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 <div class="title"><h3>5.64 -Treadle and bicycle irrigation pumps for smallholder African farmers </h3><br><h3 class="ch-owner">Mark Elias, University of Guelph, Canada </h3></div>
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<p>Suggested citation for this chapter.</p>
<p>Elias,M. (2022) Treadle and bicycle irrigation pumps for smallholder African farmers, In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org</p>
       <h3 class="title-bg">Introduction to treadle and bicycle irrigation pumps</h3>
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          <p>A treadle pump pulls water from shallow waters through the force that the user applies to the pump itself. Treadle pumps have significantly changed small-scale irrigation within the developing world (Kay and Brabben, 2000). The invention originated in Bangladesh in the early 1980s and has rapidly become quite popular. These human-powered devices are used for pumping water more efficiently. Originally, these pumps were suction based (Figure 1) which was beneficial in Bangladesh due to the shallow sources of water that existed in that country (Kay and Brabben, 2000). With suction-based pumps, the force applied by a person would move a piston within the pump to create a suction effect, effectively drawing water into the pump. After releasing the pump, the water would then be pushed in the opposite direction, out of the pump and allowing for irrigation (Adeogun and Kasali, 2019). However, within Africa these pumps have been adapted to suit the deeper sources of water (Figure 2), which is more common (Kay and Brabben, 2000). The original suction pumps were modified into pressure pumps to allow the collection of water from these deeper sources and to integrate the use of feet to power the pumps over the use of hands, increasing the volume of water that a person could lift (Kay and Brabben, 2000). These pumps can now easily be utilized within Africa due to these modifications and with proper training. </p>
<P>All the figures below are provided by (Reinhardt, 2018).</p>
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    <p><i>Figure 1. Shallow water suction irrigation pump (Adeogun and Kasali, 2019).</i></p>
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    <p><i>Figure 2. Pressure treadle pump for deeper sources (Kay and Brabben, 2000).</i></p>
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       <h3 class="title-bg">Usage of the Treadle Pump</h3>
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<p>Treadle pumps are quite simple to use once they are set up. These pumps can be hooked up to a hose or a sprinkler system; the hose allows someone to walk around to control which crops get irrigated whilst another person operates the treadle pump. The person operating the treadle pump simply needs to hold onto the handle and push their feet down one at a time to start pumping the water, whilst the one holding a hose (if applicable) walks around to irrigate the crops (see Tutorial Video in the Practical Resources section below). Setting up the pump is not too difficult either; you just must ensure that you are connecting the pump to an appropriate water pump using pipes or hoses (Kay and Brabben, 2000).</p> 

	<p>A treadle pump is a simple invention which has a cylinder and a piston and a means of pushing the piston up and down. Connected to the pump is a pipe which will go down to the water source to collect the water and is fitted with a non-return valve which stops water from flowing back down the pipe. The piston and cylinder are close together so when the piston is raised, it creates a vacuum within the cylinder to push the water through the pipe into the pump. When the piston is pushed down, the water is pushed into a small valve in the piston. This means that when the piston is raised again, the water can pour out into whatever the pump is connected to, such as a tank or irrigation channel. This final process also draws more water into the cylinder again through the same technique of a vacuum described above (Kay and Brabben, 2000). This is well demonstrated in Figure 3.</p>
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    <p><i>Figure 3. Treadle pump operating principles (Kay and Brabben, 2000).</i></p> 
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       <h3 class="title-bg">Obtaining a Treadle Pump</h3>
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<p>There are many companies that sell treadle pumps to small scale farmers in Africa, allowing for multiple options. Two of the largest companies that will be discussed here are International Development Enterprises (iDE) and KickStart International. In Zambia alone, as of 2000, there are already eight manufacturers, twenty-eight retailers, and thirty collaborating partners involved in treadle pump sales. These partners also assist in making sure that farmers are taught good farming and irrigation techniques by teaching proper waste management, maintenance, agronomic practices, and basic market economies of supply and demand (Kay and Brabben, 2000).</p>
<p>iDE (International Development Enterprises) is a non-profit organization with the mission of developing and delivering market-based solutions to combat poverty. Their treadle pumps are designed to be affordable and easy to use with a good life expectancy. Depending on the pump specification it can last between 1-7 years (E4C iDE Treadle Pump). iDE  is located within many different countries within and outside of Africa, working with wholesalers (iDE Resource-Smart Technology). Ultimately, this means that any replacement components are available at local hardware stores, and iDE trains local technicians which can provide aid. Additionally, the pumps are sold at a retail price of $35 USD (E4C Ide Treadle Pump). iDE’s staff consists of 95% of the countries that they support, meaning it would help support African farmers (iDE Resource-Smart Technology).</p>
<p>On the other hand, Kickstart International, a competitor for iDE, offers three diverse types of pumps. These pumps range from ones for beginner farmers and ones for more advanced farmers. Most farmers are likely to want to purchase their MoneyMaker Max Pump model as it has a treadle pump design and irrigates the most land out of the three models (KickStart International Products). Kickstart international distributes its pumps through a network of partners including NGOs, governments, churches, etc. and the pumps seem to have an expected lifespan of 3 years. Spare parts are also available through local distributors. The retail price of these pumps is approximately $170 USD (E4C Kickstart MoneyMaker Max Pump).</p>
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       <h3 class="title-bg">Benefits to Using a Treadle Pump for Farming  </h3>
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<p>Small-scale farmers in Africa can benefit from the increase in water access for their farms, increasing crop production (Mangisoni, 2006). There is also reduce labour for irrigation due to the hose attached to the pump, which removes the need to carry the water which can be quite heavy; this makes irrigating large areas of land much easier and quicker. Furthermore, a year-round water source removes dependence on rainfall, creating income stability and improving food security (MSU, 2013). Treadle pumps also improve water management, reduce wastage and the risk of waterlogging or soil erosion (Allen, 2009).</p> 
<p>The assumed rate of water that can be pumped with the treadle pumps has been studied and calculated. Many assumptions are made such as the person operating the pump outputs 75 watts of energy, which is equivalent to walking up a set of stairs in a house in 20 seconds. Assuming a person can output that energy constantly, the only other factor depends on the distance of the suction lift. This will differ depending on the pump. With a suction lift of 1 meter, the calculated rate of water pumped would be 7.5 liters per second. For 2.5 meters, the rate of water pumped would be 3 liters per second; and finally at 5 meters, the rate of water pumped would be 1.2 liters per second (Kay and Brabben, 2000).
Interviews have been conducted on the profitability for farmers that use a bucket for irrigation and after they switch to the use of a treadle pump. These interviews have found that the income has risen from US$125 to US$850-1,700 when farmers switched. This is mainly due to farmers being able to irrigate a larger area. There was also a noticeable increase of crop yields for some farmers of up to 300 percent for certain crops (Kay and Brabben, 2000).</p>

