Farm Tools, Machinery and Structures

What you need to know

• Simple farm tools for land clearing and cultivation are the cutlass or matchet for clearing bush and harvesting, the hoe for making ridges, weeding and planting, the axe for felling trees, the spade for digging and moving soil, the shovel for lifting loose material, the garden fork for loosening soil and lifting tubers, and the rake for levelling seed beds and gathering trash.
• Tools for nursery and horticultural work are the hand trowel for transplanting seedlings, the dibber for making planting holes, the watering can for applying water to seedlings, the secateurs or pruning shears for cutting small branches, the budding knife for budding and grafting, the sickle for cutting grass and harvesting cereals, and the wheelbarrow and head pan for conveying materials.
• Animal health and husbandry tools include the burdizzo for bloodless castration by crushing the spermatic cord, the elastrator for applying rubber rings to the scrotum or tail, the drenching gun for giving liquid medicine by mouth, the hypodermic syringe and needle for injections and vaccination, the trocar and cannula for relieving bloat in cattle, the ear notcher for identification, the hoof trimmer, the dehorner and the debeaker for poultry.
• Every tool must be cleaned of soil and plant sap after use, dried to prevent rust, sharpened on a file or stone where it has a cutting edge, oiled or greased on metal parts, fitted with sound handles, and stored in a dry roofed store hanging off the floor. Never leave a cutlass or hoe in the field overnight.
• The tractor is the main source of farm power. Its working parts for implements are the power take-off shaft, which drives rotary implements such as mowers and sprayers, the three-point linkage, which carries mounted implements, and the drawbar, which pulls trailed implements.
• The mouldboard plough cuts, lifts and inverts the soil, burying weeds and trash; the disc plough does the same with rotating concave discs and works better in hard, dry and stumpy land common in Nigeria; both carry out primary tillage.
• The disc harrow follows the plough to break the clods into a fine tilth, the ridger throws soil into ridges for yam, cassava and maize, the cultivator stirs the soil and controls weeds between rows, and the rotavator does ploughing and harrowing in one pass. These are secondary tillage operations.
• Planting and crop care machinery includes the seed drill or planter which places seed at uniform depth and spacing, the fertiliser applicator, the boom sprayer for herbicides and insecticides, and the knapsack sprayer for small holdings.
• Harvesting and processing machinery includes the combine harvester which reaps, threshes and cleans grain in one pass, the mower and baler for forage, the maize sheller, the cassava grater and press, the rice mill, the groundnut decorticator and the oil palm digester.
• Mechanisation raises output per worker, allows timely operations, makes large hectarage possible and reduces drudgery, but in Nigeria it is limited by high purchase and fuel costs, small fragmented holdings, stumps and boulders on cleared land, shortage of trained operators and spare parts, and the unsuitability of heavy machines on fragile tropical soils where they cause compaction.
• Farm structures for crops include the barn, an open slatted structure for storing yam tubers in shade with free air movement; the rhombus or maize crib, a raised narrow ventilated store that allows cobs to dry; the silo for bulk grain storage; the store for inputs and tools; the greenhouse and nursery shed; and the drying floor.
• Farm structures for animals include the deep litter house and the battery cage house for poultry, the pig pen or sty with a sleeping area, feeding area and dunging area, the cattle kraal, the dairy, the dip tank and spray race for parasite control, the crush for restraining cattle during treatment, the rabbitry or hutch, the apiary for bee hives, and the fish pond.
• A good farm building must be sited on well-drained ground, oriented so the long axis runs east to west to reduce direct sun on the walls, built with cheap durable locally available material, well ventilated and well lit, easy to clean and disinfect, secure against thieves and predators, and close to a water supply and a road.
• Farmstead planning places the dwelling and office at the entrance, the store and workshop near the road for easy delivery, the animal houses downwind of the dwelling so that smell and flies are carried away, and the fields beyond, with internal roads wide enough for a tractor and trailer.