Chapter 3
Developments in farm-power systems

The twentieth century witnessed changes in the source of farm power for primary tillage. Many communities moved from total reliance on hand power to using draught animals and tractors to varying degrees. Modest changes also occurred within each power source in terms of the quality and diversity of the tools and implements in use. These two themes are explored in this chapter. It should be noted that the observations are specific to the field sites and do not necessarily reflect experiences elsewhere in each country.

Changes in sources of farm power for primary tillage

An enduring feature of any study of farm power in sub-Saharan Africa in the twentieth century is the dominant and persistent use of hand power for primary tillage. In the early 1900s, nearly all of the study sites relied on humans as their sole source of farm power (Table 5). The exceptions were both sites in Ethiopia and one in Zambia where draught animals were already an integral part of the farming system. During the century, many communities experimented with alternative power sources and their experiences of farm mechanization may be divided into two phases. The first phase was one of expansion followed by a brief period of stability; this covers the period when DAP and tractors were first introduced into rural communities, and it reached its peak in the 1960s and 1970s.

The second phase was generally one of contraction. This commenced in 1980 in some communities when the new power source proved unsustainable in the face of drought, insecurity, and low farm profitability. Many households reverted to their previous sources of power. Other communities sought sustainability by introducing draught animals to replace tractors (the sites in Ghana and United Republic of Tanzania). At the two sites in Uganda, the power base declined but DAP resources subsequently recovered. Only in Sanchitagi (Nigeria) did the new power source proved sustainable.

TABLE 5
Changes in farm-power sources for primary tillage during the twentieth century

Source: Based on historical timelines prepared by communities at field sites.

Phase of expansion in farm mechanization

Three patterns of mechanization may be identified during the expansion phase:

• the classic scenario is represented by the study communities in Uganda and Zambia, moving from hand power to DAP in the early part of the century and onto tractors in the second half of the century (Figure 1);

• some communities (in Ghana, Nigeria and United Republic of Tanzania) moved straight from hand power to tractors in the 1970s and 1980s (Figure 2);

• communities in Malawi moved to DAP in the middle part of the century, but this was not followed by the introduction of tractors and even the use of DAP proved unsustainable for many households (Figure 3).

DAP mechanization

The first wave of DAP-based mechanization occurred in the early years of the twentieth century, corresponding with the arrival of European settlers and the introduction of draught animals. For example, in Kacaboi (Uganda), horses and oxen were introduced together with the Ransomes ox plough in an initiative to expand the area under cotton - a cash crop produced for export. Table 6 presents a historical review of farm power and mechanization in Kacaboi.

In the second wave (from the 1940s to the 1970s), the use of DAP at sites in Uganda, Malawi and Zambia was stimulated by the introduction of ox-drawn ploughs and other implements from neighbouring countries (Kenya, Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe - and South Africa, respectively). In Malawi, the Government encouraged DAP by opening DAP training centres and providing loans to purchase animals and implements. In Kapchesombe (Uganda) a government district farm institute was established to demonstrate and train farmers in the use of DAP implements. In this period, agricultural production was generally profitable, households were generally food secure, and farmers earned enough to buy implements, as well as improve their standard of living. DAP farmers cultivated larger areas than households relying on hand power and grew cash crops (such as groundnuts in Malawi, and coffee and wheat in Uganda). They were also able to generate additional income through DAP-hire and haulage services.

Note: Data represent year of introduction or decline of power source (to the nearest five years).
Source: Based on historical timelines prepared by communities at field sites.

Note: Data represent year of introduction or decline of power source (to the nearest five years).
Source: Based on historical timelines prepared by communities at field sites.

Note: Data represent year of introduction or decline of power source (to the nearest five years).
Source: Based on historical timelines prepared by communities at field sites.

