |
Prices in rural areas |
|||
Blacksmith produced hoe |
2,500-5,000 |
Imported hoes |
<7,000 |
(Price depends on size) |
(N.B. Not all brands available) |
||
Prices in market. Lusaka |
|||
Cock Brand Chinese hoe |
7,500-8,500 |
Malawi hoe |
8,500 |
Zimbabwe hoe |
10,500 |
South Africa hoe |
10,500 |
Locally-made hoe |
5,500 |
Locally-made small |
|
weeding hoe |
4,500 |
||
2 1 US$ = 1 300 Kwatcha approxemately.
Animal Draft Implements
Type |
Source |
Kwacha |
Ox |
Plough Imported from Zimbabwe(Zimplow) |
190,000 |
Ox Cultivator |
as above |
314,000 |
Plough share |
as above |
3,000 |
Preference for Industrially- or Blacksmith-Produced Tools
The majority of the groups said that industrially-produced tools were of much better quality than those produced by local blacksmith. However, there was one group who expressed the opposite opinion, perhaps because their local blacksmith worked better than most or had access to higher quality scrap.
Without doubt, the shortage of cash is such that people will often chose the lowest priced tool they can find. However, in addition to the lower prices, tools made by blacksmith are attractive because they can usually be bought in exchange for chickens or groundnuts, whereas those on sale in commercial outlets can not. One big chicken or two smaller ones will buy one big hoe; one average chicken will buy one axe; one small chicken will by a small weeding hoe, and so on.
There is seldom, if ever, any consultation between women and blacksmiths regarding the tools the women need or modifications they would like.
Other Tools and Implements known by Groups but seldom owned by Group Members
Apart from the length of handles on hoes used by different tribes and in different parts of the country, and different weights and sizes of hoes, no other tools were mentioned by the groups. And nor had there been any changes in living memory in their own tools.
Who Decides what Tools to Buy
Behaviour patterns with regard to decision-making about tools to be bought are not uniform. In more most cases, the man and wife consult each other. In a small number of cases, men take the decisions without consulting their wives, or wives take the decisions without consulting their husbands. When the women do this, they usually barter chickens for their tools.
In a female-headed household, the woman takes the decision alone or consults with her eldest children In a very few groups, the women said that their husbands were too busy drinking beer or fishing to become involved, or that their husbands had no interest in farming, so the women were forced to take the decisions alone.
Improvements that Women would like for their Tools
As long as hand hoes are used by human power there can be no increase in production.What we want is hoes powered by batteries or electricity!' 'Improving hoes wont increase production. The only solution is replacing' them with ox-drawn tools.' 'A hoe is not only a necessity but also an essential evil.' Women during different discussion groups in Keembe and Muswishi. |
Zambian women and men farmers are fully aware of the limitations on production imposed by the hand hoe. Alone among people in the countries covered by the study, Zambian women and men expressed the opinion that the only real solution to their problems was to replace the hand hoe with different production technology. In particular, animal traction was mentioned. This awareness might well be because, at least in the Chibombo District, the farmers used animal traction quite extensively in the past. Now following the death of co many oxen, many people have been forced to revert to the hand hoe and to the smaller cultivated area per family that this implies. This has made a deep impression on the people.
Several groups mentioned the potential advantages of using donkeys as opposed to oxen.
With regard to the animal draft implements now available, women and men's groups said that they were too heavy for women to use properly. Opinions in this regard were quite forcibly expressed.
With regard to hand tools, people expressed widespread discontent with the fragility and the general low quality of those made by blacksmiths. They want stronger and more durable hoes, and said they would like to take broken hoes back to their makers to complain. They remembered with nostalgia the Cock Brand
Chinese hoe that used to be available in the area The groups expressed their willingness to cooperate with blacksmiths and manufacturers to improve tools and implements.
Willingness to Pay More for Better Tools
There was a general willingness by groups to pay more for better tools, provided they ID fact performed better.
'Some marriages have broken down because women failed trying to work with the existing and heavy animal drawn implements.' 'Manufacturers should differentiate their implements in the same way they differentiate bicycles for men and women. Men's group in Muswishi. |
The Constraints and Opportunities
The determining factors governing improved production technology for women in Zambia fall under two main categories: socio-economic and technical.
Socio-Economic Factors
As elsewhere in Africa, women's lack of access to land and the fact that most of their work is not remunerated, gives them very limited access to cash or credit. Fortunately, women are now beginning to assume leadership functions in rural communities, at least in Chibombo District, and this may ultimately help to bring about change.
The expanding women's group movement is another positive aspect, but it still has far to go, and the generally rigid gender segregation into women's and men's groups (farmers clubs) may not be in the best long term interests; for having a few men in a woman's group, but not enough to dominate the situation, can be useful, as has been shown in some other countries.
Men were found to be in favour of seeking improvements in the production technology available to women, so any attempts to do so would be working in a favourable environment. However, when and if women were truly enabled to work with oxen, the question of men's real willingness to relinquish that role would be tested. It is difficult to predict the outcome, though in all probability, any residual cultural reluctance would vanish when men were faced with the reality of increased production through opening more land, and through timeliness in mechanised ploughing and weeding. The risk for women would be that men would retire almost completely from farming, except at the moment when the produce was to be sold! Ideally, men's role in ploughing with oxen would continue - when men are available - but women's work in weeding and transport could be reduced enormously with appropriate animal traction technology.
Technical
There would be few cultural problems with donkeys in Zambia No prestige is attached to them, and they cannot be eaten as can bovines. The main constraint is that Zambia, as already mentioned, has very few donkeys, an estimated 2,000 only. A number have already been brought in from Zimbabwe or Botswana, and the NGO Women in Agriculture is planning to import more. The extension services in Chibombo District have also been talking about doing the same. However, if donkey traction is ever to take off for women in Zambia, lightweight implements will be needed. They are being developed in Zambia and in Zimbabwe, but so far they are not generally available in Zambia
With regard to hand tools, there is little scope for design improvements in the tools themselves, except in terms of their strength and durability, especially of those made by blacksmiths. Better distribution systems for imported ones are needed, with local sales points, because buying in town is often difficult, even for men, while for women it is nearly impossible. And as in other countries, market research and information about the availability of tools and implements would also improve the situation.
Members of Field Research Team
Mr Martin Bwalya |
Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization. Centre (Study Coordinator) |
Ms Lwiza Chimba |
Department. of Marketing and Trade, Kabwe |
Ms Edna Kabwe |
Keembe Farm Institute, Dept. of Agriculture |
Ms Benita Miyoba |
Keembe Community Development Service |
Ms Rhoda Mofya |
Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization Centre |
Ms Rabecca Mombe |
National Mulungushi Company, Kabwe |
Ms Hilda Mulumbi |
Department Field Services, Chibombo District |
Ms Maureen Mumba |
Muswishi Health Centre, |
Mr Levy Phiri |
Farm Power and Mechanization, Chibombo District |
Ms Eles Tembo |
Shimukuni Primary School, Chibombo |
Zimbabwe
1 The introductory and descriptive opening sections of this report are based on information gathered during training sessions in qualitative research methods with the national staff who were to conduct the study (all of whom had deep knowledge of the rural situation), on information collected during individual interviews, and on available literature. Some general information has also been lifted from the results of the Focus Group Discussions with rural people when it was considered that it would best fit in these sections.
