On the third day of the workshop, all participants attended on farm demonstrations of conservation tillage implements and technologies. The objective of the demonstrations was to show the range of equipment and technologies available, though not necessarily in use by the majority of farmers. The demonstrations were to give a chance to the participants, some of whom were seeing them for the first time, to comment on the performance of the implements.

Demonstrations were conducted on the farm belonging to Mrs. Helena Shininge of Muroro village. The farm was situated 48 km East of Rundu. The farm was a typical one in the area, was 6ha in size with predominant sandy soils. Pearl millet was the main crop grown.

Main implements demonstrated came from Palabana Farm Power and Mechanization Centre in Zambia, the IMAG-DLO project on smallholder agricultural Mechanization Promotions in Zambia, Mashare Agricultural Development Institute and the Northern Rural Development Program of Namibia.

Some of the implements demonstrated were the Magoye Ripper and Planter attachment, the Palabana Sub-soiler, the Cultivator, the hand weeder, the Senegalese cultivator, Tie-Ridger and the range of Zimbabwean made equipment.

Under each of the following sub-headings are descriptions of the equipment and some of the comments made by participants regarding the various types of implements:

This implement is designed for braking the hard pan on smallholder farms that have been continuously cultivated either with a handhoe or animal drawn plough. The subsoiler is pulled by two oxen and is good for soils in dry areas. The subsoiler works 20cm deep in the soil which is deeper than the standard plough that can only go 15cm deep.

General comments and observations:

• requires high draft power
• rigid hitch assembly allows restricted adjustment
• a good implement for the job.

The Senegalese Donkey Cultivator in use

The implement has been designed for minimum disturbance of the soil during cultivation while opening the ground for adequate amounts of the water to be harvested. The ripper with extended wings attached becomes a mini-ridger, good for making furrows in dry sandy soils. Once the

furrow is made, planting of cereals can be conducted. Two oxen pull the ripper when working on lighter soils but 4 animals may be needed on heavier soils.

General comments and observations:

• the ripper is an appropriate equipment for the soil and water conservation task. It has been carefully designed and adapted.
• it is good for sandy soil as it leaves furrows when used as a ridger.
• although introduced to farmers, it was still to catch on and be a common implement with farmers in Zambia and elsewhere.
• it worked well and was probably the best implement for conservation tillage.

The Ripper- Planter

This implement consisted of the standard (as described above) ripper without wings but with a planter unit attached. The machine is used for ripping the soil and planting the seeds in a single pass. This is meant to cut down on the labour and soil manipulation energy, as well as drudgery and time required to perform the two field operations. Less tillage energy can be a real asset during dry ploughing and saves on soil structure destruction and soil compaction. The planter had an interchangeable seed-metering unit in order to work with several types of seed.

General comments and observations:

• very good and effective
• requires a study on ergonomics especially with regard to use by women and smaller men.
• expensive for the majority of farmers but worth the price.

The cultivator is used for weeding. It is particularly suitable for weeding in fields that have no ridges as it tends to destroy the ridges as it goes in the furrow. It is however adjustable to suit the crop or ridge spacing that is in the field.

General comments and observations:

• highly recommended and already in use with many farmers.

The width adjustable cultivator

Crop weeding has been noted by many farmers as one operation which is time consuming and very critical in crop protection. Poor weeding reduces yields significantly. Two hand weeders were demonstrated. The machines were designed in such a way that two people are required to operate the machine, one person pulls the machine using a raw hide rope while the other pushes it. The weeder cuts the weeds under the soil as it goes along in between plants. It is particularly useful for farmers without animals to provide the power needed.

General comments and observations:

• performs better on sandy soils and in early weeding
• requires a wider front wheel preferably covered with bicycle tyre to avoid slippage.
• Definitely faster and more attractive, ergonomically, than one hand hoe.

Traditional manual planting is slow and inconsistent resulting in low plant populations and hence lower yields. The animal drawn planter is designed as a precision row planter, not suitable for solid planting as necessary for fine seeds such as millets. The machine is adjustable to meet a small range of seed sizes and seed rates.

General comments and observations:

• cost of US$ 85 is too high
• heavy for female farmers to handle comfortably.

In order to conserve rain water falling on to a particular field, the need arises to tie ridges. This is achieved by building short ridges within the furrows, earlier- made with an ordinary ridger. The implement for doing this type of work is the tie-ridger or tie-ridge maker. A single donkey is adequate to haul it. The operator moves behind the implement directs it within the furrow or in between planting stations. As the implement moves forward it bulldozes soil which is released by raising the implement vertically using the handle bars to release the soil which then makes the tie ridge.

The tie-ridger

General comments and observations:

• needs a bit of practice to use
• implement only useful when water harvesting is required
• would work under deep fertile soils.
• not yet common in farmers fields.