Tractor mechanization

Similarly, the introduction of tractors was closely linked to drives to accelerate cashcrop production and increase the area under cultivation. In some instances, governments promoted tractors by building on earlier initiatives that had promoted DAP (Uganda and Zambia). In other communities, the private sector was the prime mover in offering tractor-hire services (United Republic of Tanzania).

The earliest record of a tractor demonstration among the study sites was in the mid-1950s at an agricultural show in Kumi town in Uganda (Table 6). Uptake was slow; farmers were uncertain about benefits of tractor use and were concerned about soil degradation. The Government subsequently introduced a tractorhire service in 1960 to stimulate the production of cotton and millet. In Zambia in 1965, government hire services were introduced in Nteme to increase maize production while hire services were introduced in Simupande through the Tobacco Board of Zambia to promote tobacco production (by facilitating dry-season ploughing and offsetting labour bottlenecks at the beginning of the season). Tractors were introduced in Gyangyanadze (Ghana) after the Government cleared large tracts of land under a national agricultural mechanization drive in 1970. A tractor-hire scheme was based in the district capital of Babatokuma in Ghana in the early 1970s in a drive to increase food production, produce raw materials for local industries, and achieve import substitution. However, the centre was not readily accessible for farmers in Babatokuma (16 km away) and it was only after an individual in the community bought a tractor that their use increased.

TABLE 6
Historical developments in farm power at Kacaboi, Uganda

Source: Odogola and Olaunah (2002).

TABLE 7
Historical developments in use of tractors at Sanchitagi, Nigeria

Source: Ajibola and Sinkaiye (2002).

Tractors were introduced to the Tanzanian field sites in the 1970s by farmers purchasing tractors for their own use and offering hire services to others. Tractor use at Mvomero accompanied the introduction of cotton as the main cash crop. Farmers hired tractors in order to increase their cultivated area and the process was facilitated by the availability of cheap labour for weeding. Hiring tractors was dependent on the profitability of cotton production and, at its peak in the early 1980s, it is estimated that 80 percent of households in Mvomero hired tractors (with tractors coming from neighbouring areas in order to satisfy demand). This proportion had halved by the close of the century.

Only Sanchitagi (Nigeria) has experienced a sustained change in farm mechanization. Tractors are used by more than 40 percent of the households and, owing to the significantly larger areas cultivated by households using tractors than hoe cultivators, almost all of the cultivated land is prepared by tractor. The ability of the private sector to follow through the government initiative to introduce tractor-hire services has been a crucial factor in securing their sustained use. This was achieved by purposive state interventions such as extension agents encouraging the formation of farmer groups to purchase tractors, and the provision of subsidies on tractor purchases and credit sales (Table 7). The community was also well located to take advantage of opportunities for training tractor drivers and tractor repair services. However, the substantial rise in prices for tractors and implements experienced in recent years is challenging the long-term outlook for tractor power.

Phase of contraction in farm mechanization

Twelve of the 14 communities covered in the study were unable to sustain the use of their new sources of farm power. The contraction phase for tractors commenced in the early 1980s, 20 years or so after they had first been introduced into various communities. Generally, DAP was used for a longer period but its collapse also started in the 1980s.

Decline in tractor use

The decline in the use of tractors and tractor-hire services was attributed to the poor performance of the economy, weak infrastructure and poor management. Under government hire schemes, the area cultivated per machine was small, fixed costs were high, and the service was usually subsidized. The situation was often compounded by a lack of basic infrastructure to support mechanized technologies. This resulted in expensive repairs, poor maintenance and repair facilities, and difficulties in obtaining spare parts. Government support for tractor services proved unsustainable.

From the 1980s (Uganda and Zambia) through to the 1990s (Ghana and Nigeria), government-operated hire schemes were closed and support for private-sector tractor purchases and hire services gradually abolished.

