Small scale irrigation

The product unit Small Scale Irrigation works on the development and application of different technologies that can help farmers with the first steps of irrigating their land and so increase production and income. Here some examples can be found of technologies that enable small scale irrigation:

Low cost fuel efficient pumpset

Small scale irrigation, using small pump sets is becoming increasingly popular in West Africa. The biggest obstacle for farmers is the high cost of the pump-set (€ 300-600). PRACTICA identified a pump-set in China costing not more than about €140 (resale price for farmers) and aims to introduce this pump.

Apart from having a low investment cost, the fuel consumption is also about 40% less than that of the presently available pump sets.

Treadle pump

In many countries the farmers use a rope and a bucket for the pumping , the water application and the distribution to their crop which require an intensive labour and high level of human power use.

The access of groundwater (shallow well and tube well), the important loss of water in open channels, the irrigation on undulating ground and a field above of water point are the constraints encountered by the farmers.

The lack of appropriate and low cost lifting devices reduce the possibility for a farmer to increase his crop field and revenue.

The pressure treadle pump is a significant revolution in small scale irrigation in the developing world offering to the poorest people an alternative to increase their chance to improve the cultivation of off season vegetables and generated income.

Californian irrigation

The water losses (around 60%) are very important during the transport of water in a ground channel especially in sandy soil and where sometime is not possible to dig channel. These losses increase the pumping time (fuel expenses and/or labour) and reduce the possibility to extend the surface of crop.

The various topography and the situation where the water point is located on a lower level of the garden don’t permit irrigation by gravity and the transport of water on the higher part of the garden.

During the dry season the distance to access to the water of a lake or a river can considerably increase.

The Californian system associated to a water lifting device (motorised or manual) can bring alternative solutions for the transport of water for irrigation.