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       <h3 class="title-bg">Critical Analysis of Treadle Pumps for Small-Scale Farmers</h3>
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<P>Whilst treadle pumps have the potential to be extremely beneficial to small-scale farmers everywhere, there are certain constraints or issues that arise with implementing these pumps into farming practices around the world. For Africa, a lot of these problems have already been solved through many years of progress. This is due to there already being well-established distribution networks, manufacturers, training opportunities, support, etc. within parts of Africa for the pumps (Kay and Brabben, 2000). Even with these institutions in place, there is still a cost that would be incurred for training farmers, purchasing the pump, setting up the pump, and the cost of labor.</p>
<p>There are also constraints that arise from using the pump itself. Firstly, the pump must sit above or relatively near to water which means that being proximal to a water source is necessary for these pumps to function in the first place. This can create a big problem for farmers that already have established farms but do not have a water source nearby – they must carry the water to their farms. Additionally, the manual labor that is required to operate these treadle pumps might be too much for some farmers, and this burden is likely to fall on women farmers. This number is approximately 40% of the labor share (Palacios-Lopez et al., 2015). Farmers are required to constantly peddle the pumps to pump water out of the hose which can make them very sore and cause muscle aches.</p>
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       <h3 class="title-bg">Practical Resources to Get Started</h3>
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<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd71Au7O39s&ab_channel=MercyCorps
Video demonstrating operation of treadle pump.</P>
<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkcnSki9unk&ab_channel=ThomasH.Culhane
Video explaining the creation of a treadle pump.</P>
<p>https://www.fao.org/3/x8293e/x8293e00.pdf
Paper with extensive detail about treadle pumps including instruction manual, setup, etc.</P>
<p>www.ideglobal.org/story/resource-smart-technology
iDE website with information of their pumps.</P>
 
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       <h3 class="title-bg">Links to Picture Based Farmer Training Lessons</h3>
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<p>http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/6.11e.s.a.pdf</p>
<p>http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/6.11latin_america.pdf</p>
<p>http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/5.10n._africa_middleeast.pdf</p>
<p>http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/6.11_south_asian.pdf</p>

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       <h3 class="title-bg">References </h3>
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<p>1.Adeogun, E. O., & Kasali, M. Y. (2019). Determining the Role of Treadle Pump Technology for Transforming Irrigation Practices in Rural Areas. Internal Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, 67,  119-123  https://ijettjournal.org/assets/Volume-67/Issue-11/IJETT-V67I11P218.pdf</p>
<p>2.Allen, R. G. (2009). Water Science and Research Issues Associated with the Future of Water for Food. University of Idaho. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=researchecondev
<p>3.E4C (2024)  “Ide Treadle Pump.” Engineering For Change, 31 Jan. 2024, www.engineeringforchange.org/solutions/product/ide-treadle-pump/#performance_use.
<p>4.E4C (2024). “Kickstart MoneyMaker Max Pump.” Engineering For Change, 31 Jan. 2024, http://www.engineeringforchange.org/solutions/product/kickstart-moneymaker-max/
<p>5.Environmental Protection Agency. (2013, May 7). Sustainable water extraction and distribution system for agricultural applications in Namawanga, Kenya. EPA. https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=NCER&dirEntryId=186636
<p>6. iDE (2023). “Resource-Smart Technology.” iDE | Resource-Smart Technology, 19 Feb. 2023, www.ideglobal.org/story/resource-smart-technology. 
<p>7.Kay, M., & Brabben, T. (2000). Treadle Pumps for Irrigation in Africa. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/3/x8293e/x8293e00.pdf
<p>8. KickStart International (2023). “Products.” KickStart International, 13 Oct. 2023, http://www.kickstart.org/products/
<p>9. Mangisoni, J. H. (2006). Impact of Treadle Pump Irrigation Technology on Smallholder Poverty and Food Security in Malawi: A Case Study of Blantyre and Mchinji Districts. University of Malawi.  https://www.doc-developpement-durable.org/file/eau/pompes/pompes-a-pedales/Malawi_Treadle_Pump_Mangisoni.pdf
<p>10. MSU Treadle Pump Team. (2013). Pressure Treadle Pump.  Michigan State University. https://www.doc-developpement-durable.org/file/eau/pompes/pompes-a-pedales/Pressure%20Treadle%20Pump_Michigan%20State%20University.pdf
<p>11. Palacios-Lopez, A., Christiaensen, L., & Kilic, T. (2015). How much of the labor in African agriculture is provided by women? Food Policy, 67, 52 - 63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.09.017</p>