Private-sector providers were also afflicted by the challenging economic times of structural adjustment and currency devaluation. In the United Republic of Tanzania, tractor owners increased hire charges in order to cover the increased cost of imported items (machinery, fuel and spare parts). However, when coupled with low farm-produce prices, many farmers were no longer able to afford hire services. The experiences in Nigeria were similar where, in the 1990s, there was more than a twenty-fold increase in the cost of tractors, and a tenfold increase in the cost of implements. In Ghana, it was estimated that tractor-hire charges cover only 63 percent of the full economic cost for ploughing, representing an implicit subsidy from tractor owners to hirers of 37 percent.

Generally, the failure of tractor services resulted in the reduction of the area cultivated as communities reverted to draught animals and hand power. In some communities (Babatokuma in Ghana, and Mvomero and Msingisi in the United Republic of Tanzania), DAP was encouraged as a more sustainable and affordable option to tractor power for smallholder farmers. These initiatives were implemented through awareness campaigns, extension services, operator training, and loans supported by government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities and donor-funded projects (for example, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and FAO).

Decline in DAP use

The severe drought in Ethiopia from 1984 to 1986 destroyed the livestock population in the southern highlands, while cattle diseases, particularly East Coast fever (Theileriosis), decimated the livestock population on the plateau in southern Zambia and throughout Malawi. The impact of disease was compounded by an absence of appropriate animal health-care facilities and practices. In addition, cattle thefts have been common in Zambia and Malawi, and cattle rustling by the Karamojong has been widespread in eastern Uganda. Poverty has also contributed to the decline in livestock numbers, forcing farmers to sell cattle and implements in order to generate cash (as noted in Simupande, Zambia, and Lodjwa, Malawi). With market liberalization and the withdrawal of government credit to support the purchase of draught animals and implements, it is now more difficult for farmers to either establish, maintain or expand a DAP base.

Governments, NGOs and individuals have taken steps to restock certain areas. In Kacaboi (Uganda), the number of draught animals had fully recovered by 2000. In Zambia, the Government introduced donkeys in Nteme as an alternative to oxen in the mid-1990s. However, donkeys are also in short supply and the area is now facing a critical shortage of DAP.

At other sites, efforts have been made to help communities to adjust to their new power base. In Kokate Marachere (Ethiopia), international NGOs, such as World Vision International-Ethiopia, have introduced agricultural packages, including seeds and hand tools, to encourage farmers to cultivate their plots using hand tools rather than depending on DAP.

Technological developments

Developments in hand-tool technology

In the last century, there were two changes in farm hand tools: improvements in the quality of materials used to make the tools; and increased diversity in the range of tools. For example, at Kacaboi (Uganda) the community used wooden chisel-shaped tools for digging holes and weeding prior to 1900. At the beginning of twentieth century, tools made from steel (hoes, machetes and axes) were introduced, supported by the development of local smelting and rural blacksmithing businesses. At the neighbouring field site in Kapchorwa, it was not until the 1950s (when the hunting and gathering community settled down to sedentary agriculture) that hand hoes started to replace traditional implements made from wood and the ribs of animals.

At Lodjwa (Malawi), the shift from wooden implements to hoes made locally in traditional furnaces occurred in 1915. This was followed by the importation of lighter and more durable tools, initially from Europe and India in the 1920s, and from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1960s. These hoes were easier to handle and enabled farmers to cultivate larger areas. At Mwansambo, the shift from traditional hoes to more durable manufactured hoes occurred in the 1960s. The traditional hoes were heavy, small and became blunt easily. The "Edward" hoes from the United Kingdom were more durable but also heavy and they were later replaced by durable light hoes made in-country.