Context for the Study, its Scope, and Methods
The field work for the study was coordinated by Agritex, the Ministry of Agriculture's Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services. Agritex is also the Government's facilitating unit for the SIDA/FAO FARMESA programme.
The field work for the study in Zimbabwe was conducted in two different zones: the first was the Chinamora Communal Area, sometimes known as Domboshawa, in Goromonzi District, about 30km north-east of Harare, the second was in Manicaland Province, where work was conducted in Communal Areas in the Districts of Makoni North and Makoni South. These lie some 200km to the south-east of Harare.
The farming conditions in these two areas are quite distinct. In Chinamora, they are more favourable, with about 900mm of rainfall in most years, though in the drought years of 1991/92 and 1994/95, there were only 405mm and 481mm respectively. Temperatures range from 22° to 30°C. in the summer months, though there is a 100 percent probability of some frosts in the winter. Particularly in dry years, these frosts can be severe and cause major damage to the vegetable crops that are quite widely grown In addition to vegetables under irrigation, maize, sunflower, and groundnuts are the main crops grown in the area. The terrain is rugged and rocky and the soils, of the paraferralitic group, or generally coarse-grained sands or sandy loams. They are inherently poor in the principle plant nutrients.
The average family cultivates about a hectare for field crops and between a quarter and half a hectare of 'garden' for vegetables. Many men are away from their homes, mostly working in Harare, but given its proximity, they can return often.
Conditions in Manicaland Province are drier and hotter. Rainfall in the Districts of the study ranges from 450mm to 850mm, but there are periodic seasonal droughts and severe dry spells, even during the rainy season. Temperatures reach 30°C. and beyond in the summer, and frosts in winter are almost unknown. The soils are mainly sandy loams, or sandy clay loams. In such conditions, the farming system must necessarily be semi-extensive, with livestock as its backbone. Some intensification is possible by growing drought-resistant fodder crops. There are, however, certain pockets with more favourable conditions in which maize, groundnuts, bambara nuts, sunflowers, millet, sorghum, cow peas, tobacco and vegetables can be grown. And where water is available, vegetables are ground the whole year round. The average family cultivates between 1 and 3 hectares a year. The phenomenon of absent menfolk seems to be even more accentuated than in Chinamora, and since Manicaland is more remote from urban places of work, the men return home less often and leave more traditional male farm work (e.g. animal traction) to the women.
The field research for the study was conducted with a team of seven people - four women and three men. Some of them were extension staff of Agritex, while others were from the Institute of Agricultural Engineering or the University of Zimbabwe. (See the Appendix for the list of researchers).
A total of 30 Focus Group Discussions were conducted, and of these 24 were with women, and 6 with men. A total of about 325 people were involved. The participants in the group discussions were always asked to bring their production tools to the meeting.
The Agricultural Production System and Women's Role in it.
Four different categories of farmers are recognized in Zimbabwe. Communal Farmers, who make up about 75 percent of the farming population, who live and produce on State land, and whose agriculture is mainly at the subsistence level. The majority of women farmers are in this category. Resettled Farmers are on better land, with higher output and, usually, an increasing involvement in the cash crops. Small Scale Farmers have formal land title and, therefore, greater access to credit. These farmers usually produce cash crops. Nowadays, land title is also assigned to women Small Scale Farmers, especially if they are their family. Commercial Farmers. usually Asian or European, operate on a very large scale and may employ as many as 200 farm workers.
This study was conducted only among Communal Farmers, for it is in this sector that the role of women predominates and the production technology currently available to them is the poorest.
'The women is the fore-front person in the home because in homes where the husband is away, she does almost everything.' Comment during men's discussion group in Manicaland. |
In many communal farming areas, it is the women who hold the main responsibility for farm production, for the agricultural economy is at such a low level that their men have bad to seek work in urban areas. Nevertheless, even when the man has gone to work in a town, he generally retains the responsibility for decision-making with regard to the crops to be grown, the seeds to be bought, and so on. In such cases, it is said that the household is 'temporarily woman-headed'. Permanently woman-headed households are when the husband has died or abandoned the family.
As elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, the land is allocated to the whole household. The man's plot is the largest and is mainly used for cash crops, while the wife, or wives, are each allocated a smaller plot predominantly for food production. The family's work priority is for the cash crops on the man's plot. Only when this work has been completed each day can the women tend to their individual plots, or 'gardens' as they are called.
'If a women starts to earn too much cash from her garden she will get into trouble with her husband' Comment by member of field research team |
Men's prime farming responsibility is for land opening and for ploughing. When they have animal traction, they normally plough all of the family plot, including the women's garden. If they are polygamous, they plough the favourite wife's plot first.
'Where there is money, men are involved! Comment by field research team. |
After land opening and/or ploughing, the men normally take a back seat and leave the rest of the production process to the women, though the building of mounds for sweet potatoes and trellising of tomato plants is normally done by men In addition, men will step in and help if there is a special need. The main difference in this pattern is with important cash crops, such as tobacco, for which the men keep a constant and watchful eye on things and direct the family labour accordingly. Other traditional men's activities in rural areas is building houses, re-thatching roofs, and digging of latrines and graves. (Sadly, with the spread of AIDS, this last task occurs more and more frequently).
'For a women, having time left over is carted "laziness".' Comment by field research team. |
'Some women are now teaching men how to handle a plough.' Comment during a women's discussion group in Chinamora |
Given the growing absence of men on the land, women are assuming more and more of the tasks that were traditionally men's. And men now recognize women's expanding role and their ability to do almost everything they can. They sometimes even admit that women to do men's tasks better than they do, for example, ploughing with oxen.
With regard to livestock, when men are available, they deal with the cattle, though milking is done by women. Women also look after small ruminants and poultry.
Women's work in the fields is facilitated in Zimbabwe by a traditional form of voluntary collective work known as Nhimbe in the Shona language. On a rotational basis, beer and food are prepared by the person needing assistance, and the villagers do the work and eat and drink beer together. This, and the extended family approach, are of great assistance to female-headed households.
Women's groups for farming (or Women's Clubs as they are known in Zimbabwe), have been actively promoted. They often have a man as their 'chairman' or 'spokesman'. This man goes to town to market or buy for the group, since there is a reluctance on the part of men to allow women to go to town on their own.
'Men worry that if women go to town alone they will spend money on petty or frivolous things, or elope with another man.' Comment by field research team. |
Women's Clubs are not usually allowed to cultivate a particular plot for more than one season, so there is no incentive for them to build up its fertility.
Men market the family crops. They take them to town for sale, and it was stated that they often remain in the town for a period of time, leading a high life before returning home almost penniless. This is said to have led a number of women, faced with no cash until the next harvest, to commit suicide.
The Production Tools Encountered and their Use
Photographs of the tools encountered are provided in Annexe 6.
Animal Traction Implements
One of Africa's major manufacturers of animal draft implements is in Zimbabwe (Zimplow Ltd.) so it was hardly surprising that ploughs, cultivators, and harrows were widely encountered. Even though Zimplow also makes ridgers and planters, almost no groups possessed them.
The lack of planters was probably because they are generally thought to be complex and expensive, and it is common practice to plant by following the plough and dropping the seed into the furrow bottom. Altematively, lines are marked with a wire, a shallow furrow is scraped along them with a plough or cultivator, and then planting and covering the seed is done by hand.
When ridgers were mentioned, it was commented that inter-row work with them reduced the hand weeding required more than a cultivator.
Ox-drawn carts, known as 'Scotch carts' in Zimbabwe, were commonplace in most communities.
Hand Tools
A wide variety of hand tools was brought to the discussion groups. These included hoes, forked hoes, pick axes, shovels, rakes, watering cans, wheelbarrows, slashers and sprayers. The primary use for the forked hoes and pick axes is digging compacted manure out of animal compounds. Rakes are used mainly to prepare fine seedbeds in the vegetable plots.
Many hoes were made by blacksmiths old ploughshares. In fact it is common practice for farmers to take a worn-out share to their local blacksmith, thereby obtaining a hoe of high-quality material but only having to pay for the labour to make it. Some hoes are also made from old discs from tractor operated implements.
The blacksmiths normally produce tools with a tang fitting, and they usually make the handles as well. For these, they use small trunks of the munhondo tree which have a naturally bulbous end through which the tang can be burned. Thus, tools made by blacksmiths are usually sold in complete form. Handles for ring-fitting hoes are either bought with the hoe or made by the farmers. The handles are usually of medium length, though shorter handles are fitted to smaller hoes for planting and weeding. Some large hoes with handles made of steel tube were seen. These are mainly used for the heavy work of building the mounds needed for growing sweet potatoes.
The shovels were mainly were of the D-handled type commonly used in Great Britain. Some very old ones that had actually been made in Britain were seen; the D-shaped part of their handles had not stood the test of time.
Axes/Cutting Tools
Axes and adzes in varying sizes were found. Most of them were made by local blacksmiths, but industrially produced ones also exist and can be bought in shops. Blacksmiths often use very basic production methods but turn out effective tools, provided they can find the right type of scrap steel, such as vehicle leaf-springs. One blacksmith-cum-farmer visited had no forge as such, he merely built a small fire on the ground, and his 'bellows' for blowing on the embers consisted of a plastic fertilizer bag with a piece of a piece of steel pipe connected hermetically through the bottom. Sitting with the bag between his legs, the blacksmith raised it and lowered it, opening the mouth on the upstroke so that it filled with air, and closing it on the downstroke to expel the air through the pipe.
Various types of sickle were see, some made locally but others were very old imported ones. The wooden handles on the latter had usually been broken and were replaced with a piece of rag wrapped around the tang. Slashers or pangas were commonly found too.
Cultural and Socio-Economic Considerations
Working posture
'The short-handled hoe is for hard workers while the long handled hoe is for workers on white commercial farms. They don't shake the soil off the weeds, so after a week they will be there again, and the workers can go back and weed again and get money for it.' 'And long-handled hoes are for prisoners too because they are lay and they want to work slowly. 'We women want short handles so that when we weed, we can shake the soil off the weeds with the other hand and heap them somewhere. ' A woman who cannot bend her back to weed is lazy.' Comments during discussion group in Manicaland. 'Standing up is lay. The social issues are stronger than the engineering issues!' Interviewee in Agricultural Engineering and Soils Department, University of Zimbabwe. |
Zimbabwe has the same cultural conditioning found in most other countries with regard to handle length and working posture: as elsewhere, working upright with a long-handled hoe is seen as being lay. However, this was rationalized more in Zimbabwe than in other countries, with people specifically mentioning the need, during hoeing, to shake the soil from the weeds of roots. They stated that this could only be done if people were working bent over and using a short-handled hoe.
Land Tenure and Credit
State land in the communal areas is normally assigned to men, and if a man with such land assigned to him dies, male members of his family, rather than his widow, take control of it. Only if a widow is already of a certain age and status, and with at least adolescent children, will she be allowed to assume her dead husband's land use rights.
In the 1980s, there were major efforts to promote credit schemes for women. In those same years, a government ministry was created to attend to women's affairs. The concentration on women by Government and donors backfired, in the sense that men became widely resentful. The ministry was disbanded, and today the policy is to concentrate development efforts on a family approach, to emphasize gender issues, and to integrate rather than separate.
Some Women's Clubs have formed a savings group and manage to obtain seasonal credit for farm inputs. In addition, it was reported that a women's bank is being founded to give credit for women's projects, but at the time of the field work for this study, it was not yet operating. In addition to the legislative problems surrounding credit in communal areas, there are psychological barriers to credit for women: the women themselves are often reluctant to take on obligations they might not be able to meet, and their men are reluctant to let them take on obligations.
Draft Animals for Women
There are no taboos in Zimbabwe against women using draft oxen, and they do routinely when their men are away, which they usually are. However, as will be noted later, women often have great difficulty in using the present range of ox-drawn implements. Donkey's are used as well in many areas, especially in the eastern part of the country where the severity of the droughts in recent years has reduced the cattle population more than elsewhere. The price of a donkey increased twenty-fold in Zimbabwean dollar terms between 1990 and 1997 (from Zim$20 to at least Zim$600 today, or about US$50). The loss of so many cattle during the droughts is certainly responsible for the increased market for donkeys, and perhaps the demand from Zambia, where donkeys are relatively rare, may also have played a role.
Oxen versus Donkeys: a Debatable Issue with Cultural Undertones
'If you use donkeys, you are seen as the poorest of the poor. Even if you have 40 donkeys, you are still considered poor.' The Director, Development Technology Unit, University of Zimbabwe |
There are opposing views about promoting the use of donkeys for animal traction. The Director of the Development Technology Unit of the
University of Zimbabwe, Tungamirai Rukuni, says that it is a mistake to concentrate on donkeys and that a programme for the general improvement of livestock is required. Multi-purpose bovines play a crucial economic role in rural areas, whereas donkeys cannot be eaten, are not useful for dairy production, and breeding donkeys is not a worthwhile business.
