Improved Draught Animal Power

Environmental Issues Adoption by farmers of draught animals allows them to improve the productivity of work. This technique has assisted extension of cropped areas caused substituing the soil labour with a simple tool by the ploughing with animals, with all environmental consequences of land clearing. Animal helps transport of wood for kitchen, water for family and animals, crops to storage or market. Introduction of animals in farming system brings beneficial effects of mixed system, but also the risks of conflicts between cropping and livestock raising. | Environmental Issues Techniques Targeted Livestock System Impacts Context of Application Monitoring: EIA, Indicators

Techniques Draught animals are used for diverse objectives : Soil ploughing with a plough. Sowing. Weeding of crops, cereals, cotton, legumes. Earthing up. Cropping: for example groundnut by raising. Transport: water, wood, crop products, people, commercial goods, etc. Drawing Water from wells. |

Targeted Livestock System

Mainly mixed systems, also grazing systems.

Grazing Systems

LGA | LGS1 | LGS2 | LGS3 | LGH1 | LGH2 | LGH3 | LGT1 | LGT2 | LGT3
N | N | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | N

Mixed Systems

MCG | MCR | MCC | MFF | MEF
Y | Y | Y | Y | Y

Industrial Systems

IFP | IPL | IPG | IRM | IDU | ISL | ITN
N | N | N | N | N | N | N

Impact

- Positive environmental impact

- Manure production by animals in stall.
- Transport of manure to the field.
- Control of weeds in crops.
- Protection and utilization of local animal breeds (for example the poney of Logone in Chad).
- Transport of stones to protect river banks.

- Negative environmental impact

- Extension of agricultural lands, decrease of pastoral or natural areas.
- Increase of erosion after a bad use of ploughing.
- Weeding with implements for draught animals enhances extension of certain weeds (for example Commelina in sudanian countries).

Context of Application

- Favourable factors:

- Agriculture non mechanized.
- Presence of animal breeds adapted to environment and able to be domesticated to draught.
- Presence of commercial crops helping financing implements of draught.
- Convenient rural population density, between 10 and 150 inhabitant/km2.
- Opportunity of credit.
- Political and institutional conditions: veterinary service or office, adapted extension, help and securization of credit.

- Unfavourable factors:

- Sloppy country.
- Very heavy soils (clay).
- Poor health conditions for animals (for example tsetse fly).
- Insufficient infrastructures and roads.

Indicators Number of draught animals by species. Number of implements for draught animals. Rate of equipment use in farms. Utilization rate of this technique in farms. Proportion of fields ploughed with draught animal power (in relation to proportion of fields prepared by hand or by mechanised methods). |

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