The effective field capacity averaged 0.1 ha/h with minimum and maximum of 0.09 ha/h and 1.12 ha/h, respectively. This indicates that it requires about 10 hours to weed one hectare of a maize field as opposed to 80 man–hours required when done manually as reported by and . Therefore, weeding using the developed cultivator can reduce time and labor requirements in farms .Reference evaluated five-tined and three-tined animal drawn cultivators and found their effective field capacity to be 0.08 ha/h and 0.05 ha/h, respectively.Hence this new developed cultivator is more efficient than both five and three-tined cultivator developed by . This study has demonstrated that it is technically feasible to integrate planting and cultivation units onto an existing mould board plough beam to develop an integrated tool suitable for use in small-scale maize farming.
This approach to development of farm tools has potential to reduce ownership costs of equipment which may contribute their increased adoption. This would be in line with current strategies for agricultural transformation in Africa whereby mechanization has been identified among the critical inputs needed to reduce extreme drudgery while improving productivity and production. Results of performance testing for the prototype indicate that its level of efficiency, effectiveness and reliability for planting and weeding operations is superior to manual operations currently used by small-scale farmers in the county and is comparable to similar but single-unit prototypes developed in other parts of the world. This demonstrates that the prototype has potential to transform mechanization on smallholder farms which in turn can result in improved productivity and production on such farms. This would lead to improved food security and reduction in drudgery associated with hand tools thereby making agricultural work more decent.
It is recommended to make further improvement on the prototype prior to adoption especially perfecting the seed metering devices to reduce seed damage and to develop supplementary metering devices such that the planter can be used as a multi-crop planter to sow other crops like soy beans and groundnut. In addition, an economic and ergonomic evaluation for the new developed prototype needs to assess suitability. Further, more rigorous testing in farmers’ fields with different soil types and conditions should be carried out to generalize field performance of the prototype. In Benin, bananas and plantains’ value chain is gradually developing as an important economic opportunity to stakeholders. Many food products derived from bananas and plantains are found in local and urban markets and are sold better than before . However, these include improved plantain chips, banana cakes and banana wine.
Despite the food and economic importance of this value chain,bananas and plantains are less available and scarce at given times of the year on the markets. This unavailability would undoubtedly be linked to the various production and marketing constraints.Production and marketing are the main constraints undermining the development of banana and plantain value chain. Concerning production constraints,the most important is the premature fall of plants under violent wind,diseases and pests damages. These constraints considerably reduce more than half of production. To solve these problems, research actions are essential to develop systems that are both inexpensive and effective to protect cultivated plants against climatic hazards. Natural repellents, made with local products such as neem seeds, have kept diseases and pests away from cultivated plants .
It is also fundamental to relay the results of previous studies, going beyond analysis in terms of returns. It is essential to adopt a more comprehensive approach to the economic and social benefits of agroecology with an increase in household income linked to savings achieved through the abandonment of chemical inputs and the diversification of production. Several agricultural practices are used by the farmers to reduce these constraints’ effects .Farmers use agricultural practices such as self-production of seeds, crop associations,crop rotation, irrigation, use of animal droppings to fertilize soils, and use of bio pesticides to control pests and diseases. Irrigation is essential for the survival of bananas .