Rukuni also states that donkeys are not culturally acceptable in the sense that no one gives them as gifts for weddings and nobody has any regard for them. To promote them just for draft power when many women already work with cattle, which have much greater economic and social value, would be incorrect, in Rukuni's view. However, he does mention the value of donkeys for transport, commenting that they even stop of their own accord at red traffic lights in the city.
'Donkeys be eaten, so you can't use them as a food store. And when a donkey dies, you have to bury him like a human!. Comment during interview with staff of Zimplow Ltd. |
Different options are expressed by a ruminant nutritionist and donkey researcher, Edward Nengomasha, at the Matapos Research Station in Bulawayo He states that donkeys have no utilization problem with women, and even children, and that light-weight donkey ploughs that can be easily transformed into cultivators are available.
'A team of four donkeys is easier to handle than a pair of oxen. They are easier to train than oxen and once you have established the first furrow in a feed, donkeys will go it alone. ' Donkey Researcher at Matapos Research Station |
According to Nengomasha's research, oxen work faster than donkeys, but even though donkeys are slower, they never stop. The weight of animals, whether oxen or donkeys, appears to be the key factor in the draft they can develop and in their ability to sustain it without tiring unduly. Tests with oxen and donkeys, working for four hours in the morning and for the same in the afternoon, showed that there were large differences in the work output in accordance with the nutritional state of the animals. Nengomasha also commented that the weight of a plough makes little difference to animals; what matters is the draft force required by the plough. For donkeys, a 5-6 inch furrow width is usual, whereas for oxen it is usually 6-8 inches.
It is difficult to decide which side of the oxen versus donkeys debate should be supported in Zimbabwe, because both sides make valid points. The authors of this report tend to come down more on the side of donkeys, not so much for ploughing, but more for inter-row hoeing. However, where there are no taboos on women using oxen, as in Zimbabwe, clearly the case is clearer for soft-pedalling the donkey cause and promoting more efficient animal traction with oxen. Nevertheless, even if the authors take the point about the low social and economic status of donkeys and their users in Zimbabwe, as expressed by Rukuni, this situation has another side to the coin: the cash cost of donkeys is much lower than that of cattle and they are therefore more accessible to poor women. And finally, even when drought kills off bovines, donkeys usually survive.
And What about Mechanization with Small Tractors?
Tungamirai Rukini states that the increases of agricultural production in Zimbabwe of recent decades have been mainly achieved by increasing the area under cultivation, and that further increases must be based on higher yields per unit of area. This calls for more and better inputs of seeds and fertilizer, but also of farm power, which would also improve the lot of women on the land.
Rukuni believes that animal traction has gone as far as it can go in Zimbabwe, and while he acknowledges the disaster of state tractor hire schemes in many countries of Africa, he believes that in Zimbabwe the time has now come to encourage private sector involvement in motor-powered machinery hire services. The culture of hiring exists in Zimbabwe, he states, and private hiring stations are a realistic option. What is needed are sober, honest rural people who, given support for start up and appropriate technical and business training, could provide motor-powered services.
A women's NGO called Organization of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP), based in Bulawayo and working in southern and western Zimbabwe, also believes that the time has come to try to introduce motor-powered mechanization in the form of small tractors, rather than continue promoting animal traction. When reminded of the history of tractor schemes in Africa, and of all the support systems and factors motorized mechanization requires fuel, maintenance workshops, spare parts, tools, skills, ownership clarification, responsibility and commitment -the spokeswoman for ORAP said that, through their approach, all of these aspects would be clarified beforehand.
The authors are not in a position after such a short period in Zimbabwe to agree or disagree with these opinions about motor-powered mechanization, even if it is obvious that Zimbabwe has advantages - compared to many other countries in Africa - in terms of its general agricultural economy, its infrastructure, and its potential for organizing provision of spare parts and maintenance and repair services in rural areas.
However, the authors do wish to make the important point that weeding is the factor which limits farm production in much of Africa, therefore any motor-powered mechanization services should not fall into the trap of ploughing only. This was the experience of many state schemes in the past, when the area ploughed by tractor and planted was frequently more than could be kept weed-free by women with hand hoes. Therefore, any attempt to promote motor-powered mechanization hire services by the private sector should include proper creation of awareness, through discussions and analysis with the potential entrepreneurs and their clients, of the need to take a broader view of motor-powered hire services than just ploughing. The tractor services should in all probability be integrated with the use of animal traction - which might also be part of the hire services - to ensure mechanization of the various crop production operations. And yet another reason to downplay the ploughing aspect is that specialists are increasingly advocating minimum and conservation tillage methods in Africa, and this means reducing the role of mouldboard and disc ploughs in the farming scene.
FAO is planning an Agricultural and Rural Engineering Support Services Project for Tanzania and this proposal sets some important criteria for private hire services that would be equally valuable in Zimbabwe. One of these is that the services should be demand-driven, and that the choice of mechanical equipment to be offered should be made by the entrepreneurs and farmers after demonstrations in the field and a detailed analysis by them. Another important criterion is that, given the short cultivation periods that predominate in Africa, investment in machinery has to be made economically viable by maximizing its utilization in off-season, non agricultural work, such as transport, road and track maintenance, soil conservation, water pumping, rural construction, and the like.
If indeed private-sector mechanization hire services could be started in Zimbabwe and in Tanzania, on a pilot basis, the experience could be invaluable for the rest of the continent. And if the services included inter-row cultivation and the mechanization of non-agricultural activities in the community, especially the pumping of water, the impact on women's work load could be phenomenal.
Institutional Aspects
The Institute of Agricultural Engineering at Borrowdale in the outskirts of Harare has an animal traction section. (The head of this section, a woman, was one of the field researchers for this study). Her section provides training in all aspects of anneal traction, including the making of harnesses. It also conducts research into the efficient use of animal traction
Most of the trainees that come to the section are extensionists and trainers-of-trainers. Some of the extensionists are women, but overall in Zimbabwe, only about 10 percent of extension staff are women, for it is difficult to find women prepared to work in this field.
The Institute of Agricultural Engineering also has a Rural Technology Centre which provides training in blacksmithing and other skills such as fibre glass technology, leather tanning, production of rural transport devices, and the like. The blacksmith training operation is impressive, and the staff now talk about having increasing numbers of women blacksmiths pass through the Centre.
Another important initiative is a GTZ-supported project of Conservation Tillage for Sustainable Crop Production Systems, known for short as the 'ConTill Project'. Researchers, working closely with farmers, have been developing a series of low-draft implements with special focus on donkeys as an alternative to draft oxen. A tool that can be pulled by a single donkey has been developed. It can be adapted as a duckfoot weeder, rigid-tine cultivator, or tie-maker (to create small cross-dams between ridges as a way of conserving moisture). This tool is very light and easy for women to use. The project has also developed a ripper-planter, also for donkey use, and a disc ridger that can be pulled by donkeys or oxen.
