List of Common Farm Tools in Nigeria And Their Uses

To successfully farm in Nigeria, you must have the necessary set of tools. In this post, we have compiled a list of the common farm tools in Nigeria and their uses.

Farm tools are implements or equipment and machines used in the practice of agriculture. In simple words, farm tools are tools used on the farm.

There are a million and one tools in the world today, but only a few are common in Nigeria. Nigerians are very economical in nature and don’t buy into the western excess luggage mindset of buying tools that might just be used only once in their lifetime.

For this reason, we would not only give you the list of common farm tools in Nigeria but also their uses, in order to buttress their importance.

Common Farm Tools In Nigeria And Their Uses

For every agricultural practice, whether it’s Poultry farming, Sesame farming, apple farming, or even fish farming, there are some farm tools that should be purchased to get your desired result.

In this section is divided into three; general farm tools(for every type of farming), crop farm tools, and livestock farm tools.

General Farm Tools

Although there are many farm tools, each serving a distinct purpose, without some, farms won’t function efficiently. These tools are called The General Farming

Most of the General farm tools that would be listed here are the common farm tools in Nigeria, that you would see on different farms regardless if it’s a crop farm or a livestock farm.

We would be mentioning the ten most common general farm tools, we believe that these 10 are really necessary.

Top 10 Most Common General Farm Tools In Nigeria

• Machete (Cutlass): Machete popularly known as cutlass in Nigeria, is a crude farm tool and in fact one of the most popular farm tools not only in Nigeria but the world as a whole. For this reason, Machete is titled the universal tool. Due to its importance and cheapness, it is found on every farm. The cutlass has two main parts: the handle and the blade. Cutlasses are used for cutting and weeding.

• Shovel: Another common farm tool in Nigeria that has also earned the title of “the universal tool” is the Shovel. Shovels are farm tools used for digging and moving soil, sand, or things on the farm. Shovels comprise the grip handle, kick plate, collar, step, blade, and tip. There basically 13 types of shovels with the flat shovel being the most popular shovel in Nigeria. Nevertheless, shovels are a necessity, and for this, they are cheap in the market.

• Hoe: A hoe is a farm tool used for making heaps and ridges for planting. They have also been used in the land preparation process, that is, the period before the planting, and harvesting of crops. In Livestock, Hoes have used the construction of the Housings and even the burying of carcasses. Hoes have two main parts; the handle and the blade. Just like the three tools earlier mentioned, hoes are also cheap.

• Shears: Shears or Hand pruners (to the Americans) or Secateurs (to the British) are small farm tools that are used to prune trees, and shrubs and even harvest fruits as seen in grape farming. Shears come in three types: the Anvil, the Bypass, and the Parrot-beak shears. Although there is another type of shear in Nigeria, that looks like a pair of scissors it’s called Garden shears, and it’s the most used in Nigeria followed by the Anvil shears. Regardless of all this information, people still buy loopers mistaking them for shears. The only difference is that loopers have longer handles.

• Axe: one of the most common farm tools in Nigeria is the Axe. Axes are farm tools used for chopping, splitting, or feeling timber (trees or wood). A novice can easily identify axes by their two main parts; the head and handle. The head of an axe has several parts like the blade, beard, cheek, heel, toe, eye, butt, and shoulder. Axes come in various types with the most popular in Nigeria being the pick axe.

• Weighing Scale: A weighing scale is a farm tool used for measuring the mass of an item on the farm, either a product, seeds, fertilizer, or even feed. Weighing scales come in two forms: Analog (manual) and Digital weighing scale. The weighing scale is a general farm tool because it can be used on crop farms and as well, livestock farms. The most used type of weighing scale in Nigeria is the table weighing scale, it has three main parts, the tray, neck, and meter.

• Watering Can: Among the various common farm tools in Nigeria that have evolved innovatively and still retained their relevance is the Watering Can. Plants cannot grow without water, for this reason, the particular farm tool is a must-have tool. Watering cans are containers built with a funnel and a handle for holding. Watering can like every other container has volume. The smallest watering can carry 0.5 liters worth of water while the largest ones have a capacity of 10 liters. A watering Can be made from either metals or plastics, but the most preferred by experienced farmers is the steel watering can due to its durability.

• Sprinklers: Aside from watering can, Sprinklers are also farm tools used for watering farm fields. Sprinklers consist of the sprinkler head, riser, and PVC pipes. Sprinklers are used on the farm during dry seasons or when there is an insufficient supply of water. They run on the principle of pressure and so pumps are connected to them in order to function. The most used type of sprinkler in Nigeria is the irrigation sprinkler, although some farms also purchase livestock sprinklers for sanitary and pest control.

• Hand Trowel: A Hand trowel or garden trowel is a small hand tool that looks like a smaller version of a shovel or spade, used for tilling the soil (in nurseries), and digging holes during planting. It is also used in mixing fertilizer or manure and transplanting. Hand trowels have pointed tips, scoop-shaped blades, and handle. They are very affordable and every farm should have them on their farms.

• Wheelbarrow: Definitely this list would be incomplete if wheelbarrows are not mentioned. Wheelbarrows are one of the most common farm tools in Nigeria. The function of wheelbarrows is to move farm load (be it feeds, fertilizers, bags of seed, or agricultural products like yam or beef harvested) from one point to another on the farm. Wheelbarrows are made up of two steel handles for effort, a wheel for movement, a 6 cubic feet tray for carrying a load, and two legs for ground support or balance.

Other general farm tools are sprayers, plow, spades, pick mattocks, hand forks, Garden hoses, mowers, generators, sickles, pickup trucks, etc.

Crop Farm Tools

When farming crops like tomatoes, yam, Ugwu, sesame, yam, etc, not every farm tool would be necessary, this notwithstanding, there are still some that are must-haves on the farm in other to farm crops. Due to the fact that some of them have been mentioned under the general farm tools we would be taking the top seven(7) most common crop farm tools in Nigeria. They are:

Top 7 Most Common Crop Farm Tools

• Tractor– used for hauling various types of machinery.

• Harvester- used for harvesting grains like rice etc.

• Cultivator- for cutting and weeding fields (Garden plots) and for rotatory motion aiding the soil to be stirred before planting.

• Harrow- used to smooth and break the soil before planting (tilling)

• Seeder- used for planting seeds, especially in gardens.

• Scythe- used for mowing cereals

• Plough: used to cultivate the soil.

Top 7 Most Common Livestock Farm Tools

1. Feeding Trough: A feeding trough is a rectangular container used for serving feed to livestock. They can be metallic, wooden, or plastic. The metallic feeding troughs are the most preferred by many Nigerian livestock farmers whether poultry or herding.
2. Drinking Trough/ Drinker: