Abstract:

Cotton is an annual crop that is produced commercially in over 80 countries in the world located in the tropics and temperate climate zones. (Lundbaek, 2001). It is one of the most important internationally traded agricultural commodities in terms of volume and value traded (Serunjogi et al., 2001). Its main commercial uses are in manufacture of textile and garment, edible oil, soap and livestock feeds. In Uganda cotton is produced in all regions of the country, however most of the production is concentrated in the Northern and Eastern regions. Total number of cotton producers in 2000 was approximately 300, 000- 400, 000. (Gordon and Goodland, 2000). Cotton is a labour-intensive crop especially at weeding, pesticide application and harvesting stages. Animal traction introduced into the country in the early 1900’s was widely adopted by cotton farmers in the main cotton producing areas of the country mainly for land opening. However, the use of this technology was severely curtailed by cattle rustling that affected many districts in the northern and eastern regions during the insurgence of the late 1980’s. The use of tractors by small-scale farmers in general remains very limited, mainly because the farmers cannot afford the technology (APSEC,2001).