The Use of Draught Animals in Rural Labour

Abstract

This study discusses scientific findings on the use of draught animals such as equids (i.e., horses, mules, and donkeys) and bovids (i.e., cattle and water buffaloes) in rural labours. Relevant peer-reviewed literature published between 1980 and 2021 was retrieved from CAB Abstracts, PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus databases. Although animals were used to produce draught power since their domestication and are still being used for this purpose, mechanisation has markedly reduced animal labour demand in agriculture. However, the process was uneven across continents according to economic constraints, and draught animals are currently concentrated in small production units located on terrains that do not favour agriculture mechanisation in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Generally, equids can work at rates similar to those of bovids or faster but can sustain the work for shorter periods of time. In addition, buffaloes possess tough hooves and resistance to disease that make them suitable for working in wetlands and clay soils. Draught animals allow a marked reduction of both GHG emissions and non-renewable energy consumption as compared with agricultural machinery. In addition, they may allow obtaining profits from otherwise non-usable lands. Therefore, their use should be promoted in rural areas where low investments are usually the only ones feasible, and the energy of the animals can be obtained at a low cost by feeding them harvest residues and by-products. However, more attention should be paid to the quality of human–animal interactions—due to the close contact between animals and humans while working—and to the welfare of draught animals when transported and slaughtered—due to the high prevalence of injuries they suffer when subjected to these practices.

Implementation of Technical and Technological Progress in Dairy Production

“…In Formula (1), the usable energy expended by the machine or tractor takes into account the energy derived from the internal combustion engine. Energy can also come from animals, which in many farms around the world still provide tractive force for agricultural tools [38]. In practice, in farms-especially those involved in animal production-some technical devices are powered by electric motors.…”

The Effect of Frequency of Fresh Pasture Allocation on the Feeding Behaviour of High Production Dairy Cows

“…Dohme-Meier, et al [9] observed this effect, reporting a 19% increase in energy expenditure with animals actively grazing relative to animals fed fresh grass indoors during a six hour measurement period, due to reduced physical activity in housed animals. In addition, energy expenditure of animals can vary depending on the condition of the terrain underfoot, with up to four fold increases in animal energy expenditure observed when animals are walking on soft or waterlogged terrain compared to firm ground, highlighting the potential effect of external factors further impacting energy expenditure in pasture based systems [10].…”

A Critical Review on the Development and Utilization of Energy Systems in Uganda

“…The human and other animals' energy is largely employed in agriculture, crop processing, transportation, construction and fabrication work, and industrial manufacturing process (operating machines). Agriculture still dominates the proportion of human and animal power, followed by transportation ( Table 2 ) [ 68 ], whereby human and animal power is the elementary level of mechanizing agricultural and forestry operations. These agricultural operations include, but not limited to, the following: clearing of vegetation/stubble, including cutting trees (machetes, axes, hand, and chain saws), land preparation and soil manipulation (blade and tined hoes and pickaxes), seeding or planting (broadcasting by hand or seed fiddle, dibbling, jab planting, and use of single or multirow seeders), weeding (weeding hoes and cultivator weeders), fertilizer and manure application, crop protection (manual or power knapsack sprayers and dusters), harvesting (scythes, sickles, knives, drags, forks, and rakes), processing and preservation of food and feed (baling, mechanical threshing, manual and mechanical shelling, and grinding), transportation (head or shoulder load, backpack, handcarts, and bicycles), and other secondary tasks such as operation of hand and treadle pumps to lift water.…”