updated: 19 January, 2007
IFAD
Gender
International Fund for Agricultural Development

THEME: Although donkeys have their limitations, it is possible that their usefulness has been underestimated, particularly for poorer women farmers in Africa.

Somalia-North West Region Agricultural Development Project - Phase II A woman loads her donkey with water jugs. IFAD Photo by Franco Mattioli The donkey is a low-status animal, often considered of little value. It is not acceptable as a wedding gift. A man cannot buy a bride with a donkey. A donkey cannot be eaten. Keeping one tethered outside one’s home does not add to one’s position in the village. If a donkey dies, it "has to be buried like a human being". But the authors of a 1998 study by IFAD, FAO and the Government of Japan view the humble donkey in a different light. If nothing else, donkeys are (in development terms) ‘self-targeting’. No one but the poor wants them, and even better, poorer males may not be interested in them. What is more, they may be a good low-risk investment. And, while donkeys are not always the best alternative, there are situations when they are acceptable and useful to African women farmers for animal traction and transport.

Usually animal traction is associated with draught oxen. These powerful bovines are able to pull heavy agricultural implements or carts and work in difficult soil conditions. But ox-power has its drawbacks:

  • The African women studied say – and the men agree – that oxen equipment is too heavy for them. Women in Zimbabwe said they sometimes actually fell over when trying to turn corners with a five-tine cultivator and had trouble moving the heavy lever that adjusted the cultivator’s width.
  • In parts of Africa, oxen are at high risk from diseases born by the tsetse fly (such as in parts of Uganda) or from tick-borne (Corridor) disease (in Zambia). But disease is not oxen’s only threat. In recent years, bovine animals in the northern part of Uganda has been seriously depleted by marauding tribes from neighbouring areas. In parts of Africa, there is also a feed gap.
  • In some areas, as in parts of Uganda and Zambia, there are also taboos against women working with cattle. Where there are no taboos and women sometimes do use draught animals (as in parts of Senegal and Zimbabwe), such animals are still viewed as belonging to the men. This means that the implements they draw also belong to the men, and the men have priority to their access. Women have to wait their turn to use both cattle and implement, and by then it is often too late.

Donkeys, of course, are not as physically powerful for animal traction purposes. This means that ploughing with donkeys may not be possible in certain soil conditions. However, the study refers to research in Zimbabwe that made controlled comparisons of oxen and donkeys. The comparisons showed that the nutritional status of an animal, whether donkey or oxen, makes a great deal of difference in the animal’s performance. The research also noted that whereas donkeys may be slower than oxen, they never stop, but continue working. They also learn their tasks very quickly. The IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan study recommends that development programmes consider the value of donkeys particularly for inter-row cultivation. Where taboos against women associating with donkeys do not exist, and soil conditions are appropriate, donkeys have considerable advantages:

  • They are lighter and easier to handle and train than oxen.
  • Their implements are lighter (lightweight three-tine cultivators for donkey-draught seem particularly promising).
  • They are a lower-risk investment than oxen, particularly where veterinary services are scarce and conditions harsh; where drought or illness kills off oxen, donkeys usually survive.
  • They require very little time in terms of feeding (they take care of themselves, grazing on any available shrub or plant, even in the dry season), and therefore do not add to women’s already heavy workloads.
  • Because of donkeys’ association with low social status and poverty, men are willing to let women control them. They are also less likely to be stolen.
  • They are much cheaper than oxen or horses and therefore more affordable to women (although, in recent years, they have gone up tremendously in price in some areas).

Donkeys are already being used for animal traction by women and men in some parts of Africa, as in the areas east of Dakar, Senegal, where the study took place. If used first, a lightweight donkey-drawn cultivator can save enormous time and energy in hand hoeing. But in some areas, such as in central Zambia in the Chimbombo District, such implements are virtually unknown. Implements for donkeys are manufactured commercially and by blacksmiths in some of the African countries studied, but not in others. For instance, lightweight donkey ploughs that can be easily transformed into cultivators are available in Zimbabwe. In Uganda, the Agricultural Engineering and Appropriate Technology Research Institute (AETRI) is undertaking research and development related to such implements.

Donkeys could also be valuable for transport purposes, particularly for women. In Niger and Burkina Faso, where the endogenous technology of the zai (traditional planting pits) is spreading, donkey carts would be useful for transporting the manure that must be spread in the bottom of the pit to attract termites. Donkey carts would also be useful for carrying produce to market, for instance, for groups of women who are farming collective plots (as in parts of Burkina Faso and Senegal). This would save women from the heavy work of head-loading. Donkey carts could also transport water. Donkey-powered pully lifts (such as those made in Senegal) could also be viable.

Women in many countries in Africa seem to see animal traction as the answer to their production problems. As one woman in Burkina Faso said: "Animal traction makes the difference between night and day". Where they cannot afford or use oxen and oxen-drawn implements, women are interested in donkeys.

After considering the pros and cons, the study came out "on the side of the donkey". There are certain situations in Africa where development programmes could usefully promote donkey power for poorer farmers, and especially for use by poorer women. Animal traction or transport packages could be made available to women’s groups on credit, where women were engaged in collective cultivation of cash crops, and could be particularly valuable for inter-row hoeing. In many African countries, poorer women believe that donkey-traction and transport would suit their needs, and they are anxious for related credit and training.

Adapted from:

IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan. 1998. Agricultural Implements Used by Women Farmers in Africa. Rome.