Tool/Machine

Ricardo Capúcio de Resende of Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil will design and test a new machine to enable women smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to more efficiently and effectively plant seeds. He has designed a new seeder concept using only two rotating parts, which is light, easy to use and maintain, and can simultaneously plant two crops. He will query local manufacturers and users to further develop the design, and then produce prototypes that will be bench- and field-tested for manufacturability and performance.

Samuel Okurut and a team from the National Agricultural Research Organization in Uganda will develop a simple low-cost tool for women smallholder farmers to more easily and efficiently harvest cassava, which is a major staple food in the developing world. The classical, manual method for harvesting cassava is labor and cost intensive, involving hoeing and digging in a bent posture. The new tool will be developed with input from women farmers and key stakeholders, and designed to be operated in a more upright posture.

Brian Lilly of Ergo-Tech Inc. in the U.S. will design and build a water irrigation pump from inexpensive and widely available automobile parts to decrease labor and increase production of women smallholder farmers in Africa. Irrigation is one of the most time-consuming and labor-intensive activities of women farmers. Making an irrigation system from automobile parts is useful because the parts are well tested and mass-produced in Africa, and expertise on their repair and maintenance is readily available.

Vaibhav Tidke of the Institute of Chemical Technology in India will design and test a low-cost movable dryer called CassavaTech to easily and quickly dry large quantities of cassava, which is a major staple crop grown by women smallholder farmers. The majority of harvested cassava is dried to form flour and chips, but traditional hand drying methods take between five and fifteen days, which limits time for other activities.