Farming systems research in draft animals in Ethiopia and its implication for future research
1998
Hailu Beyene (EARO, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia))
Agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopian economy. However, the agricultural productivity does not match with increasing population growth. The agricultural productivity increased negatively at the rate of 1% during the 1970s and 2% during the 1980s while population growth rate is more than 2% for the same period. In order to improve the productivity of agriculture, improving the present draft power capacity is the most important of all other constraints since we have to prepare the land first in order to grow crops. The three sources of draft power for small holder farmers for land preparation are oxen, horses and hoes. In rare cases, cows are also used whenever there is severe oxen shortage. Draaft power is essential for crop production and the amount of crop produced per household greatly depends on the number of draft animals owned and the condition of oxen during the dry season. Shortage of draft power limits the area to be cultivated and the timeliness of the operation. As a result shortage of draft power has an unfavorable effect on the family food supply, and the country's food self sufficiency at large, since most of the food production comes from small holder producers. Thus the availability of draft power is a major factor affecting food production and income distribution in Ethiopia. This calls for the use of other draft animals like horses and donkeys for land preparation and planting. The other researchable area is introduction of forage crops in the farming system to alleviate the feed shortage.
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