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Background
Since spring 2002 IFAD’s Gender Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa, in collaboration with FAO’s Agricultural Engineering and Food Technologies Service (AGST), has been conducting a series of studies on labour saving agricultural practices and technologies in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on women farmers and vulnerable groups. These activities started with a distance survey on labour saving technologies in sub-Saharan Africa. The first field survey was conducted in May and June 2002 in Bondo and Busia districts in Kenya. This survey focused on labour saving technologies in the broadest sense including household technologies, agricultural production and post harvest technologies. The sites were selected as there was evidence that both districts have HIV/AIDS prevalence rates which was above Kenyan average and the disease was having a significant impact on labour availability.
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Tanzania Study on Saving Labour through Conservation Agriculture
The Tanzania study on labour saving technology is focusing specifically on reduced tillage/conservation agriculture (CA) technologies. Conservation agriculture (CA) is the summary term of a farming concept that emphasizes minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover with the utilization of cover crops, and adequate crop rotations. CA technologies have been promoted in sub-Saharan Africa by a number of research and development institutions.
One particular interest for fostering the adoption of CA practices in sub-Saharan Africa is their potential to address three crucial areas of importance to small farmers in this region:
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Labour shortages: HIV/AIDS and other diseases, such as malaria, as well as urban migration and education are affecting the labour availability in rural households and increasing the burden of labour-intensive activities on women and children. CA technologies could reduce labour requirements especially in peak seasons for land preparation and weeding.
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Food security: CA can potentially increase food security by making more efficient use of rain water and by increasing soil fertility through the introduction of N-fixing cover crops.
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Household incomes: CA could possibly reduce production costs for hand labour, hired labour, draught animal power (DAP) hire, tractor hire and fertilizer use, and generate additional revenue through the production of fodder crops and cash cover crops.
The study is being conducted in the Northern Zone of Tanzania in Karatu and Babati districts1. In Karatu district the Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) with support of German GTZ, Tanzania Farmers Service Centre (TFSC) and FAO/AGST has been conducting on farm trials with conservation farming and the utilization of cover crops. In Babati district a wealth of experience has been collected in the SIDA-funded Land Management Programme (LAMP) in adapting and adopting the ‘Magoye Ripper’ for Conservation Tillage (CT) practices for the purpose of soil improvement and labour saving.
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Methodology
The study objectives are threefold:
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to determine if reduced tillage/conservation agriculture practices are labour saving;
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to determine the circumstances under which CA is suitable for adoption and sustained use by vulnerable groups without exposing them to too many risks with regard to their own food security and the stability of their livelihoods; and
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to identify potential barriers which hinder the adoption of labour saving practices such as CA and the means to overcome them.
The study has had two phases: a quantitative phase which focused on collecting data to assess the labour requirements for CA in comparison to conventional systems; and a qualitative component which was conducted after farmers had been exposed to conservation agriculture practices for at least one cropping cycle in order to appraise their reaction to CA.
FAO, through the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT), has sponsored the procurement and shipment of two containers of CA equipment to Tanzania. The equipment list includes various models of hand operated jab planters, DAP operated no-tillage planters, sprayers and knife rollers and tractor operated no-till planters and knife rollers. The recent short rains (commencing in October 2002) was the first season where this equipment was in practical use in Tanzania, including the conservation agriculture plots for this study in Karatu. In Babati the Magoye Ripper was already in use and was evaluated. Data were collected from 27 plots: 17 in Karatu and 10 in Babati. Fourteen were practising the conventional/traditional agriculture and 15 plots were cultivated with different modalities of conservation agriculture and conservation tillage practices. Farmers were selected to participate in the study with a focus on vulnerable poor households including those headed by women. The labour requirement for different activities was recorded by local extension staff throughout the season. The data were aggregated to hours per hectare equivalents for different farming systems, as presented in Tables 1 and 2.
