Animal power in farming systems
West Africa Animal Traction Network
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Animal power in farming system
 edited by  
 Paul Starkey and Fadel Ndiamé
363 pages, 26 photographs, ISBN 3-528-02047-4
First published 1986 by GTZ, Eschborn and Vieweg, Braunschweig,

The workshop on "Animal power in farming systems" of the West Africa Animal Traction Network was unique in many ways. It brought together people from 20 countries and a broad range of ecological zones. The participants were specialists in widely differing fields: agricultural engineering, agronomy, animal science, anthropology. economics, extension, sociology, soil science and veterinary science. Their diversity of background was matched by their differing roles in development, for they included researchers, planners, administrators, aid-agency representatives and those activity implementing agricultural development programmes. Their common link was their purposeful interest in introducing, intensifying of diversifying the use of animal power in farming systems. As a result, the atmosphere at the workshop was linked to eighty experienced consultants from different agencies and backgrounds all working intensely together to try to find technical and organizational solutions to their common problems. 

 In this comprehensive volume the experiences and lessons of the workshop are clearly presented. In addition, through their prepared papers ( 22 in English, 12 in French) participants describe and analyse their professional experiences in animal traction. Throughout these carefully edited proceedings run the themes of the diversity of experiences, the complexity of the farming systems and the desirability of greater information exchanges.

This book, containing contribution from 51 authors, provides a wealth of idea and experiences on the problems and possibilities for development animal traction, and will be valuable to all those interested in this important field of agricultural development. 

Animal power in farming systems (L'énergie animale dans les systèmes agraires)
Les actes d'un atelier régional du Réseau Ouest Africain sur la Traction Animale avec 12 articles en langue française (et 22 en anglais) qui présentent quelques expériences de traction animale en Ethiopie, en Guinée, au Mali, au Niger, au Sénégal et au Togo.   

    See below how to download workshop report and individual papers

Published for
German Appropriate Technology Exchange
(a division of GTZ) by:
Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft mbH
Price from GATE: EUR 12.30 (English) EUR 12.50 (French)
German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE),
GTZ, Postfach 5180, D-65726 Eschborn, Germany
gate@gtz.de or Gate-Id@gtz.de 
Phone + 49 6196-794213; Fax + 49 6196-797352 http://www.gtz.de/gate/

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Download workshop report and individual papers

The workshop report and all the papers in this book are now available in PDF format  to read on-line, download and/or print out. Most papers have file sizes between 150 kb and 500 kb. Depending on the speed of your connection, these files will take between one and four minutes to download. Papers with photographs generally have larger files and these are marked in yellow (over one megabyte) or red (over two megabytes) and these will take longer to download. 

Preface, Acknowledgements   7   

Part 1: Report of the Network
Introduction   13
Report of field visits   22 (3MB)
Report of group discussions   49
(1,1MB)
Conclusion, evaluation and follow-up   67 

Part 2: Papers prepared for the Networkshop

The potential for animal power in West Africa
Farming systems in West Africa from animal traction perspectives 
        Dunstan S C Spencer   91    
The introduction, intensification and diversification of the use of animal power in West Africa farming system: implications at farm level (1,4MB)
        P Starkey   97 
The selection and use of animal draft technology   
        R C Gifford   116
The relevance of animal traction to the humid zone
        L Reymolds   119

Research on animal power at international centres
Low-cost modifications of the traditional Ethiopia tine-plow for land-sharing and surface drainage of heavy clay soils: 
preliminary results from on-farm verification        
       S Jutzi, F M Anderson and A Astatke   127
Modifications à bas prix de la charruc éhiopienne de travail du sol et de drainage de surface sur des sols argilcux et lourds: 
réultats préiminaires ď essais menés en milieu paysan
        S Jutzi, F M Anderson and A Astatke   133                   
Animal traction in improved farming systems for the semi-arid tropics: the ICRISAT experience in India and West Africa   
        R K Bansal, M C Klaij and P G Serafini   139
Adapting animal power equipment in West Africa
Développement et adaptation de ĺ éuipement de traction animale aux conditions locales ďu Déartement de Niamey 
        S A S Harouna et R Imboden   151    
Ĺ éuipement de la traction anīmale au univeau de ĺ Institut des Sciences Agro-Zootechniques (I.S.A.F.)
        Alassane Kesso DIallo   161
Animal power equipment at the farm level in The Gambia  
        Sidi M Jarju, Dawda M Sarr and Alphu J Marong   165
Unitéde Production de Matériel Agricole (UPROMA)
        L A Afantonou   169
Animal power in Mali
Traction animale au Mali 
       D Zerbo et A Kantao   175        
Use of animal power in West Africa farming systems: farms level problems and implications for research: perspectives from Mali
       S K Reddy   182  
Contraintes et améiorations de la traction animale en zone Mali-Sud: ĺ expéience de la DRSPR (1,2MB)
       M I Sangaré, C Ladrette, R R Mungoop et A Berthé  191                   
Evaluation rétrospective de la vulgarisation de la culture attelée au sein ď une opération de développment rural:
cas de ĺ Opéation Arachide et Cultures Vivrières (OACV), Mali  
       G Le Thiec   212
Animal power in Nigeria
Economic implications of animal power at the small-scale level in the savannah zone of northern Nigeria: 
a linear programming simulation of farmer circumstances    
        D O A Phillips, G O I Abalu and S A Ingawa   225
Utilization and management for work oxen in a Guinea-savannah environment in Nigeria; initial survey results
        E O Otchere, H U Ahmed, S A S Olorunju and M S Kallah   233  

Animal power in Senegal
Eléments ď analyse de la situation actuelle de la culture attelée au Sénégal: perspectives ď études et de recherches
       M Havard et A Faye   241        
Animal traction in Lower Casamance: technical aspects and socio-economic implications
       F Ndiame   253  
La culture attelée dans les systèmes de production de la Basse Casemance: Aspects techniques et implications socio-éonomiques
       F Ndiamé   263                  
Animal power in Sierra Leone and Liberia
Animal traction development strategies in Sierra Leone  
        B H Kanu   277    
The role of work oxen in swamp development in Sierra Leone
        S Leaman   288
The utilization and management of draft animals at farm level    
        A B Bangura   293    
The economics of animal power in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone: a case study of the work oxen introduction and credit programme  
        H Corbel   299
Farmer social variables influencing the adopting of agricultural innovation in Sierra Leone    
        M L S Gboku   311    
An assessment of some aspects of work oxen use in Sierra Leone
        R D Bell and D C Kemp   320
Preliminary observations on the effect of draft work on growth and typanotolerance of N'Dama oxen    
        S Ravindran 325
Animal power in Togo
Features of animal traction adoption in Togo  
        A S Westneat, A Klutse and K N Amegbeto   331    
Caractérisques ď adoption de la traction animale au Togo
        A S Westneat, A Klutse and K N Amegbeto   340
Mechanical weeding with animal traction: some prerequisites     
        P Lekezime   350    
Introduction de la traction animale dans les systèmes ď exploitation agricole au Togo:   
le problème de ĺ approvisionnement en animaux de trait    
        K Apetofia   353    
Suivisanitaire des animaux de trait au Togo: situation et amélioration
        E Leroy   361                                                                 
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