Draught Power for Women Farmers Through Donkey Ploughs

Sara Delaney of Episcopal Relief & Development in the U.S. and Ghanaian colleagues will promote the use of donkeys with ploughs for draught power to decrease labor and increase productivity of women smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Traditionally, oxen are used as draught animals but they are often unavailable to women due to cost, gender and cultural issues, and their large size makes them difficult for women to handle. The donkey ploughs are suitable for weeding and preparing land for a variety of crops, and can be locally manufactured and maintained. The Ghanaian team will run training workshops in northern Ghana for women smallholder farmers currently using hand tools, and provide two affordable financing options for them to purchase the donkey, plough, and cart. Performance, financial aspects, and the level of adoption will then be evaluated.