THEME: Village blacksmiths can become important partners in providing appropriate tools for African women farmers. An 1997 IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan study of agricultural implements used by women farmers in Africa also deals with tool manufacture and import. One of its recommendations is that development projects work in closer cooperation with private-sector producers of tools and implements, encouraging them to tailor agricultural implements to women farmers’ needs. The study suggests that perhaps development programmes should work with local blacksmiths, who are likely to be among the most flexible of tool-makers. They would be particularly important at the prototype development and testing stage. Even if the tools were ultimately factory manufactured, the blacksmiths could play an essential role in their repair and maintenance. Blacksmiths are widespread in most African countries, with occasional exceptions, such as in parts of Uganda. They are particularly important to the rural economy in Senegal and Burkina Faso. Wherever they exist, they do much of the manufacture and repair of farm tools and equipment. Tool production activities will be affected by a blacksmith’s skill level, access to raw materials and competition from commercial manufacturers. Blacksmiths in Africa fall into two main categories. Those who work with electricity and have been able to buy an arc welder are usually to be found in towns. Blacksmiths in remote villages usually use a forge and hand tools. These artisans may have some training or may simply have learned the trade from their fathers and grandfathers. In at least one country, Senegal, there is an externally funded programme (French bilateral aid) for blacksmiths. Sometimes blacksmiths work in groups of as many as 12 (as in Senegal). The constraints of the village blacksmith are that he often has poor-quality raw materials (except in Zimbabwe and Zambia) and, in many cases, limited know-how. In the past, local blacksmiths paid little attention to women’s needs for appropriate farm tools. The researchers found very little consultation between women and blacksmiths on the tools the women required, or on any of the modifications made to the women’s tools. Blacksmiths deal primarily with men farmers, who, when ordering/buying tools, have also ignored women’s needs. However, the study did find a few cases where women dealt directly with local blacksmiths, usually when men were absent or, as some Zambian women put it, "too busy drinking beer or fishing" and with no interest in farming. If this pattern can be modified, local blacksmiths can become important innovation partners in making suitable farm implements for women, particularly if the larger manufacturers are unwilling to tailor their products to women’s needs. Blacksmiths have acknowledged advantages:
Lower prices and installment purchasing are of course major considerations. The study found that in Senegal and Burkina Faso, blacksmiths made animal draught instruments for about half of what those items would have cost if purchased from commercial manufacturers. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, the hand tools blacksmiths make cost about two thirds the price of the factory-made equivalent. Payment in kind can be particularly important for women who have little access to cash but may have ‘chicken savings’. The study found that, in Zambia for instance, on the few occasions when women dealt directly with blacksmiths, they usually paid in poultry: one big hoe cost one big chicken or two smaller chickens; one axe could be bought for an average-size chicken; one small chicken would buy a small weeding hoe. Development programmes should pay more attention to involving local blacksmiths in developing innovative farm implements for women, or in adapting existing ‘male’ tools to women’s needs. Training of blacksmiths (new and/or existing) and assisting them with access to raw materials and equipment may be needed. Where blacksmiths are scarce, as in some parts of Uganda, there may be an opportunity for encouraging a new rural enterprise that would have an assured market for its products and services. Adapted from: IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan. 1998. Agricultural Implements Used by Women Farmers in Africa. Rome. |
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