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CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering, Volume III Plant Production Engineering, Chapter 1 Machines for Crop Production, Parts 1.1.1-1.1.4 Human-Powered Tools and Machines

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering, Volume III Plant Production Engineering, Chapter 1 Machines for Crop Production, Parts 1.1.1-1.1.4 Human-Powered Tools and Machines, pp. 1-22  .(doi:10.13031/2013.36337)
Authors:   E. U. Odigboh
Keywords:   Keywords: 1.1.1. Technical Characteristics of Human Power, 1.1.2. Human-Powered Tools and Machines for Field Operations, 1.1.3. Human-Powered Tools and Machines for Post-Harvest Operations, 1.1.4. The Sociology and Future of Hand Tool Technology in LDC’s

First paragraph: To mechanize means to use machines to accomplish tasks or operations. A machine may be as simple as a wedge or an inclined plane, or as complex as an airplane. Agricultural mechanization, therefore, is the use of any machine to accomplish a task or operation involved in agricultural production. It is clear from this definition that agriculture anywhere has always been mechanized, employing a combination of three main sources of power: human, animal and mechanical/engine, giving rise to three broad levels of agricultural mechanization technology classified as hand-tool technology (HTT), draft-animal technology (DAT) and mechanical-power or engine-power technology (EPT). Hand-tool technology is the most basic level of agricultural mechanization, where a human being is the power source, using simple tools and implements such as hoes, machetes, sickles, wooden diggers, etc. A farmer using hand-tool technology can cultivate only about one hectare of land. He cannot do more than that because of certain scientifically established facts.

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