Development of the Conservation Agriculture Equipment Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smallholder farmers in many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are limited by farm power shortages. One way of reducing the constraint, and also the negative impacts of conventional tillage (with hoe and plow), is to practice conservation agriculture (CA) which uses no-till techniques to establish crops. CA can be practiced on small areas with rudimentary tools (a pointed stick to plant) and manual weed control methods. But to expand the area cropped, some mechanization is needed. The necessary equipment can include draft animal powered (DAP) rippers, sprayers, and no till (NT) planters, and maybe knife rollers along with manual jab planters and herbicide applicators.