Why mechanisation for smallholder organic farmers in Africa?

Whether organic or conventional, smallholder farmers in Africa face many challenges related to labour, productivity and other aspects. Mechanisation is seen as one of the strategies to help address some of the constraints facing smallholder farming. Suitable mechanisation can contribute significantly to yields and overall farm output and efficiency. Additionally, it can save a lot of time for women, youth and men alike and enable them to invest the time in other productive and income-generating activities thereby contributing to broader development objectives. Proper mechanisation can also allow farmers to innovate and diversify their production and income streams for greater resilience to socio-economic and climatic shocks.

Additionally, mechanisation options are only one part of the farming equation. A farmer with few mechanisation advantages can have a more productive farm than a neighbour with more advanced tools simply because of a better understanding of soils, cropping systems, and an openness to learning. Successful farmers are curious and seek information from friends, neighbours, extension services, and research organisations to learn and improve their practices.

Smallholder farmers growing annual crops and/or plantation crops (such as cocoa) must take many factors into account when beginning to practice, or when considering conversion to organic agriculture. One major consideration for new or aspiring organic farmers is labour, particularly if they have been using techniques such as herbicides for weed control, e. g. farming on larger pieces of land where hand weeding is not feasible with limited labour. In cases such as this, appropriate mechanisation options are vital to making their organic farming operations profitable and sustainable.

However, targeted information on mechanisation options for small-scale organic farmers in Africa is not widely available, thus, the concept for this Training Manual was born. The Training Manual is not meant to be a compendium of agricultural equipment, rather to promote conversations between trainers of smallholder organic farmers and those interested in conversion to organic agriculture. It presents some of the benefits and key challenges of organic agriculture and how mechanisation can help smallholder farmers achieve their goals. 

This Training Manual addresses smallholder farmers who are producing at different levels, using hand and draught animal mechanisation, although a discussion of some motorised (e. g. tractors) implements is also included. The Training Manual focuses on organic-friendly mechanisation options for compost making, land preparation, planting, fertilising, and soil cover. A limited discussion on mechanised primary processing, i. e. threshing, shelling and dehulling, is also included as these postharvest operations can be a burden to women, particularly for small grains like millet and sorghum. Mechanisation options for harvest, transport, and seed saving/treatment are available in other sources and hence are excluded from the current training manual.

While organic and conventional agriculture overlap in many ways, some practices are unique to organic agriculture, particularly in mechanisation. These differences will also be the focus of this Training Manual.