Different types of animals are used for this purpose around the world depending on the conditions and the intended use of the animal.
Animals
Horses are commonly used but are often not considered the best animals for heavy pulling.
Oxen (cattle) are often considered the best animals for heavy work, especially where surefootedness is necessary or if wet conditions prevail. However, they are required in numbers that make them expensive to procure and they are generally hard to raise in more arid climates.
Traditionally, in the United States and for military use, mules have been considered excellent draught animals but are also very expensive since they cannot breed.
Donkeys are often used in semi-arid climates by average peasants and farmers due to their tenacity and low cost.
The animals and their uses, however, are closely associated with the culture and experience of the people who care for them (see Agriculture).
Water buffaloes are used as draughtanimals in southern Asia, where they have adapted to the high temperatures and humidity, whereas horses, which thrive in moderate climates, were the principal draughtanimals in the temperate regions until they were replaced by tractors.
Perhaps the first animals to be used in husbandry, they were domesticated in south-western Asia about 11,000 years ago, and approximately a billion are now widely distributed throughout the world, with the largest populations in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Draughtanimal power is a critical input to increased productivity of land and labour and therefore to sustainable agricultural production in low input systems in West Africa humid and subhumid zones.
ITC's work on the animal traction system (farmers, implement, harness, animal, soils) focuses mainly on the animal component with the view to design innovative packages and new avenues for the adequate supply of draughtanimal power for cropping and transport in West Africa subhumid zones.
Longitidunal studies and cross-sectional surveys are currently being conducted in The Gambia to asses constrains of utilisation of equines that form 74% of the draughtanimal population in The Gambia.
Feeds |
Contact