Moisture conserving tillage and weeding practices for a maize-based cropping system were tested in semi-arid Zimbabwe. This is an area characterised by shortage of labour and Draught Animal Power (DAP), frequent drought, and at times excessive weed growth. Using a ripper tine attached to the existing plough for planting, and weeding with the plough, the practices selected by farmers from on-farm trials benefited households who had access to DAP and labour. However, the 35 percent of households who had no DAP or implements experienced severe labour constraints, generally planted late, achieved low yields, rarely produced a saleable surplus and were cash constrained. Although these households may benefit from more timely availability of hired DAP for planting, when DAP owners complete their own planting more quickly by the minimum tillage/planting technique, they were unlikely to relieve their weeding constraint by using the labour-saving weeding technology, as this would incur further hire costs for DAP.