Animal Power in Agriculture, Advantages and Disadvantages

Title: Animal Power in Agriculture

Contents

1. What is animal power in Agriculture?
2. Qualities of good drought animal
3. Precautions to be observed.
4. Farm operations which require animal power.
5. Advantages of animal power.
6. Disadvantages of animal power.

Read Also

• Advantages and Disadvantages of farm mechanisation
• Farm machinery and implements, functions and uses
• Simple Farm tools, description functions and uses

What is animal power in Agriculture?

This is the type of power derived from farm animals which are used to perform certain Farm operations. Animals like the bull, are used for pulling plough, harrows, planters while donkeys, camels and horses are used for transportation of Farm produce. Animals can be hired.

Drought animals such as oxen, Bullock, etc are yoked. The yoke is attached to any farm implement. Animal drags the implements while man controls the direction of the implement for the tillage of soil.

Qualities of a Good drought animal

1. It must have a good body size or deep barrel.
2. It must have strong hind limbs and a sloping rump.
3. It must possess strong hooves, good stride and stance , (gait).
4. It should be preferably male or castrated.
5. Drought animal must be docile.
6. It should be healthy.
7. It must be energetic or strong or powerful.

Precautions to be observed when using drought animals

1. Treat animals fairly to prevent them from being hostile.
2. Apply muzzle.
3. Do not overwork draught animals.
4. The best time to use them to work is early in the morning or evening.
5. Make sure that animals are healthy.
6. Keep them in a healthy environment.
7. Feed and provide them with adequate water.

Farm operations which require animal power

Animal power is required in the following Farm operations:

• For carrying people
• For drawing plough
• For drawing ridgers
• For transporting loads. E.g, Farm produce, fertilizers, chemicals, etc.
• For drawing planters

Advantages Of Animal Power farming operations

1. It can perform more tedious job than man, because the output is about 500W for a bull, for instance.
2. It can handle many farm operations.
3. Initial outplay is cheap relative to cost of machines, i.e. it is cheap to purchase.
4. It can be controlled or easy to operate.
5. It has relatively low maintenance cost compared to machines.
6. Animals do not get fatigue easily, compared with man.
7. It can operate in rugged terrains.
8. It can be used in evacuation of produce from inaccessible areas.
9. Animal power removes drudgery or it makes work easier.

Disadvantages Of Animal Power in Farming operations

1. Huge amount of money is needed to feed and maintain the animals.
2. It cannot perform at certain period of the day such as in the afternoon.
3. Diseases may affect the efficiency of the working animals.
4. Poor handling of the animals by the operator may result in poor performance and even refusal to work.
5. The use of animal is restricted to certain climatic zones, e.g. tsetse fly free zones.
6. Unsuitable for processing agricultural product as they may eat up the products.
7. It is not suitable for large scale production.
8. Animals can die and can get fatigue easily.
9. Power output is very low.

Revision Questions

1. What is animal power in farming operations?
2. Mention the qualities of a good drought animal.
3. Outline five advantages of animal power in agriculture.
4. What are the farm operations which require animal power?
5. Outline five disadvantages of animal power in agriculture.