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Guidelines for the Technical Specifications and Procurement of Agricultural Hand Tools FAO 13/12/2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Guidelines for the Technical Specifications and Procurement of Agricultural Hand Tools FAO 13/12/2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Guidelines for the technical specifications and procurement of agricultural hand tools FAO 13/12/2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several sources have been used in the preparation of this guideline and these are listed in the References. In particular we wish to acknowledge the use of text and diagrams from the 1981 ILO publication “Guide to tools and equipment for labour based road construction” and the related 1981 Intermediate Technology Publication by Armstrong, “ Better Tools for the Job. Specifications for Hand Tools and Equipment”. Another important source has been the 1992 Intermediate Technology Publication, “Tools for Agriculture. A guide to appropriate equipment for smallholder farmers”. We also wish to acknowledge the photographs supplied by Ralph Martindale & Company Ltd. PREFACE This guideline is designed to assist in the preparation of technical specifications and the procurement of agricultural hand tools for emergency and development projects. It is primarily intended for use by FAO head office and field staff, agricultural and industrial extension officers and NGOs, companies bidding for tenders in this field, manufacturers and organisations carrying out the testing and acceptance procedures. The specifications for hand tools given in this guide are more detailed than those used by FAO in the past. This has been done to ensure that good quality tools are purchased for FAO projects, while allowing them to be purchased from companies within developing economies in order to facilitate development within these countries. Hand Tools: Last updated by AGSE on 13/12/2001 Page 2 of 48 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................................2 PREFACE...........................................................................................................................................2 1 SELECTION AND PROCUREMENT OF TOOLS ................................................................4 1.1 Selection of Hand Tools..........................................................................................................4 1.2 Specifications of Tools ...........................................................................................................6 1.3 Sourcing of Tools...................................................................................................................6 1.4 Tool Procurement, Inspection and Stores ...............................................................................7 2 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL TOOLS..................................9 2.1 Hoes ........................................................................................................................................9 2.2 Pickaxes and Mattocks..........................................................................................................12 2.3 Spades, Shovels and Forks....................................................................................................14 2.4 Sickles...................................................................................................................................18 2.5 Reaping Hooks and Scythes..................................................................................................20 2.6 Axes ......................................................................................................................................23 2.7 Miscellaneous Items: Grass Slasher, Garden Rake, Watering Can, Bucket, Wheel Barrow, Crowbar, Bow Saw .........................................................................................................................26 3 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT FOR HAND TOOLS ..............................................................................................................................................32 3.1 Sharpening Stones.................................................................................................................33 3.2 Whetstone .............................................................................................................................33 4 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................34 5 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS ON HAND TOOLS .............................................................34 ANNEX 1: EXAMPLE OF STANDARD SPECIFICATION SHEET FOR HAND TOOLS..35 ANNEX 2: MATERIALS................................................................................................................37 ANNEX 3: TOOLS INSPECTION AND TESTING PROCEDURES........................................41 ANNEX 4: FIELD QUESTIONNAIRE ON COMMON HAND TOOLS USED IN ................45 Hand Tools: Last updated by AGSE on 13/12/2001 Page 3 of 48 1 SELECTION AND PROCUREMENT OF TOOLS This guideline is designed to assist in the preparation of technical specifications of agricultural hand tools and in their procurement. The selection of tools and their procurement process is initially outlined, followed by a detailed outline of technical specifications of the most commonly used hand tools. The procurement process outlined includes a very brief overview of the sourcing of tools, the tendering and bidding process, and testing and acceptance procedures. Further details are given in Annex 3 on testing procedures and sampling rates. There are numerous hand tools and strong national and regional preferences for particular types of tools, shapes of heads and handles. Only the most popular ones will be detailed here. However, where there are strong regional preferences for a particular type or shape of tool, the details of these should be collected and potential suppliers identified early in the project preparation stage. Selected workshop equipment such as files and sharpening tools, considered useful as part of the tool kit in helping to maintain agricultural tools in optimum working conditions, are also described. The specifications drawn up here are heavily based on ILO (1981) and Armstrong (1981), and were developed in Kenya during the implementation of the Rural Access Roads Programme. In turn, these specifications were based on British Standards and Indian Standards. The specifications given in this guideline, generally use the lowest range of either of the British or Indian specifications and the highest range of either. That is, the specifications given in this guideline are slightly broader than either the British or Indian standards. Currently many of the tools commercially available in Africa and Asia still do not fully meet the broader specifications given in this guideline, and those that do are often relatively costly. Hence, a technical assessment of whether to accept tools offered in bids will be made taking into account both the costs and the extent of any deviations from the specifications requested. Once a bid has been accepted then the specifications listed in that bid will automatically be the specifications mutually agreed to between the purchaser and the supplier. Should the tests, either on or prior to deliver of the goods, indicate that the tools have not met the original specifications requested, nor the specifications agreed to in the bid, then either the goods will be rejected or financial penalties will be imposed on the supplier by withholding part of the payment. Suppliers of goods should therefore know exactly what they are offering. If they are not the manufacturers of the goods themselves then they may need to have the tools rigorously tested themselves. Alternatively, they may need to ensure that the manufacturer is part of a recognised quality certification or accreditation scheme. They would also need to ensure that they have a legally binding arrangement with the manufacture to supply the goods according to specification agreed to. Some further aspects of this are discussed in Sections 1.3 and 1.4. 1.1 SELECTION OF HAND TOOLS When selecting tools for farming operations it is important to consider the whole farming environment and farming system, and the tools and equipment that the farming households already possess. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No. 84 – “Agricultural engineering in development: selection of mechanisation inputs”, covers this area in detail and it is desirable to refer to this document prior to drawing up project proposals involving agricultural tools and equipment. Only a very brief overview is given here. Hand Tools: Last updated by AGSE on 13/12/2001 Page 4 of 48 Within the context of the farming system, some of the essential considerations for the selection of tools and equipment are the following: Function Power and energy requirements Work rates Cost and life Service requirements Cultural aspects Some details are given below of the typical work rates of the main hand tools and it is particularly important that these work rates are considered in detail when selecting the number of tools required for each farming household and the area to be cultivated. The number of farm labourers and the number of tools and their work rates largely determine the area that can be cultivated and the timeliness of operations. Work rates (indicative only, due to the variability of local conditions and crops): a. Hoes: Land preparation: 300 hrs/ha/person Planting: 80 hrs/ha/person Weeding 140 hrs/ha/person, down to 65 hrs/ha/person for 3rd weeding b. Sickles: Harvesting rate (sorghum): 210 hrs/tonne/person. Weeding is a particularly time consuming task and is frequently
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