Assessment of On-Farm Travel Characteristics of Small Scale Farmers In Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Transport needs of the farmers have not been properly quantified, most importantly on the farm which is the main hub of his activities. A study was conducted to assess on-farm travel characteristics of small scale farmers in Nigeria during farming activities. On-farm movement parameters such as working speed, workrate, field efficiency, power consumption and distance travelled were evaluated for some farm operations. The working speed during planting of maize and fertilizer application (manual) were both 0.088 m/sec; bed construction had a working speed of 0.013 m/sec. The workrate of planting operation was 0.044 ha/hr while bed making operation had a workrate of 0.0062 ha/hr. The results showed that operations like bed construction, ridging and weeding which were more tedious operations had lower workrate, working speed and travel distance compared to the less tedious operations like planting and fertilizer application. Also more power was consumed for ridging and bed construction than planting or fertilizer application.