Maize (Zea mays L.) is a significant cereal grown mostly by small and marginal farmers, where manual seeding still predominates due to a lack of machinery. Prolonged manual seeding often causes fatigue, musculoskeletal disorder and decreased field efficiency among workers. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ergonomics performance of a manually operated maize planter to achieve better field efficiency with the least amount of labour during the seeding/planting operations. Field experiments in normal agricultural situation were conducted to evaluate heart rate, oxygen consumption rate, energy expenditure rate, body part discomfort rating and overall discomfort rate as physiological and postural parameter. Compared to traditional manual seeding, the use of a manually operated maize planter considerably reduced the operator's physical pain and discomfort. Physical activity increased as the oxygen consumption rate increased from 560 ml min-1 to 730 ml min-1,due to the effect of operating depth and age of the operator. The heart rate increased from 109 bpm to 124 bpmas a result of operator age and operating depth. Similarly, energy expenditure rate increased from 17.91 to 24.16 kj min-1, due to the operator age and operating depth. According to a posture analysis, there was improved posture and reduced fatigue in the shoulder and lower back. Planter performance was satisfactory with uniform seed placement and higher efficiency. According to research, the manually operated maize planter is ergonomically safe, reduces labour cost, increases productivity, and provides small and marginal farmers with an affordable maize planting solution.