 | Better Farming Series 14 - Farming with Animal Power (FAO - INADES, 1977, 57 p.) |
 |  | (introduction...) |
| | Preface |
| | Introduction |
|  | Choosing and preparing fields |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Size and shape of fields |
| | Marking the boundaries of a field |
| | Grub out all the trees in the field |
| | Get permission to farm for a long time |
| | Working animals |
| | Oxen |
| | Choosing oxen for farm work |
| | Training oxen |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Harnessing oxen with a yoke |
| | How to train oxen |
| | How many hours a day can oxen work? |
| | How to feed working oxen |
| | Looking after working' oxen |
| | Donkeys |
| | Horses |
| | Mules |
| | Camels |
| | Tools for use with animal power |
| | Choice of tools |
| | (introduction...) |
| | The plough |
| | The harrow |
| | The Manga cultivator |
| | The seed drill |
| | The cart |
| | Other tools |
| | Income from animal power |
| | (introduction...) |
| | What animal power costs |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Buying animals and tools |
| | Amortization |
| | Interest |
| | The animals' food |
| | Upkeep and repair of tools |
| | What animal power farming costs him: |
| | Mechanized farming |
| | Some examples of animal power farming |
| | Suggested question paper |
Get permission to farm for a long time
Before grubbing out the trees, ask the land authorities for permission to farm the field for a very long time, so as to get the benefit of your work.
· Choose the right crops and rotation
When you use animal power, you must include fodder for the animals in your crop rotation (see Booklet No. 5, page 27).
For example:
Grow a fallow crop (see Booklet No. 5, page 23)
and cereals such as rice or maize or sorghum as supplementary feeds (see Booklet
No. 8, page 14).
Grow more cash crops such as cotton or groundnuts. With the extra money earned, pay off the cost of the oxen and the tools.
After the cash crops, raise food crops for your family.
The food crops will benefit from the remains of the fertilizers
used on the cash crops. The harvest will be better. You will get enough food for
your family from a smaller field.
Using animal power means you have to use a
good crop
rotation.
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