The following provides some basic technical explanations for the correct utilisation of animal power including harnessing and implements. The advantages and disadvantages of this practice are also explained, which include labour saving, livelihood diversification, livelihood resilience strengthening, equipment, costs, skills, and risks.

Description

Cattle, particularly oxen are by far the most common source of draught animal power. Buffaloes, donkeys and camels are also used. Work rates for a pair of oxen are around 10 and 20 times greater than those for a single human in traditional full tillage systems. Indicative only, this is due to the variability of ploughing depth, animals, local conditions and crops. More specifically ploughing requires 9 to 28 hours per ha per a pair of oxen, planting requires 15 hours per ha per a pair of oxen, and weeding requires seven hours per ha per a pair of oxen.

The number of hours that draught animals can work per day depends mainly on the animal species, climate, the time of day, health and nutrient status. The number of hours varies from around three to six hours per day. In many countries draught animals are mainly used for land preparation with little advantage taken of their high work rates for weeding. Hired draught animal power services is often paid for through reciprocal labour or other local services. For low draught operations, such as planting and weeding, the use of single animals with suitably designed harnesses effectively doubles the amount of draught animal power available for these operations.

1. Features of harnessing

• Generally, yokes are used for bovines and collar harnesses with breast straps for equines.
  • Using yokes on equines can seriously injure them.
• Either single yokes or collar harnesses can be used on single oxen.
• Forehead or head yokes are traditional in some areas, used on non-humped cattle and buffalo, but are not favoured for efficient use.
• The double shoulder yoke is easy and cheap to make but is inefficient and causes sores and injuries.
• Shaping the yoke to give a large contact area between the yoke, neck and shoulder with padding if necessary, minimizes the localized pressure on the animal.
  • It enables the animal to exert more force without pain and improves the power output.
• Full- or split-collar harnesses can be used effectively with oxen, buffalo and donkeys.
  • Using single animals for low draught operations with appropriately designed harnessing is not common but can effectively double the availability of DAP in a region for these tasks.
  • Yokes are commonly made by farmers themselves and local manufacturers.

2. Features of implements

• The most common traditional primary tillage implement is the Ard.
  • The Ard is a wooden plough with a steel share or tip, which operates like a chisel plough or ripper tine and does not invert the soil.
  • Multiple passes at angles to each other are usually undertaken to prepare the land for seeding.
• Another common primary tillage implement is the steel mould-board plough.
  • The steel mould-board plough is pulled by a chain, which inverts the soil and buries surface trash and weeds.
• A less common primary tillage implement in Sub-Saharan Africa is the ripper tine, used to break up plough plans.
  • It is best used at the end of the cropping season when the draught animals are in peak condition and before the soil hardness increases during the dry season.
  • The ripper is also used in reduced tillage systems for preparing the land for planting, through a cover crop or mulch.
  • The ripper tine can be fitted to the standard plough beam.
• The most common secondary tillage implements are harrows and cultivators.
  • These take on many shapes and sizes but generally the latter have fewer tines than the former.
  • Both are used for breaking down the clods left from ploughing to make a seedbed of a fine tilth.
  • This improves the contact between seed, soil and soil moisture, and facilitates germination and plant development.
  • Harrows and cultivators are also used as weeders (particularly duck-foot cultivators).
  • Variable width cultivators are used for inter-row weeding.
• Other secondary tillage implements include ridgers and bed-makers.
  • These are used to minimise soil compaction within the cultivated zone.
  • They may also be used for specific crops, such as groundnuts, to facilitate their growth and harvesting.
• Other land forming implements include levelling planks or levelling blades.
  • Both of these are used to improve the evenness of the soil to facilitate equitable moisture distribution and to improve tilth.
  • Levelling blades are also used to level land for irrigation systems, together with dam-scoops for transferring soil over slightly longer distances.
  • Dam-scoops are also used to construct soil conservation works, such as conservation contours and storm drains.

3. Advantages

3.1 Labour saving

• The practice reduces drudgery and saves time of up between 5 and 20 times compared to using only manual labour.

3.2 Livelihood diversification

• There is off-farm earning potential through the provision of hire services.

3.3 Livelihood resilience strengthening

• The practice allows for the expansion of the cultivated area, improved quality of operations and improved timeliness.
• It is suitable for small plot sizes.
• It also increases the multipurpose function of animals including farm power, milk, meat and manure.

3.4 Equipment

• Draught animal implements are relatively easy to maintain and repair.

3.5 Cost

• The value of animals often increases.

4. Advantages of improving harnessing and using single animals

4.1 Labour saving

• Using a single animal for low draught work where two are usually used, doubles the availability of draught animals for that task and reduces the demand for labour.
• Improving the design of yokes and harnesses makes a more efficient use of animals.

4.2 Equipment

• The type of harness depends on tradition, animal species, type of implement, cropping system, material and money available.
• The equipment is easy to maintain and repair.

4.3 Skills

• Improvements should be introduced gradually, in areas where draught animal power is common and traditional harnesses are already in use.

4.4 Cost

• There are low investment and minimal operating costs and hence low financial risks.

4.5 Risk

• Risks are minimal.

5. Disadvantages

5.1 Labour

• Energy and time inputs are much higher and power and draught force outputs much lower when compared with their tractor drawn equivalents.
• There are also potential increases in workloads for weeding if draught animals are used to increase cropped area.

5.2 Animal

• Animals are often in poor condition at the start of cropping season when main traditional tillage operations are required.
• Animals require supplementary feeding and maintenance of feeding when animals are working is required.

5.3 Equipment

• There is a need for tillage and harnessing equipment.
• Inputs will be required to improve the design and manufacture of improved harnesses.

5.4 Cost

• There are significant investment and operating costs.

5.5 Skills

• Operators and animals require extensive training.
• Owners need to be competent in animal husbandry.
• If switching to using single animals, animals will need to be trained to work alone.

5.6 Attitude

• There are a number of gender aspects associated with the use of draught animals, especially cattle, which may prevent women from using this resource.

5.7 Risk

• Animals have low productivity due to poor feeding and ill health.

5.8 Infrastructure

• Veterinary services and medicines, and infrastructure of equipment supply are required.

Figure 1. Draught animal power and implements

©FAO/TECA

6. Related/associated technologies

• Labour-saving technologies and practices: conservation agriculture: ID 7294.
• Labour-saving technologies and practices: draught animal powered and motorised crop processing: ID 7307.
• Labour-saving technologies and practices: Draught Animal Power (DAP) planters and weeders: ID 7305.
• Labour-saving technologies and practices: draught animal powered groundnut lifter: ID 7309.
• Labour-saving technologies and practices: pack animals and animal drawn carts: ID 7311.

This technology is also available in Spanish: ID 8683.

7. Objectives fulfilled by the project

7.1 Labour-saving technology (LST)

The technology doubles the availability of draught animals and reduces the need for labour.

7.2 Resource use efficiency

The technology improves the design of yokes and harnesses, making them more efficient. The equipment is easy to use and repair. 

7.3 Pro-poor technology

The technology has a low financial risk and leads to livelihood diversification and resilience strengthening.