While all sites have experienced improvements in the basic range of tools, not all have been exposed to a wide range of hand tools. There tends to be more diversity at sites where hoe cultivation has been a predominant feature of the farm-power system. For example, farmers in a traditional DAP community (Nteme, Zambia) commented that although they understood that different designs of hoe were available elsewhere (in terms of the size and shape of the blade, and the length of the handle), they still used one traditional hoe. In contrast, in Sanchitagi in Nigeria (where 60 percent of households rely on hand power for primary tillage), farmers have a choice of five hoes, each designed for a specific task. Since the 1960s, the community has moved from using a similar hoe (with only small adaptations in size) for all operations, to five hoes: a large hoe with wide blade for making yam ridges and heaps; a small hoe with a narrow blade (almost triangular) for planting; a medium-sized hoe with a sharp-edged blade for weeding; a light hoe with a short handle for children; and a special hoe for use in the fadama. Nevertheless, even in communities where developments and adaptations have taken place to better suit the range of hand tools to specific uses, hoes are invariably fitted with short wooden handles that affect the standing posture of users (Box 1).

The predominantly hand-power community of Ojo in Nigeria (where 90 percent of households use hand power for primary tillage) also has a diverse range of hand tools. In addition to three different hoes, there are three different cutlasses: a large one for felling trees; a medium-sized one for weeding; and a small one for harvesting. In the 1940s, a sickle was introduced to replace the small cutlass for cutting grass for thatching roofs. In the 1960s, a pickaxe was introduced (together with cocoa) for digging holes for cocoa seedlings; it is also used for land clearance and harvesting yams. Two innovations have been introduced to the community by migrant labour: a long-handled tool for harvesting tree crops (in the 1930s by Nigerians returning from Côte d’Ivoire); and a large hoe for land preparation for tubers (in the mid-1990s by seasonal labourers from the Middle Belt of Nigeria). Knapsack sprayers, originally introduced in 1980, have undergone several refinements.

Source: Ajibola and Sinkaiye (2002).

The community at Kokate Marachere (Ethiopia) recorded similar developments. In the 1970s, the pickaxe replaced the hoe to enable easier and deeper cultivation of virgin land, and the machete replaced the small axe for more effective weed control. In the mid-1980s, the traditional wooden two-fingered hoe was replaced by a metal three-fingered hoe. A flat hoe was also introduced that was better suited than the traditional hoe for digging new land, and resulted in less soil erosion. It was also more comfortable to use (requiring less bending over) than the traditional hoe. A modern, Spanish-made sickle was introduced in the 1980s. It requires less energy and time than the local sickle, hence crops can be harvested more quickly, thereby reducing harvesting losses. Many of these changes have been introduced by World Vision International-Ethiopia, which was working in the area following the drought of the mid-1980s.

Developments in DAP technology

There have been few changes in the technologies associated with the use of draught animals at the field sites. The main DAP implements are the mould-board plough and ox cart. A persistent feature of DAP cultivation in the region has been its almost exclusive use for initial land preparation despite numerous initiatives to broaden the range of operations performed by draught animals. For example, planters and weeders were introduced in Simupande (Zambia) in the 1980s but they are rarely found there today. In Kacaboi (Uganda), secondary-tillage technologies were available in the 1960s focusing on cotton production. However, when cotton was abandoned in the late 1970s, the technologies also disappeared. Ridgers are common in Malawi but the absence of a suitable weeder has hindered farmers in Lodjwa from using DAP for weeding. Farmer groups in Mvomero (United Republic of Tanzania), have received multipurpose tool bars and secondary-tillage equipment (cultivators and ridgers) through the FAO Special Programme for Food Security, but they have not used the equipment for weeding. Farmers have given various reasons for this: DAP planters are not available (although they are not necessary to sow in lines); animals have not been trained for weeding; and intercropping hinders DAP weeding. One farmer in Nteme (Zambia) has a DAP ripper for reduced tillage acquired while acting as a contact farmer under the Soil Conservation and Agro-Forestry Extension (SCAFE) project in the area.

In Ethiopia, where draught animals have been used for thousands of years, the traditional wooden plough with a small metal share (maresha) persists as the principal DAP implement. Attempts to introduce steel mould-board ploughs in the 1940s, and broad-bed makers and minimum-tillage systems more recently (through ILRI) have proved largely unsuccessful.