Getting Water to Crops

[borderjumpers]

Cross posted from http://borderjumpers1.blogspot.com/2010/03/getting-water-to-crops.html">Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.

In 1999, when he purchased his first treadle pump, http://www.ideorg.org/OurResults/SuccessStories/Zambia.aspx">Robert Mwanza, a farmer in Lusaka, Zambia, was struggling to make ends meet and without reliable access to water. As his country dealt with drought and economic weakness, Robert lacked the necessary resources to irrigate his farm and “couldn’t grow enough to eat, let alone sell.”

Access to water is a luxury that many rural households, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, do not have. Farmers must often travel long distances to collect water from streams or public wells, making it impossible to irrigate crops or have enough water for cooking and bathing.

But affordable technologies such as the http://www.ideorg.org/OurTechnologies/TreadlePump.aspx">treadle pump (a foot-powered pump that sits on top of a well and irrigates small plots of land), the http://www.ideorg.org/OurTechnologies/RopePump.aspx">rope pump (a manually powered alternative to the treadle pump), and a variety of http://www.ideorg.org/OurTechnologies/WaterStorageSystems.aspx">water storage systems (made of plastic and used as sources for sprinkler or drip irrigation systems) are changing all of that. The systems are developed and supported by http://www.ideorg.org/">International Development Enterprises (IDE), an organization working to improve the livelihoods of farmers in 13 countries in Asia and Africa through improved agriculture technology and market access. (See also: http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/harnessing-too-much-of-a-good-thing-irrigating-with-underground-springs/">Harnessing Too Much of a Good Thing, http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/addressing-soil-erosion-to-improve-production-income-and-nutrition/">Addressing Soil Erosion to Improve Production, Income, and Nutrition, and http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/persistently-innovative-one-farmer-teaches-by-example/">Persistently Innovative: One Farmer Teaches by Example.)

IDE is making irrigation more efficient by combining technology specially designed to address the needs of small-scale farmers with on-the-ground support staff to provide training and education. This allows farmers to expand their farms, feed their families, and earn a profit from selling surplus crops.

After just two years of improved irrigation provided by a treadle pump, Robert Mwanza grew more than enough vegetables to feed his wife and eight children. He also earned enough money to purchase an additional pump, doubling the amount of land he could irrigate. He recruited his brother, Andrew Mwanza, to work the additional pump, and in three years, with the help of IDE field staff, Robert began to sell his produce to Agriflora, a company that exports high-quality vegetables to Europe. Now the two brothers are growing enough vegetables to afford a motorized petrol pump for $750, further reducing the labor required to increase production.
To read more about the importance of getting water to crops, as well as other examples of innovations that help farmers do this, see: http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/innovation-of-the-week-water-harvesting/">Water Harvesting, http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/weathering-famine/">Weathering the Famine, and http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/persistently-innovative-one-farmer-teaches-by-example/">Persistently Innovative: One Farmer Teaches by Example.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoy our diary every day we invite you to get involved:

1. Comment on our daily posts -- we check for comments everyday and want to have a regular ongoing discussion with you.
2. Receive regular updates--Join the weekly BorderJumpers newsletter by clicking http://forms.aweber.com/form/52/1811777452.htm">here.
3. Help keep our research going--If you know of any great projects or contacts in West Africa please connect us connect us by emailing, commenting or sending us a message on http://www.facebook.com/pages/Border-Jumpers/166429400981">facebook.

[Arkansas Granny]

1. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS had a segment last night that

ties into this about the lack of clean drinking water in Ethiopia. Many people don't realize how much time obtaining water can take in underdeveloped countries and how dangerous it can be.

Video and transcript here:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/jan-june10/ethiopia_03-18.html

[borderjumpers]

2. thanks Arkansas Granny!

we agree and all the best!

bernie and dani, aka borderjumpers