FAO article about Draft Animals

[Gabe Ayers]

I am trying to figure out how to link to this complete paper. This was sent to me by a great horseman in Belgium. This is just the introduction and summary.

Paul Starkey: Livestock for traction: world trends, key issues and policy implications.
FAO AGAL. Draft of 7 October 2010. Page 4

1. Summary
1.1. Understanding animal traction in the modern world
Human, animal and motor power are all important in development. Animals contribute to
poverty elimination, drudgery reduction and wealth creation. Animals assist men and women
with crop production (plowing, planting, weeding) and transport (on-farm, marketing, riding,
pack transport). Oxen are the main work animals in the world but bulls can be used; cows
provide resource-efficient work for smallholder farmers. Buffaloes (males and females) work
well in Asian rice systems but are not as adaptable as cattle. Horses are fast and good for
transport and some tillage where they thrive (mainly temperate and high altitude areas).
Donkeys are small but hardy for transport in semi-arid areas, but do not thrive in humid
tropics. Camels and other animals have qualities and ranges that limit widespread use.

Using animals for soil tillage allows people to prepare more land than human labour. This
increases farm yields through timeliness and larger areas of cultivation. Work animals create
synergy in nutrient cycles, farming and marketing systems: animals allow farmers to transport
manures, harvest and market produce. They increases people’s transport capacity and range
and provide families and entrepreneurs access to supplies, services and livelihoods. Animals
provide effective feeder transport to complement motorised vehicles. Work animals are
multipurpose, producing profitable livestock products, including meat, milk and manures.

Farming and transport require power. Mechanisation (animals or motors) increases labour
productivity and reduces drudgery. Human, animal and tractor power are not exclusive and
each has advantages depending on the environment, scale and socio-economic context. People
aspire to prestigious, modern machines but tractors may be unaffordable and inappropriate on
small farms. Large tractors are uneconomic in small, fragmented, rain-fed fields: numerous
subsidised tractor schemes have failed. Power tillers have proved effective in small irrigated
rice farms in Asia, but not for traditional, rain-fed crops elsewhere. Profitable mechanisation
generally leads to land consolidation with many small farms replaced by fewer larger farms.
Mechanisation (with animals or tractors) leads to changing labour patterns, greater economic
disparity and some urban migration. Animal traction support services (blacksmiths, harness
makers, animal health) differ greatly from tractor requirements (fuel, spare parts, workshops).
Mechanisation may increase farmers’ risks. Animals can be stolen or fall sick; tractors depend
on external supply chains. While animals benefit families, men tend to be the owners and
main users. Donkeys are more gender neutral. Children may care for animals and schooling
restricts labour availability. Most owners care well for their animals but cases of animal
cruelty must be addressed through education, legislation and enforcement, by local authorities
and NGOs. Well-resourced international NGOs provide some support in this area.

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