In addition, a wheeled push-hoe very similar to ones made and used in India and other Asian countries, has been developed. (Nothing similar was found anywhere else in Africa during this study) However, a member of the ConTill project team stated that there had been limited success in having this hoe adopted, mainly because the upright working position it allowed was equated with laziness, but also because it was not as effective and fast in all conditions as a traditional hoe.
Producers of Agricultural Production Tools
Zimplow Limited
This company, which is based in Bulawayo, was, established in 1939. After a series of transformations and mergers over the years, it is now among the most important of its kind in Southern Africa. The latest merger was in April 1997, when Zimplow fused with Bulawayo Steel Company (BST) which also manufactures animal draft implements and other tools. The Zimplow trade name is 'Mealie Brand' and BST's was 'Master Farmer'.
Zimplow now makes a range of animal drawn implements, some of which were its own designs and some of which were formerly made by BST. About half of Zimplow's output is sold in Zimbabwe, while the other half is sold in neighbouring countries of Southern and Central Africa
The range of Zimplow/BST implements is considerable and the newly-merged companies are still in the process of rationalizing their product line and their marketing strategy. In general, they are deciding to continue the models that were selling best before the merger, irrespective of who was making them.
As will be explained later in this report, there was widespread criticism from farmers, both men and women, of the weight of BST/Zimplow's implements, especially of the 5-tine cultivator, though the ploughs were not excluded from the same criticisms.
When asked about the weight of their implements, Zimplow spokesmen said that they were constantly concerned about the quality and durability of their equipment, and that greater weight was the inevitable down-side of providing the high quality they aim for.
Zimplow has no direct contact with farmers nor does it do market research or follow up with clients. Many of their product lines have been in existence for years with little modification, and they appear to find a ready market in Zimbabwe and other countries.
'We don't normally bring gender issues into our business We just look at the farmer as such.' 'We are just manufacturers. We do not have animals or our own farms.' Comments by members of Zimplow management team. |
An exception in terms of a new product is a donkey plough that BST was developing before the merger with Zimplow and which has been brought to fruition with the help of engineers from Agritex and from Silsoe Research Institute in UK. The initial rationale for developing a donkey plough had nothing to do with the needs of women; rather, it was orovoked by the droughts of recent years and the consequent reduction in the availability of oxen. A donkey plough seemed to be a way of better utilizing Zimbabwe's donkey resource. However, Agritex research staff did later inform Zimplow about the gender issue and the potential usefulness to women of a donkey plough.
The new donkey plough, despite weighing only 30kg compared to the 38kg of the normal ox plough, and despite winning medals at trade fairs has not been a commercial success, at least to date. One reason for this is that, in order to lighten the plough but at the same time maintain its durability, high-carbon steel for the main beam has to be imported from South Africa. This extra cost brings the sale price of the donkey plough up to about the same level as the normal ox plough, and therefore farmers have so far been reluctant to buy it.
'If implements are going to be made lighter and smaller, and with less parts, they should be cheaper.' Comment during a women's group discussion. |
However, it is also possible that there has been insufficient attempt to promote it since its quite recent launch on the market, and that Zimplow essentially prefer to take the line of least resistance and continue to concentrate on selling their traditional ox ploughs. This study showed widespread demand for lighter implements, and time alone will show whether the level of acceptance of the donkey plough confirms Zimplow's view that farmers prefer implements that have become traditional or whether women's complaints about the heaviness of those implements will result in a change in buying patterns. But needless to say, if farmers are not informed about the lighter tools that are now available, there can be no change in the status quo.
Zimplow also manufacturers hoes of various shapes, fitting types and weights. The weights range from about [pound (450gr) to 3pounds (1,361gr).
The Practice and Perceptions of Rural People regarding Production Technology
In addition to the general foregoing information, the Focus Group Discussions produced the following specific information:
Time Spent by Women Working in the field
The research team found it easiest to obtain this information on a crop by crop and time-per-acre basis, rather than the total numbers of days spent in the field that were provided in other countries of the study. The authors would like to draw special attention to the enormous amount of extra time spent weeding when crops are either broadcast or when no inter-row cultivation with animal traction has been carried out (see for example the figures for maize in the table on the next page).
The Hardest Job done by Women in the Field
`We really overwork ourselves when we are weeding. 'Without weeding do not expect any harvest. The back has to ache to conquer the weeds.' 'Oh, weeding is the most taxing job, both in energy and time, because you have to bend down and work carefully not to damage the crop, pull out the weeds and shake them, while at the same time you want to finish the operation before the weeds outgrow the crop.' 'If you finish weeding all your fields, then you know you will harvest something. ' 'Weeding shows your ability to grow a crop and its the hardest task which takes the longest time to finish. ' 'Hunger will reign in your home if you don't weed properly.' 'if you do not weed men you are feeding all your fertilizer to the weeds end you may as well harvest those weeds!' 'To win a crop, you have to disregard the backache!' A selection of comments during discussion groups with women. |
Groups stated almost unanimously that weeding was the hardest task they perform, and also the most time consuming, as is confirmed by the above table. Most groups said that they had to hoe a given field 2-3 times in a season. If a weed called fence is infesting a maize plot, it may need hoeing as many as 5-6 times.
The very few groups that did not put weeding first stated that ploughing/planting was the hardest task of all, their reasoning being that there was enormous time pressure to plant as quickly a possible to make the most of soil moisture and to obtain a uniform crop by completing the planting in a short time period These few groups also said that weeding was less stressing because they could breack off to do something else. Just one group mentioned harvesting as their most difficult task because it had to be done in a hurry to avoid thieving by baboons and cattle.
Differences in Tools used by Women and Men
There is a gender perception attached to different tools: some are seen as being 'men's tools' and others as 'women's tools'. Men's tools are considered to be ploughs, cultivators, ox carts, axes, adzes, pick-axes and shovels. Women's tools are considered to be hoes, watering cans, sickles, and other lightweight items.
These perceptions date from the times when men and women were more equally present in rural areas and when there were certain men's tasks and certain women's tasks in agriculture. But today, even though the gender perceptions about tools still persist, even men freely state that women now use all of them. Only the adze seems to have retained its exclusive male connection because of 'the skills needed to use it'. And heavy axes are normally not used by women, though lighter ones are. Nowadays, therefore, there are few distinctions in practice between the tools used by women and men.
