Abstract

The Tiv are traditionally farmers by occupation This implies that they till the soil and keep animals These provide them with food meat and a source of income As agriculturalists the roles of the or u varen iwa black smith and the or u gban agbe hoe handle maker is indispensable in the process of food production This has to do with the fact that they produce the equipments needed for farming such as hoes sickles machetes axes knives and hoe handles to which hoe blades are fixed for the making of heaps mounds and lines for planting various crops This makes these craftsmen agricultural technologists The research adopts both the primary and secondary sources of data This involves oral interview with blacksmiths and hoe handle makers for the primary source For documented source the paper makes use of books journals newspapers and magazines The paper established that without these craftsmen in Tiv land farm work would be a mirage However despite their indispensable roles no meaningful progress has been achieved as the hoes and their handles used by the Tiv for over 400years have remained the same and neither has the process of making mounds and lines changed The paper examines the factors responsible for this apparent lack of development in Tiv agricultural technology and calls for improvement in Tiv agricultural implements baring in mind particularly the issue of technological transfer This is necessary and fundamental if the Tiv and indeed the rest of Africa do not wish to remain technological lagers in a world that is fast assuming a technological dimension