Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online) Vol.3, No.17, 2013 127 Donkey-Cart Transport, a Source of Livelihood for Farmers in the Kassena Nankana Municipality in Upper East Region of Ghana Maurice M. Braimah 1 *, Issahaku Abdul-Rahaman 2 & Daniel Oppong-Sekyere 3 1. Lecturer, School of Engineering, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, U/E, Ghana 2. Research Fellow, ICEIR, UDS, Navrongo Campus 3. Lecturer, School of Applied Science and Arts, Department of Ecological Agriculture, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, U/E, Ghana *E-Mail of corresponding author: braimahm@hotmail.com Abstract Even through donkeys have been extensively used by people in many areas in the world, their use has been synonymous with backwardness, underdevelopment and low status. In a qualitative and quantitative study of 120 households located within the Kassena-Nankana district, this study sought to provide an overview of the consequences of ‘development’ for donkey use and management. The study also tried to show how the use of donkeys had enabled these people to withstand some of the threats to their lives and livelihoods. The paper provides several examples of how these different uses ensured the survival of women and men in hostile environments and enables them to integrate into the social and economic processes from which they are often excluded. Both primary and secondary data sources were used to gather relevant information for analysis and discussions. Purposive sampling was used to select four communities in the Kasena-Nankana East District. A hybrid sampling method was used to arrive at the sample population. Close and open ended questionnaire were used to collect data from the interviewees. In addition to the questionnaire, empirical verification was done via observation on attitudes and behaviors of farmers. Focused group discussions were held involving opinion leaders, farmer-group organizations, agric extension officers, and the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) chiefs. Data obtained was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel. The results of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were in 32- 50 year group. Most of the respondents, 93 (58 %) had no formal education. Majority (75.5 %, 124), were married with 47% (74) having household sizes between six and ten. The study revealed that, donkeys were used in agricultural production, mainly to transport manure to the fields and the harvest from the fields to the homes and to the market centres; the youth in agriculture production had realized the importance of donkey transportation and farm traction, which had a very significant impact on food security development. Keywords: Attitude, Donkey-Cart, Farmers, Gender, Households, Livelihood, Transport 1. Introduction Donkeys are considered as beasts of burden in many developing countries (Crossley, 1991; Svendsen, 1991). Investigations of the role of donkeys in rural areas have received increasing attention from researchers and those in development over the last decade (e.g. Fielding and Pearson, 1991; Bakkoury and Prentis, 1994; Starkey, 1998). Despite the above, there is little quantitative information on their role as pack animals in marketing produce. Observations have shown that, in many peri-urban areas in Africa, draught animals can provide an important means of transporting goods and produce (Tesfahunegan, 1986). A donkey or other pack animals provide a means of transporting a range of products more rapidly to markets and in greater amounts than can be done on foot, but cheaper and more easily than relying on public transport or motor vehicles. It increases the range of distances over which produce from a farm can be sold. It is a door to door service, so perishable products such as vegetables (especially tomatoes in Ethiopia), milk, eggs, poultry, grain and animal fodder can arrive safely with less damage, stress or effort, than if they had to be transferred from one means of transport to another and back again. Tesfahunegan (1986) calculated that even with a single animal the potential cost reduction from substitution of pack for human carriage is of the order of 50%. Howe and Garba (1997), in a study of subsistence farmers in Kaffecho Zone in Ethiopia found that pack animals offered the only realistic way of obtaining returns from agriculture above mere subsistence. Ownership of an animal in this area could significantly reduce total transport costs and increase both the returns to the farmer; and the range of distances over which it was economic to trade. In marketing crop products, high value products such as seeds offered better returns than the food staples such as maize and sorghum (Howe and Garba, 1997). Pack animal transport is an enterprise that can be, and often is, undertaken by disadvantaged or displaced people (Sisay and Tilahun, 1997). Use of animals in transport has the potential to provide contractors with a steady