Time Spent on Various Field Operations
Crop/Operation |
Time per Person per Acre |
Maize |
|
Ploughing |
1-2 days |
Cultivating |
1 day |
Planting |
1-2 days |
Weeding (after inter-row cultivation with animal traction) |
2-4 days |
Weeding (by hand hoe only) |
2-4 weeks |
Harvesting - cutting and stooping |
2-3 days |
Groundnuts |
|
Planting |
1-2 weeks |
Weeding (only by hand because |
3-4 weeks |
g/nuts are broadcast |
|
Harvesting: pulling and cocking |
3 days |
Plucking |
3 weeks |
Ranoke/Finger Millet |
|
Cultivating |
1 day |
Planting (broadcast) |
1 day |
Weeding and thinning |
1-2 months |
Harvesting - cutting heads |
1 month |
Renewal of Tools
Tools are replaced less often than in other countries covered in this study, presumably because of their higher quality in the first place. Certainly, the old plough shares generally used by blacksmiths in Zimbabwe to make hoes are far superior to the scrap steel from old vehicles used in many countries. One hoe encountered in the field work had been in use since 1962, though this was hardly typical. More usual was that people said they replaced hand tools every 2-15 years.
In respect of animal draft implements, and especially when referring to the ox carts that are available, there were numerous complaints about their quality compared to those of the past. The tyres fitted to ox carts were said only to last about two years. There were also frequent complaints about the short life of plough handles and landwheels, which needed frequent replacement. Shares and other soil-engaging parts are changed regularly. Shares normally last a season, but if the soils are very abrasive, they may need to be replaced twice during a ploughing season. Mouldboards normally last 4-5 seasons.
Wheelbarrows came in for much criticism. Farmers said that the bottom of the supporting legs wore out very quickly and that they needed to have them modified by a blacksmith for them to last any reasonable length of time.
Where Tools are Purchased and at what Cost
Hoes, axes and similar hand tools are mainly bought from the local blacksmith, although Zimplow hoes are also on sale in the Farmers Coop - the Zimplow distributors - in the towns. Other items such as wheelbarrows and animal draft implements are bought in towns, sometimes very distant from the village. Typical costs are laid out in the table on the next page. Prices reported by groups in Chinamora were slightly lower than those in Manicaland, presumably because of the relative remoteness of the latter.
Preference for Industrially- or Blacksmith-Produced Tools
Most blacksmiths in Zimbabwe only produce hoes, axes, and adzes; very few produce animal draft implements, so this discussion topic was automatically restricted to those basic had tools, which are also made by industrial concerns such as Zimplow.
The groups all expressed their preference for buying tools produced by blacksmiths. They stated that hoes produced industrially and bought in town, were generally not as good as those made by blacksmiths and were more expensive. They came without handles, and if one bought the handle separately, it often did not fit properly and came loose in the field. Hoes, axes, and adzes bought from local blacksmiths were generally considered to be stronger, and they came complete with handle. In addition, with blacksmiths, it was always possible to negotiate credit, provide one's own old plough shares as raw material, or arrange to barter chickens, maize or whatever, in exchange.
Other Tools and Implements known by Groups but seldom owned by Group Members
'The water pump they showed us costs 1,300 Zim dollars. Where on earth can I get such an amount. Yet it is a good piece of equipment that would increase my production.' Women during discussion group in Chinamora. |
Planters were the most frequently mentioned implements that people knew but did not possess. They were recognized as being very efficient and people would like to have them, but money to buy than is the problem. In fact, Zimplow itself recognizes that its planter, at about Zim$ 2,000, or more than twice the cost of a typical plough, is beyond the reach of most small farmers.
One group in Chinamora mentioned that that there had been a meeting organized by their extensionist to demonstrate a water pump suitable for irrigating small gardens. It worked very well. but was beyond the financial reach of the farmers.
Prices of Tools and Implements
Hand-tools
Tool |
Zim Dollars2 |
Tool |
Zim Dollars |
Blacksmith hoe (with handle) - depending on size |
6-30 |
Industrial hoe - without handle (depending on size) |
25 - 50 |
Axe - blacksmith (with handle) |
10-30 |
Axe - industrial (no handle) |
30-35 |
Adze - blacksmith |
6 |
Sickle - industrial |
15-25 |
Shovel - industrial |
70 |
Watering can - industrial |
100 |
Rake - industrial |
70 |
Pick axe - industrial |
70 |
Wheelbarrow |
400 |
Knapsack sprayer |
900 |
Wheeled push hoe (ConTill) |
70 |
2 US$ 1 = Zim $ 12 approximately. (October 1998).
Animal Draft
Type |
Source |
Zim Dollars |
Ox Ploughs |
BST/Zimplow and others |
750-1000 |
Ox cultivators |
ditto |
1000 - 1300 |
Diamond spike harrow |
ditto, with price according to size |
550 - 1000 |
Ox cart |
Various |
1500 - 2500 |
Single donkey toolbar/cultivator |
ConTill project/Auto and Engineering Services, Masvingo |
175 |
Ridgers were also mentioned as being implements known to the groups, but they were not being widely used because they were thought to require more draft power than their small oxen could generate.
Who Decides what Tools to Buy
'A house where there are no disagreements is dead, because disagreements help progress towards reaching the right compromise, rather than saying yes all the time.' Comment during a women's discussion group in Chinamom. |
Since it is the women who spend so much time on the land, it is usually they who take the initiative in mentioning to their husbands that a new tool is needed. This is usually followed by a discussion between husband and wife, and once convinced, the husband actually purchases the item. In the absence of their men in town, women may make independent decisions about buying small items such as hoes or watering cans.
However, it is usually the man who makes the decision about a major item such as a plough or cultivator.
Improvements that Women would like for their Tools
There was a widely expressed opinion by farmers that implements made in the 1 960s were much more durable than those being made today, even though they were lighter. Indeed, it was said that some from those years were still in use. One group made particularly favourable mention of implements with the brand name 'Sunshine'. 3 It was a widely held view that the ploughs and cultivators of those years were better than those on offer today.
3 Perhaps these implements were imported from Australia. Massey-Harris, later Massey-Ferguson once had a subsidiary in Australia that used the brand name 'Sunshine'.
By far the commonest complaint - indeed it was voiced by almost every group of women was about the weight of the BST/Zimplow implements. The standard five-tine cultivator came in for some harsh comments from women, one group even using a vulgar phrase in English to describe it and going on to say that it was dangerous to use. The men's groups also said that the implements were too heavy for women to use easily.
'Most tools for farming were originally meant for men, but circumstances now force women to use them' Comment during men's discussion group in Manicaland. |
The criticism were not limited to the weight of the cultivator; women and men said that the lever to adjust the row width was extremely difficult to use, although a few did say that if it was properly greased it was just about manageable. Women and men's groups wanted the adjustment lever to be easier to use, and placed near or on the steering handles of the implement. Groups commented that their row widths were hardly ever constant and that easier adjustment of the cultivator was very important.
Many women also said that the handles on the implements were too high for them. (They are usually not adjustable).
Women have trouble handling harrows when the field has rocks or other obstructions in it. They would like to have a handle on the harrows to make it easier to lift them around obstacles.
Some groups said they would prefer to have a tool bar that they could convert from plough to cultivator, or ridger, rather than the mono-purpose implements generally manufactured. They clearly had not heard of the tool developed by the 'ConTill' project mentioned earlier.
In Manicaland, many groups said that the beam, on new ploukhs was 'too straight', with the result that they did not penetrate properly. Their local blacksmiths knew how to modify the ploughs to make them penetrate better, and people took their new ploughs to them as a matter of course to have the modification done.
One group knew about a planting attachment that could be fitted to a plough and said that, since they could not afford a planter, it would be very useful. They were critical about the lack of information dissemination about the planter attachment.
The available ox carts were criticized for their pneumatic tyres, which punctured frequently and did not last long. Women said that it was a very difficult for them to repair a punctured tyre and pump it up again. Men's groups made the same point. Both women and men would far prefer to have their ox carts fitted with solid rubber tyres.
Still on the subject of ox carts, many groups also complained about the lack of brakes on today's carts, making them quite dangerous to use. They mentioned that if their oxen had been dehorned, the cart pushing from behind forced the harness over the heads of the animals, in effect uncoupling them from the cart, with unpredictable consequences.
A very few groups said that they believed that mini-tractors would be the answer to their problems.
Finally, irrigation pumps were mentioned as being a means that could save them a lot of time and the heavy work of carrying water to their gardens in watering cans and buckets.
All of the groups, both women and men said that they would welcome the chance to talk and work with researchers and designers to improve their tools. Some were even enthusiastic about the idea, though one women's group expressed a feeling that men are often difficult to work with because they are not sensitive to women's feelings and needs.
'If they are easy to discuss with we are willing to work with them.' Comment about working with researchers and designers to improve implements during women's discussion in Chinamora. |
Willingness to Pay More for Better Tools
There was a general willingness by groups to pay more for better tools, provided they in fact performed better or reduce the workload. However, there are obviously limits as to how much people could afford, as witnessed by the remark about the water pump.
The Constraints and Opportunities
The determinant factors governing improved production technology for women in Zimbabwe fall under two main categories: socio-economic and technical.
Socio-Econornic Factors
Zimbabwe's agricultural economy is the most advanced of the five countries in which this study was conducted, and the position of women is better, at least in the sense that they appear to have a greater level of decision-making about the farming activities for which they are, in effect, responsible, given the high level of male urban migration.
Despite this, however, women's lack of access to land rights, and the fact that most of their work is not remunerated, gives them very limited access to cash or credit. This, as elsewhere, is a major obstacle to improving the production technology used by women.
Animal traction with oxen is more widely used by women than in the other countries of the study. This is already a considerable advance. Furthermore, the way in which women have risen to the challenge of taking on tasks that were normally reserved for men, even with implements that are too heavy and difficult for them to use properly, is testimony to their remarkable will and determination.
Two professionals involved in development and interviewed for this study believed that the time was ripe for the introduction of small mechanized power units for farm work, and some women's groups were of a similar opinion. And perhaps, indeed, Zimbabwe's agricultural sector has reached the economic level where a private machinery hire service could be tried. A pilot initiative in an area where there was sufficient access to machinery skills and support services, and using machinery that had been selected after demonstration, evaluation, and study by the entrepreneurs and their potential clients could make an interesting and worthwhile project for an NGO, or it could be an element in an IFAD supported project.
An important aspect would be to ensure that the hire service was entirely private, and that the machinery provided to the carefully trained entrepreneurs was on a credit basis. This would stimulate them to work well to pay off the loan - or lose the machinery - and also create a revolving fund to finance an expansion of the service through additional entrepreneurs.
The work already being done by projects, NGOs and various institutions in the area of women's groups must clearly be continued and expanded, but taking a family approach rather than one restricted to women only. Women themselves recognize that access to resources, e.g. land and credit, is crucial for their success, as is education to mobilize and empower them, and also to sensitize men to women's needs and capacities.
Technical
The question of the weight of the available implements warrants close attention. As already mentioned, the complaints about ploughs and cultivators were commonplace and almost unanimous - as they were also in Zambia where the implements are imported from Zimbabwe. However, these complaints were all in respect of the standard and most widely sold ploughs and cultivators, mainly produced by BST/Zimplow.
What nobody in the discussion groups seemed to know was that BST/Zimplow also make light-weight implements. For example, there is a Mealie Brand tight cultivator with three sweeps, known as the Maun cultivator, which only weighs 25kg - compared to the 36-42kg of the standard 5-tine cultivators. And the Maun cultivator is less than two-thirds the cost of the larger ones.
Thus, a basic problem is that rural people do not know what different models of industrially-produced tools and implements exist. For their part, the manufacturers appear to make little effort to inform people, or even to have all their different models available at sates points. And overall there is far too little contact or follow up with farmers by major players such as BST/Zimplow. It is hardly normal that Zimplow staff say, 'We to not bring the gender issue into our business'. Do they believe that in the almost 60 years of their Company's existence, nothing has changed in rural Africa? Do they not know that their 'farmer' is now usually a woman not a man and that she has special needs in the implements she uses? All manufacturers of implements should do market research and follow up with the users of their products.
Agritex is not blameless in this lack of knowledge among rural people about what implements are available. Their extension staff should act as honest brokers in helping people make the right decisions about what implements to buy.
This study has shown that it is the men who normally make decisions about what animal draft implements to buy, but at the same time, men state that the implements are too heavy for women. So they are either so conservative that they would rather buy the implements they have seen around for years, whether they are too heavy or not for their women, or they are not informed either about the alternatives.
The most striking result of this study in Zimbabwe is the enormous time saving in hand hoeing that can be achieved when an animal drawn cultivator goes through the crop first. It would seem, therefore, that this is the aspect that warrants the most attention. And whatever the lack of prestige of donkeys in Zimbabwe, a light-weight donkey drawn cultivator that can be easily used by women and children might make a major impact in reducing women's heavy burden of hoeing.
This is not to say that time saved hoeing will be used by women for some well-deserved rest, for the common attitude among rural men in Zimbabwe, and in the other countries of the study too, is that women must be doing something all the time! But at least the activity that could replace much of the hoeing might be less back-breaking and more productive.
This photographic Annex includes only the tools and implements actually seen by the international study team. The national research teams may have seen others, or variations of those shown here, so this Annex is not exhaustive. Photographs in the Annex and rest of the report by Colin Fraser and Sonia Restrepo-Estrada.
