This information
comes from "Manual irrigation pumps transform
rural livelihoods" in Appropriate Technology,
Vol 31, No 1:
"38,000 farmers in
Kenya and Tanzania are now using manual irrigation
pumps designed by ApproTEC (Appropriate Technologies
for Enterprise Creation) and between 700 and 800
more are being sold every month. Farmers who once
watered their crops with buckets have been able
to increase their weekly income from $7 to $21,
depending on the market they are able to access.
"Using the pump, a small-scale farmer can grow
three or four crops a year instead of one or two,
and can switch from low-value to high-value crops,
and ensure that they are ready for market when the
price is high."
"ApproTEC currently
offers two irrigation pumps, the 'Super-Money-Maker'
and the 'moneyMaker Plus,' priced at $78 and $39
respectively. They appear as simple tools but are
advanced in design and manufactured to high quality
specifications. Every pump carries a serial number
and ApproTEC offers a one-year repair and replacement
guarantee to all buyers. Adapted from the widely
used Asian treadle pump, the MoneyMakers are all
metal, but are smaller, lighter weight (21 kg and
9 kg) and easily portable. They are simple to install,
can be serviced and maintained without any tools,
and are capable of irrigating between one and two
acres a day. . Typically, pumps lift water from
a 12-16 foot deep well, or from a stream in a valley
floor, pushing water uphill through a 1" diameter
hosepipe to irrigate vegetables in a half-acre area
adjacent to the water source.
ApproTEC, whose mission "is
to promote sustainable economic growth and job creation
by promoting technologies that can be used by small-scale
entrepreneurs to establish and run profitable enterprises,"
has also developed an oilseed press, a stabilized
soil block press for making strong building blocks
from soil and cement, domed concrete pit latrine
slabs, and a manually operated high-pressure hay
baler, among other products. For more information
contact ApproTEC, P.O. Box 64142, Nairobi, Kenya,
Tel/Fax: +254 2 787380/1, approtec@approtec.org,
www.approtec.org.
Four articles in Growing for Market
magazine relate experiences of commercial farmers
in growing and/or selling their product. All contain
details too extensive to include here, but we suggest
that anyone trying to improve sales of their own
product could benefit from reading them. In the
May 2004 issue are "Value-added products round
out herb sales" by Sandie Shores and "Peppers
are hot products for Chile Man," by Joan Vilbert.
In the August 2004 issue are "Time to get ready
for winter!" by Brett Grohsgal-about the winter
crops that are being grown on one farm in southern
Maryland-and "Mesclun can still be profitable,"
by Alison and Paul Wiediger.
From a booklet: Weathering Natural
Disasters-Refocusing Relief and Development through
Improved Agricultural and Environmental Practices
published by The Future Harvest Foundation and CARE,
in a section under "Zero-Till and Bed Planting
in South Asia":
"Another recently
promoted technique-planting wheat on raised beds-improves
yields, increases fertilizer efficiency, reduces
herbicide use, saves seed, saves an average 30%
water, and can reduce production costs by 25-35%
when permanent beds are used. Bed planting is gaining
acceptance in India for wheat, and is even being
tested for rice. Widespread adoption of one or several
of these reduced tillage methods will bring significant
environmental benefits." |