Why farmers should buy own tools for their farming ventures

When some people think of starting an economic activity such as farming, they do not consider purchasing tools and machines to use for doing the work. Someone sets out to build a pigsty or such structure but he does not plan to buy tools such as a hammer, a wheelbarrow, or a spade because he hopes to borrow them from his neighbours.

It is burdensome to live and work near such people. It causes unnecessary delays because work cannot be accomplished in the expected time since one has to wait for the borrowed tools to be returned. The borrower too must wait for the owner to finish his work before using the tools.

Most people think that as long as they have the land they can begin farming even if they will depend on others for the tools needed.

The best practice is to purchase your own tools and machines to use every time they are needed. You will need to buy your own hoes to till the land and to do all ground preparation activities such as removing the weeds.

Some hoes need to be short-handled while others should be long handled depending on the farming activity to be done. Short-handled hand hoes are best for sowing seeds and weeding crop gardens while long-handled hoes are best for clearing the ground of weeds and digging trenches for trapping running rainwater and making large holes for planting such crops as bananas and coffee.

A farmer will once in a while need to make some constructions such as building a goat house or a crush where animals such as cattle can be firmly held for occasional injections or castrations. So it is good practice to personally own tools like a hammer to drive the nails or a seesaw to cut the timber.

The farmer should keep a wheelbarrow for carrying heavy objects such as sacks of harvested crops, cow dung, or any other bulky material on the farm. A farmer should have personal tools like pangas and axes.

It is inconvenient to the neighbours to keep borrowing the items whenever they are required, especially when they get damaged in the course of doing work on the borrower’s farm.

You will need your own spray pump instead of always borrowing one from the neighbour. You will also need your own tarpaulin on which to spread out crops for drying.

Mr Michael Ssali is a veteran journalist,
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