Method Time to prepare 1 hectare (hours) Cost per hectare ($) Maize yield (tonnes per hectare) Hand hoe (cutlass and hoe) 80 120 2.8 Animal-drawn plough 20 ...

(a) The hand hoe method (cutlass and hoe) took the longest time at 80 hours per hectare [1].

(b) One hand tool other than a cutlass and hoe that could be used for land preparation: machete (or rake, spade, shovel, pickaxe, mattock) [1].

(c) Two advantages of using a tractor-drawn plough compared to a hand hoe:

1. A tractor covers a much larger area in far less time (4 hours vs 80 hours per hectare), making it dramatically faster [1].
2. A tractor produces a more uniform and deeper tillage, giving better soil preparation across the entire field [1].

Another acceptable advantage: requires less human physical effort and labour.

(d)(i) For a small-scale farmer with a 2-hectare plot and limited money, the animal-drawn plough would be most suitable [1]. It offers a good balance between cost and speed: it is much faster than the hand hoe (20 hours vs 80 hours per hectare) while costing significantly less than the tractor method ($200 vs $450 per hectare) [1].

(d)(ii) Two ways the farmer could reduce the cost of using animal-drawn equipment:

1. Share the animals and equipment with neighbouring farmers, splitting the costs [1].
2. Use own animals instead of hiring, eliminating rental fees [1].

Other acceptable methods: maintain the implements regularly to avoid costly repairs, and join a cooperative to share costs.

(e) The plot prepared with a tractor-drawn plough gave the highest maize yield because the tractor ploughs deeper and more thoroughly than the other methods [1]. This deeper tillage improves soil aeration, water infiltration, and root penetration, allowing the maize plants to access more nutrients and water from a greater volume of soil [1].