منبر معارف الزراعة الأُسرية

Contribution of farm power to smallholder livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

Rural livelihoods in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa are under considerable stress. Economies and the political environment are experiencing a period of significant transformation, and poverty is endemic. Agriculture remains at the core of rural livelihoods and farm power (from human, draught animal and tractor sources) is a crucial input in the agricultural production process. Factors that reduce the availability of farm power compromise the ability to cultivate sufficient land and have long been recognized as a source of poverty in the region. This is the challenge facing many parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
Many of the gains made in mechanizing tillage practices were reversed in the closing decades of the twentieth century. At the very time when many communities have been reverting to tilling the soil by hand, the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has also begun to take its toll on the agricultural workforce. An understanding of the interaction between farm power and livelihood outcomes is central to enhancing smallholder livelihoods.
This report presents the findings from a study of farm power and its role in smallholder livelihoods undertaken by the Agricultural and Food Engineering Technologies Service, FAO. Studies were conducted in 14 communities in seven countries (Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia) that were broadly representative of the main farming systems in the region, covering the maize mixed system (the dominant food production system in east and southern Africa), and the mixed cereal - root and tree crop systems (typical of west Africa). The study concentrated on the power inputs used for primary tillage; in many farming systems in the region, the use of draught animals and tractors is confined almost exclusively to primary tillage and all other operations rely on hand power. The livelihoods methodology was used to conduct a detailed analysis of the use of farm power at community and household levels.

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الناشر: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
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المؤلف: Clare Bishop-Sambrook
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المنظمة: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
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السنة: 2005
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البلد/البلدان: Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia
التغطية الجغرافية: أفريقيا
النوع: وثيقة فنية
لغة المحتوى: English
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