HAND HELD MOTORIZED TRACTORS:THEIR POPULARITY, PERFORMANCE AND COST

Hand held motorized tractors have been touted as a solution for plowing small farms in Africa.

The low cost of these machines seems attractive to small scale farmers.

This is good news, as farmers in Africa and other developing nations have been using hoes or ox-driven plows for centuries.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the perceptions on the performance, practicability and cost of this machine.

RATIONALE FOR USING VARIOUS MACHINES TO PLOW

When farmer tills his land using a hoe, the maximum area he can plow in a day is an eighth of an acre when he is working alone and the soils are friable.

Where the soils are hard and clayey in nature, the area that a single farmer can plow using a hoe is less than an eighth an acre.

On the other hand, when an ox-driven plow is used, he can plow at-least half an acre per day, similarly when a tractor used, more than 6 acres can be plowed depending on the power of the tractor.

In an effort to address some of the challenges facing small farmers, engineers developed small hand held tractors commonly known as walking tractors.

This innovation has elicited great interest in the farming community and traders who want to promote their use as the equipment seem affordable, practicable, reliable and cost effective.

RESERVATIONS OF FARMERS INTERESTED IN HAND HELD TRACTORS

Farmers are interested in the experiences of those who are currently using the machines so that they can make an informed choice.

These experiences are on; the cost, performance, lifespan, maintenance cost, consumption of fuel per acre, and on the availability of spare parts of walking tractors.

However this information is not available as very few farmers are using the machine and they rarely share their experiences.

POPULARITY OF HAND HELD MOTORIZED TRACTORS

These machines are popular in countries like India, China, Korea and Turkey where they are used in plowing paddy fields.

Information does not exist indicating the first country to use this type of tractor, but their use is widespread in China, South Korea and Turkey.

However this technology is new to Africa, few farmers own them and have reported mixed experiences as they use them.

THE COST OF WALKING TRACTORS

There are a number of shops at river-road Street and industrial area in Nairobi that sell these machines. The prices range from 180,000-200,000 shillings.

The reason for the variance is the origin of the engine, its horsepower and the profit margin a particular vendor is targeting.

The models available in Kenya are imported from china and India with very few coming from turkey there are some that are assembled locally by Jomo Kenyatta University of agriculture and technology.

THE PERFORMANCE OF WALKING TRACTORS

No studies have been conducted in Kenya on the performance of various models under different soil conditions.

The available information is from the personal experiences of people who are using or have used such tractors.

It is therefore difficult to draw credible conclusions on the performance of the machines. For instance, it has been claimed that, it’s possible to plow 2 acres in a day using these tractors.

My personal experience is contrary to this claim, doing even ¼ of an acre is difficult and unhealthy.

Most of the models turned either left or right using levers during plowing. Turning the tractor either left or right is an energy sucking job that makings it impossible for one, two or three person to plow 2 acres in a day!

Secondly, the design of the tractor is such exhaust pipe of the engine is at top of the tractor. This means that if there some wind dangerous diesel fumes will be blown to your face which may cause health problems with extended use of the machine.

“I worked with a 35 HP walking tractor, handling the tractor was so difficult, the vibrations from the engine were powerful, I could feel the vibrations all the way to my spine” “I had to stop using for the sake of my health,” quips Eliud, a farmer in Busia County!