adminBlessing Rwizi
SMALL-SCALE farmers are set to benefit from two-cylinder and foot operated pumps dubbed the Money Maker Irrigation Pump that was unveiled in Zimunya last Friday. Harare-based company, Blagefields Marketing Company is the distributing agents in Zimbabwe and it made its first presentation of the super money maker and the hip manual pumps in Manicaland to Chigodora communal farmers.
Two pumps were left at Bingadade homestead as samples to enable farmers to experience how they work, while the company works on opening a branch in Mutare. The money maker pump is essentially the treadle pump by design and it was launched in North Africa in October 1998 in response to demand by farmers for a pump that can push water uphill as well as simply pulling it up from the source.
It was launched in Zimbabwe this year and is most suitable for use on steep slopes or flat land where the water source may be at the bottom. A lot of farmers in Mali, Tanzania and Kenya use it to pump water from hand-dug wells, rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. It is ideal for sprinkler irrigation, filling overhead water tanks, or for use with nozzles and sprays attached to the end of the delivery hose.
The two-cylinder and foot operated pump sucks the water to the cylinder, then pressurizes it, sending it through a crude sprinkler over the crop. The pump installation is not fixed and the pump can be moved around.
It can draw water up from 23 feet (7m) and has a total pumping head of 46 feet (14m). It can be used to irrigate up to 2 acres of land. The pump can pump up to 60 litres of water per minute. It is also a lower-cost and more cost-effective solution than motorised irrigation pumps which are hard to fuel, maintain and repair in rural areas and have a lot of recurring costs.
Blagefields Marketing Company managing director, Mr Brian Vere, said the introduction of these pumps in Manicaland was aimed at increasing farm yields, reduce famine risk and improve food sources among others.
“These pumps can change lives of small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe if put to proper use. We have introduced them in Zimbabwe to reduce hunger, improve food security through increasing farm yields as they are easy to use. “Money making pumps allow greater diversity of cash crops and they are very easy to set up, use and maintain without tools,” said Mr Vere.
He added that besides irrigation, the money making manual irrigation pumps can be used for household and animal water needs. Mr Onfel Chinyamunzara, a small-scale farmer in Chigodora, said their community felt very honoured to be used as a pilot project on how the pumps work.
“This is the one of the greatest things that has happened to our community this year. We feel very honoured to be the first to see and experience the use of these manual pumps in the whole of Manicaland. “We foresee an increase in our yields. We will invest in these pumps because they are easy to use, maintain and set up,” said Mr Chinyamunzara.
Online Reporter