While agriculture remains to be a source of livelihood for many families in rural Africa, we can not ignore the hard labour that comes with achieving food production. The access and use of mechanized agriculture can play a critical role in reducing labour and time-intensity while also increasing productivity. However, ease of accessibility to such farm equipment remains a challenge in most parts of rural Africa, which has an impact on production.
Small changes such as seed spacing and adequate fertilizer application, can make a big difference in crop yield while improving the quality of life of farmers through reduced labour intensity.
In Ghana, 2SCALE has introduced planters in the Soybean and Poultry partnerships- Vester Oil and Rockland Farms respectively. In the Rockland partnership, maize is a key raw product for animal feed formulation, thus planters have been introduced to enhance maize production. For Vester Oil, soybean producers are using this mechanized equipment to promote efficiency during planting.
The use of planters during seed sowing and fertilizer application not only saves on labour but also time. Planters have an adjuster which is used to allow the desired quantity of seed or fertilizer to be dropped by the planter. Such innovations are key to achieving adequate seeding rates, fertilizer application, seed placement and spacing for maximum production.
Reducing the labor of planting soybeans: piloting the use of multi-crop planters
Soybean seeds are relatively large and fragile. In Ghana, the northern region predominantly produces most of the soybean countrywide. It has a single season each year, lasting approximately four months. However, farmers in this region have reported that erratic rainfall patterns are becoming normal with lengthy periods of drought and shorter rainfall intervals. It is therefore important to maximize the short rainy seasons by using equipment that make farm work faster and more efficient.
Traditionally in northern Ghana, planting/sowing is considered a women’s job with few men participating in the activity. Planting is a rigorous activity that typically involves bending down and using a hoe to dibble before putting in seeds. Through the Vester Oil-2SCALE partnership, a multi-crop planter was introduced in all agribusiness clusters. It is a simple device fabricated to ease the burden of planting. Once filled with seeds, it is hand-pushed along the prepared farmland, as it drops in seeds.
According to Alhassan Salima, a small-scale farmer from Shebo, northern Ghana, it takes approximately two days for ten women to plant a hectare of soybeans, using the manual method of planting. However, the introduction of planters is revolutionizing this process.
Planting of soybeans has always been one of my biggest headaches; however, this planter has demonstrated to me that there are easier and faster ways of planting soybeans. I can plant one acre all by myself in less than a day!
Still in the pilot phase, the use of planters was introduced during planting on demo fields early this year. Based on its efficiency, more farmers have expressed their interest to acquire them for personal and commercial purposes.
The planter further reduces the cost of labour for farmers. It costs a farmer about 10ghs (1.8USD)/ day for each person sowing and (0.7USD) per day for a person dibbling. The planter eliminates such massive labour costs. There is also a significant reduction in the waste of seeds, as observed by Ms Abdulai Zenabu, a soybean farmer from Kpachiyili cluster. She says: