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.