Members of Field Research Team
Ms Marjorie Gova |
Senior Extension Specialist, Agritex (Study Coordinator) |
Ms Teclar Martinhira |
Extension Specialist, Agritex |
Mr Elijah Maengehama |
Extension Specialist, Agritex |
Mr. Ephraim Mbanje |
Agricultural Engineer, Inst. of Agricultural Engineering |
Ms Bertha Mudamburi |
Chief, Animal Traction Unit, Inst. of Ag. Engineering |
Mr Elijah Nyakudya |
Agricultural Engineer, University of Zimbabwe |
Ms Tecla Shoka |
Evaluation Specialist, Agritex |
CULTIVATING AND WEEDING WOES
Burkina Faso. A typical hoe made from scrap metal. The socket fitting and the natural elbow in the handle, formed by a branch and side branch, are the commonest arrangement, especially in the Central Plateau.
Burkina Faso. Handles of hoes are short to medium in length, usually from 50 to 80 cm.
Burkina Faso. Hoes with accentuated curve in the blade, designed by blacksmith. Idea copied from curved Ones on animal drawn cultivators. Note also the tang fitting, commonly found I towards the north of the country. The curved handles are said to be preferred I by men.
Burkina Faso. Hoes with slightly curved-blades and with socket fittings for handles.
Senegal. Heavy hoes with tubular steel handles, often longer than this one, are used in several countries for work such as building bunds or creating mounds for sweet potatoes.
Senegal. Top, the traditional small planting hoe (ngos-ngos); middle, a long-handled push-pull (hilaire) hoe; bottom, the push-pull sokh-sokh hoe which is used in a squatting position. The ngos-ngos has been largely replaced by animal draft planters, and the sokh-sokh is now little used because of the discomfort of its working posture.
Uganda. A forked-type hoe quite commonly found here but not elsewhere. Said to be the best tool for removing couch grass.
The 'Finland hoe', imported into Uganda by a past IFAD project, much appreciated for its quality and light weight. There is nostalgia for this hoe.
Uganda. Cock Brand hoes. The one on the right is so worn that it has become a weeding hoe for women and children. Note the forged eye-ring fitting.
Zambia. A very old 2½ lb Cock Brand hoe, worn to a fraction of its original size and repaired with a tang fitting in place of the original eye ring.
Leff and below
Uganda. There are said to be 'fake', low-quality Cock Brand hoes imported into Uganda. Perhaps this hoe, with its piece of blade broken away and the one in the other photograph, with the broken fitting, were such 'fakes'. (left)
Uganda. There are said to be 'fake', low-quality Cock Brand hoes imported into Uganda. Perhaps this hoe, with its piece of blade broken away and the one in the other photograph, with the broken fitting, were such 'fakes'. (below)
Zambia. These very short planting and weeding hoes were made by a blacksmith. Note the tang-type fitting,,, but with the local variation that the tang is driven into a knob formed by a part of a larger branch or by the trunk of the tree.
Zimbabwe. Tang-type hoes made by blacksmiths. The holes in the blade were for the fixing bolts of the plough shares from which the hoes were made.
Zimbabwe. There is considerable variation in the shapes of he blades made by blacksmiths. One must I wonder about the effectiveness for weeding of the rounded shape of the working edge, especially on the one at the left.
Zimbabwe. The most tools of European type were found in this country, the Dhandled shovel and fork, and the sickle were all ancient imports from UK.
PLANTING TOOLS I
Burkina Faso. The pioche (pick) is the hand tool used for planting. It has a short handle of about 35-50 cm and a blade about 4-5 cm wide, usually made from a vehicle leaf spring. It has socket fitting and the usual handle from a branch with a natural elbow.
Burkina Faso. A pioche and the gourd in which the sower carries the seed.
Burkina Faso. A simple home-made row marker with spikes to mark three rows at a time when the marker is pulled across the plot. Blacksmiths make similar markers of steel, often with two sets of spikes welded at different distances between them on the top and lower sides of the cross bar so that using it one way up or the other will give different row spacings.
Senegal. A woman breaks away from a Focus Group Discussion to demonstrate how they used to plant with a traditional ngos-ngos hoe before animal-drawn planters became commonplace.
AXES, CUTTING, AND PRUNING TOOLS
Senegal. Traditional axes, with tang fittings, such as this were common in every country. Blacksmiths produce them. The blade is normally made from vehicle leaf springs. Axes are widely used for clearing land of trees and bushes. They used to be considered men's tools only, but now women use them too.
Zambia. Another traditional axe. The axes were remarkably similar everywhere.
Burkina Faso. A selection of pangas and knives. These tools were found to be similar everywhere. Many pangas were imported from countries such as Brazil, India, and China.
Uganda. A range of knives, pruning, and weeding tools. From left, a traditional multipurpose knife; next to it, a small branch being split open to improvise a tool for pruning plantain fronds; imported knives; three strips of flexible steel normally for fixing roof timbers but used by women for weeding millet, and at right, a special tool for pruning plantains.
Uganda. A blacksmith-made slasher.
Uganda. Few people own special tools for pruning plantains, so they improvise one with a traditional knife slipped through a split cut in a small branch hat serves as a handle.
Uganda. The knife is mounted to be able to cut fronds by pushing up from below...
...or by pulling down from above.
BLACKSMITHING
Burkina Faso. Blacksmith using traditional bellows made from drums and animal skins.
Senegal. A range of blacksmith produced tools in Kaolack market. Various hoes, sickles, multi-pronged forks, and watering cans can be seen, as well as parts for animal traction implements.
Senegal. Other blacksmiths' tools in Kaolack market. Various cultivator tines, groundnut-lifter bodies, rakes, and parts for animal traction implements are on view.
Burkina Faso. Blacksmiths here and in Senegal are a caste and they often work in groups. There were several forges in one open area in this village. They seldom have electricity in the remoter villagers, so they cannot arc weld.
Senegal. A heap of scrap, the blacksmith's main raw material in the five countries of the study. In Eastern and Southern Africa, blacksmiths often have access to better quality scrap from old plough shares, etc., than they do in West Africa.
Zimbabwe. A blacksmith using an old fertilizer bag to blow air on to the embers of his fire.
Zimbabwe. Water bellows and improved forge at the fine blacksmith training centre of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Borrowdale
ANIMAL TRACTION
Burkina Faso. A blacksmith-built cultivator with a single ducksfoot tine for inter-row weeding.
Senegal. An old Sismar three-tine cultivator still giving good service.
Senegal. A collection of old Sismar implements in the Senegalese Insatiate for Agricultural Research at Bambey. In its prosperous days up to 1980, Sismar produced a wide range of implements. Planters, like the one second from right, are still in widespread use.
Senegal. A woman gets up from a Focus Group Discussion to make a point about a Sismar planter.
Zimbabwe. The five-tine cultivator produced by Zimplow/BST which came in for much criticism in Zambia and Zimbabwe because of its weight.
Uganda. Prototype of a lightweight three-tine cultivator under development by AEATRI.
Uganda. Prototype of a lightweight crouch under development by AEATRI.
Zimbabwe. The well-known and popular 'Mealie Brand' plough built by Zimplow.
