A Technical Report on how Power Infrastructure Development affects farming and

farming households

1.0 Executive Summary

Power is needed on the farm for a variety of operations which may be either mobile or stationary.

Examples of mobile operations are the transportation of produce, and field operations such as

ploughing, spraying and so on. Stationary applications include operations like threshing,

extracting and raising water, among others. Human power is by far the earliest source of power

and continues to be important. However, as civilization progresses, man harnessed other sources

of power to supplement or replace the power he was able to produce and thus reduce the

drudgery of farm work.

2.0 Objectives

The research objective was to specifically explain the various developmental stages that have

evolved in road infrastructure from the time of use of path road till date, when macadamized

tarred road is in vogue.

3.0 Methodology

The study adopted a mix of descriptive approach by pictorial display of developments in power

infrastructural developments from the time of path road till date, when macadamized tarred road

is in use.

2.1 Power Sources

The following are the common sources of power available for use on the farm and can be

grouped into two as those in pre- and colonial periods. Pre- colonial types consists of manual and

animals sources of power; while the rest are those that evolve with colonial masters.

i. Manual power;

ii. Animal power;

iii. Wind power;

iv. Water power;

v. Solar power;

vi. Electric power;

vii. Internal combustion engines (Kaul and Egbo, 1985).

2.1 Pre colonial Era

2.1.1 Manual Power

The power produced by human beings-manual power-continues to be the main source of farm

power in most developing countries. Where this is so, it is commonly referred to as hoe farming.

A human can develop 0.08kW but this, of course, varies with environmental conditions and the

type of food intake. Men can serve as a source of power and / or as a control device but the

extent to which they may be used as one and /or the other depends on the degree of

mechanization.

For instance, in parts of the world where a high level of mechanization exist men act more as

control devices than as sources of power. The reverse holds true for areas of low-level

mechanization. However, human power is generally a source of supplementary power, in

conjunction with other power sources (FAO, 1972).

2.1.2 Animal Power Source

Animal power is still widely used in several countries, and may be derived from oxen, buffalo,

donkeys, camels or horses. Such power may be used for both stationary and mobile operations.

Special harnesses and yokes are used to hitch various equipment to the animal.

Animals generally have a capacity to be overloaded for short period of time and they provide

good traction (grip) even in difficult conditions. Animals can also pull loads that are many times

heavier than those they can carry. A donkey can pull about 80 percent of his weight for a short

time and about 10-15 per cent of his weight for sustained periods. An ox can provide a pull of

about 15 per cent of its weight (FAO, 1972).

Animal power is not fully exploited in African continent. In some countries, like Nigeria, there

are certain ecological limitations imposed by the prevalence of the tsetse fly.

In India, on the other hand, animals haul more freight each year than the railways and animals

provide an estimated 30 000 MW provided by electricity (FAO, 1972).

The output available from animals is dependent on:

1. The food intake;

2. The breed of animal;

3. The training given;

4. The yoke used for hitching

Food intake naturally affects power output. In Nigeria, the draft cattle are in their poorest

condition after a long dry season and soon after the dry season (when the rains start) the work

load is heaviest. This obviously affects performance and is a deterrent to the use of such cattle.
The breed of animal should be chosen specifically for draft purposes. Some characteristics of a

few animals are given in Table 1.

Training, although linked to breed, can also yield better performance. On the whole however,

donkeys generally seem to be easier to train for farm working than bullocks.

The influence of the yoke on power output and health (and thus safety) is quite significant. The

straight wooden beam (Fig. 24a) is a bad design as the wood is in contact with only 200 cm 2 of

animal’s neck. An improved yoke (Fig. 24b), incorporating a collar encircling the neck, gives a

contact area of 650 cm2, more than three times that of the wooden yoke. A beast strap harness

increases the available power output by about 70 per cent (Kaul and Egbo, 1985).

Table 1: Power capabilities of draft animals over long periods of time (ploughing and tilling)

Animal type and number Weight Average Maximum effort Effective daily

(kg) effort (N) Working period

(N) (hours)

Donkey(one) 160 460 880 3.5

657 900 1700 5.5

Oxen (one pair)

(N’ Dama)

650 800 1500 4.4

Zebu bullocks

(one pair)

1300 1600 4000 5.4

 Zebu bullocks

(two pairs)

1060 1470 3100 4.4

Oxen ( half Brahma)

(one pair)

Fig. 24a: Animal -powered plough by means of wooden beam yoke

Animals are still used as beasts of burden on many African farms. Traditional agriculture is still
a common form of economic activity in parts of Northern Nigeria

.
Fig. 24b: Animal-drawn Thresher

Before the advent of industrial equipment, harvesting could be an enormous project, requiring
several days of intense physical labor by both farmers and their livestock. Threshers and
harvesters were originally powered by animals, with farmers walking beside or behind the
animal to guide it through a field. A complicated array of leather straps distribute the weight of
this thresher over a horse’s back.
.

3.0 Power source during Colonial era

3.1 Wind Power

Wind power has been successfully used for raising water. The natural breeze or wind was used to

turn the blades of a windmill which in turn operates a pump to lift water. Wind power has also

been used to generate electricity for use on the farm.

Fig.(25) : Wind powered Farm

3.2 Water Power

The energy available from water falling from one level to a lower level can be harnessed to run a

few farm operations, such as feed grinding, or to operate a generating plant to provide electricity.

3.3 Solar Power

Most tropical countries are blessed with plentiful sunshine all the year round. Nigeria, for

instance, receives about 490 W/m2/day. There is thus plenty of potential for development of

solar energy.
Solar energy can be used for processing fruits and vegetables and for general drying of crops.

Another application is in solar-operated pumps (Fig. 26). The sun’s rays are received in a

collector and transmitted to heat engine, which converts the solar energy into mechanical power

to run a water or irrigation pump.

Fig. 25: Wind-operated pump used to provide farm power

A water pumping windmill in Spring, Arizona, provides water for agricultural use. The blades, or

sails, are mounted at an oblique angle on the horizontal shaft. This creates a propeller-like thrust

force as well as an outward rotational force to operate the pump. The fantail rudder steers the

bladed wheel into the wind to maximize its efficiency.

Fig. 26 a. Panels on a rooftop collect energy from sunlight and convert it directly into electricity.
The solar panels contain semiconducting materials. When light strikes the material, electrons
move from one layer of the material to another, forming an electric current.
Fig. 26 b. Typical arrangement of the components of a solar-powered pumping system

Solar power can also be converted into electricity directly by semi-conductor devices called solar

cells, or by producing steam to drive power-producing turbines.

The advantages of solar power are:

1. Maintenance-free operation;

2. No fuelling requirement;

3. No waste that could cause pollution.

3.4 Electric Power

If electric power is available on the farm, it is extremely useful for a number of operations.

Electricity is used for:

1. Heating, for instance in poultry sheds and so on;

2. Refrigeration;

3. water supply;
 4. practically, all stationary operations, such as , shelling, grinding and drying of crops.

However, the most important use of electricity is in driving electric motors, which convert the

electric power into mechanical power to run different machines.

Electric motors are supplied with graphs showing their characteristics, which help in the

selection of the correct type of machine for a particular job. This includes a consideration of the

starting torque and frequency of operation, and matching the characteristics with the machine to

be driven by the particular motor (Kaul and Egbo, 1985).

4.0. Investigating Officers

Babasanya, Bankole, Adeogun, T.T.A, Ademuwagun, A.A, Omodona, S., Okechalu, S.O,

Olumuyiwa, S.A, Akanni, R

5.0 Conclusion and Implication for Agriculture and Rural Development

i. It allows for mechanization of agriculture as against the subsistence existing during the

pre-colonial era.

ii. Perishability of crops is reduced through refrigeration to increase their shelf lives.

iii. Energy wasted to generate power can now be conserved for other farm activities.

iv. Farmers can now live for more years since their energies are not expended on power

generation.

6.0 References

Kaul, R.N. and C.O. Egbo (1985). Introduction to Agricultural mechanisation. Macmillan
Education Ltd, London.
Food and Agriculture Organisation-FAO (1972). “Employment of Draft Animals in Agriculture