Results from the qualitative study found that the most important objectives of farmers at the study sites is the reduction of labour burden especially for weeding, the increase of production and yields and the achievement of food security, all three points are achievable through the conservation farming system. During farmer evaluations it was obvious that the CA/CT systems are most attractive to small farmers because of their potential to reduce labour peaks due to minimizing tillage and weeding operations (Tables 3 and 4). The study results indicate that labour reduction is achievable although the change of the farming system might require initial additional labour inputs. The availability of additional fodder from the cover crops meets the small farmers’ household requirements. The CA technology seems to provide short term farm benefits in terms of soil fertility but also in small farmers’ commitment and attitudes towards their soils and land
(Box 1). Thus the adoption of CA technology/conservation farming methods would not appear to expose households to any more risks than conventional farming systems.
Box 1: Florence has learned that it is good to keep the soils covered.
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Florence is a widow with three daughters and three sons and three grandchildren of which most are living at home. She participated with two plots in our study, one conventional beans plot (hand hoe system) and one CA plot (DAP knife roller, herbicide, soil cover, hand jab planter). She learned during the beans season that, because of the soil cover, the land needed less weeding plus the beans kept growing and producing good yields despite a drought period towards the end of the season. The soil cover helped maintain the soil humidity. Florence got such a good yield that she sold half of the beans in order to pay the school fees for her daughter without asking neighbours and relatives for money. This was the first time for many years that she had enough of her own money to do so. For the long season she decided not to remove the beans leaves left on the field. She placed them in rows and planted the maize in between. She did this on her own initiative because she had learned that the soil cover helps to suppress weeds and to improve the soils, as well as keeping the soils humid and cool.
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Moreover, the CA concept matches with shrinking farm power base in both districts where the tractor population is relatively old and the labour force is declining. Demand for draught animal power is high. Farmers complained that not enough casual labourers are available for hand weeding and the prices for hiring labour for land preparation is almost on a par with hiring DAP or tractor power. With DAP equipment for conservation farming (such as the no-till planter, knife roller or Magoye ripper) it is possible to use only two oxen instead of four. In hand power systems, permanent soil cover suppresses weeds which reduces labour requirements for weeding. The elimination of ploughing for land preparation due to planting directly either by hand or by jab planter reduces the hand power demand as well.
The concept of cover crops was well received in Karatu: certain crops such as pumpkins are already used in the cropping cycle and dolicus lablab is valued as a cash crop. Within one cropping cycle farmers noticed a difference in soil fertility and yields due to the cover crops. Farmers preferred the use of cover crops than herbicides to suppress weeds: herbicides were expensive and had no impact other than ‘killing weeds’.
There is a danger that, from a socio-cultural perspective, it might be difficult for small farmers to maintain a so-called ‘dirty field’ which is not properly weeded and has many crop residues on the field (soil cover). Farmers are under pressure from the community to keep their fields clean. The conflict between livestock keepers and crop farmers is long established but the introduction of the CA system may help resolve the conflict if it helps create awareness about the value of crop residues and soil cover.
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Conclusions
This fieldwork has shown that it is possible to tackle the two known labour peaks in smallholder farming (land preparation and weeding) with conservation farming approaches. It has also shown that for small farmers it is not so much the tools and equipment related to CA which have been catching their interest but the cover crops. The impact of introducing these crops in Karatu has enabled farmers to understand the concept of conservation farming including the potential for saving labour and gaining higher yields. After such a sensitization process it is easier to introduce CA equipment in order to let farmers reach the full benefits and the full labour saving effect of this approach.
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Recommendations
The introduction of cover crops as starting point for conservation farming should be propagated in emergency projects and field activities dealing with labour saving themes. Such projects are currently being discussed in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The introduction of appropriate CA hand tools and DAP equipment (such as small planting hoes, hand jab planter, DAP ripper and DAP no-till planter) could be the second step. All these require field staff trained in conservation farming methods plus motivated farmer groups including women and the youth.
Demonstration plots, farmer training and local field days are required to expose small farmers and local leaders to the features of conservation farming and their benefits. The potential for labour saving is a very good entry point to sensitize small farmers as this topic has top priority especially in view of the current labour shortages many households are experiencing.
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