Access Agriculture

Drip irrigation for tomato (Summary)

Farmer groups and individuals in Burkina Faso explain the benefits and challenges of a low-cost drip irrigation system, and show how such a system is set up. A social innovation is included that relates to organic matter management.

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Pitcher irrigation (Summary)

With pitcher irrigation, round porous clay pots are buried into the soil near the crop and filled with water. The water seeps out slowly through the porous walls of the pot and reaches the roots of the plants. As the plants consume the water, more water will seep out from the pot. In this way, the pot provides exactly the right amount of water needed for the plants.

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Taking care of okra (Summary)

Too much drought can slow down growth and cause young fruits to fall. Water your okra regularly to avoid slowing down its growth. Get rid of weeds. Nourish okra crops by periodically applying a little compost, well-rotted manure or litter around the base of each okra plant.

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Making a good okra seeding (Summary)

In Benin, producers tell us how to plant okra properly. Put no more than 2 to 3 seeds in each hole and plant at proper spacing to let in air and allow the plants to develop well.

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Making a cooling chamber for tomatoes (Summary)

When you pick your tomatoes, if you want to keep them longer, you have to find a way of reducing the temperature. As availability of electricity at village level can be a problem, ways have to be found to lower the temperature of this fragile crop. Some farmers at Dambatta in Kano State, Nigeria have used local mud bricks to make a very effective cooling chamber.

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Staggering production of tomatoes (Summary)

If you are growing tomatoes you need to make sure that you don’t just grow when everyone else is, or you will probably suffer from very low prices. Working in a group and staggering your production can provide a constant market supply of fresh tomatoes.

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Good handling of tomatoes (Summary)

As soon as you pick your tomatoes their quality can only ever decrease. The best you can do is to slow down the reduction of quality, by following some practices which reduce damage and harm. The key to getting good quality tomatoes to sell starts with the pickers. If they can avoid damaging the crop, we have a chance.

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Managing tomato late blight (Summary)

Late blight is caused by moulds that survive in the soil and in residues of crops that had the disease. As the disease spreads very fast, inspect your field every day. If you see sick plants, cut of the sick parts of the plant and burn the affected parts. Never put sick plant parts on your compost as the mould will continue to grow and spread to your field.

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Using sack mounds to grow vegetables (Summary)

The best compost for sack mounds is the one made using poultry manure and plant remains. If you use such compost, the sack mound will yield a lot of vegetables for a long time.

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Mulch for a better soil and crop (Summary)

You can make mulch from any locally available, dry plant material such as grass, or straw. Mulching is easy. And above all, it helps to save you water, time and labour whilst at the same enriching your soil and giving you a better harvest.

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Managing black rot in cabbage (Summary)

Most farmers confuse black rot disease with downey mildew. Whereas mildew starts as purplish irregular spots on the leaves, black rot starts as small, yellow-brown, V-shaped areas at the leaf margins.

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Managing tomato leaf curl virus (Summary)

Tomato leaf curl cannot be cured by any product. The disease is spread by whiteflies. The best way to control the disease is through prevention. A net house can protect your nursery. A border of cereals around your vegetable field helps keep whiteflies out. Farmers in southern India tell us yellow sticky traps, natural pesticides and various other methods.

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Floating vegetable gardens (Summary)

As our land remains under water during the rainy season, our ancestors were already thinking of ways to produce crops in order to survive. They invented the floating garden by using crop residues. We do not need any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, because the floating bed is fertile by nature.

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Conserving bean leaf vegetables (Summary)

Bean leaves are rich in proteins and vitamins. To have them available during the dry season, you can dry and store them. 

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Storing fresh and dried tomatoes (Summary)

You can store fresh tomatoes in a local fridge for a few weeks. A local fridge consists of two earthen pots, placed one inside the other and separated with sand. In addition to storing fresh tomatoes, they can also be dried and used any time. Dried tomatoes can be stored for a year.

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Tomato concentrate and juice (Summary)

During the lean season, tomatoes become very scarce and consumers buy canned tomatoes at high prices or no longer eat tomatoes. But by processing tomatoes into concentrate, you can use it for one year. And tomato juice can be used for 2 to 3 weeks.

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Making a raised platform for sheep and goats (Summary)

In traditional sheds, sheep and goats are often kept on the ground. The animals are in direct contact with their urine and droppings. Because of poor hygiene many animals get sick. You can easily make a raised platform inside your existing shed to solve these problems.

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Sorting and storing pumpkins (Summary)

Farmers selling pumpkins right after harvest get a low price because there are so many.
They can sell them at a better price during the off-season by storing them.

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Managing onion diseases (Summary)

Onions grow well under many different conditions, but when grown in the rainy season onions have a greater chance of getting sick. Onion diseases can make the leaves fold and reduce your yield. Diseases can spread with soil, seed or infested crop residues.

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How to make a fertile soil for onions (Summary)

Onions have few roots and shallow roots and therefore can take up nutrients from the top soil only. This explains why it is crucial to pay particular attention to making your soil fertile when you want to grow onions.

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Installing an onion field (Summary)

Onions need rich, fertile soil. Only grow onions once in 3 years in the same field. Plant the onions on raised beds, especially in the rainy season. Transplant when the onions are about 6 weeks old. Plant the onions 10 centimetres apart. By taking good care of your onions, the onions will take good care of you.

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The onion nursery (Summary)

Onion seedlings need a healthy, loose soil. Add well-aged manure or compost. In the rainy season you need to raise the seedbed so the onion roots will not rot. If you use quality seed, most of the seed will germinate and you need much less of it. Onion seedlings need room to grow, so do not plant them too close together. Put the seed in lines, 5 to 10 centimetres apart and 1 centimetre deep. Cover the seeds lightly with fine soil.

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Making more money from onions (Summary)

Let us learn from the experiences of some innovative farmers in Ghana who make more money: by producing onions when there are few of them on the market; by storing them until the price comes up again; and by selling directly to clients in urban markets.

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Solar drying of kale leaves (Summary)

Farmers and vegetable sellers find it hard to sell leafy vegetables even a day after harvest because the leaves spoil quickly, but solar drying allows farmers to reduce losses and sell leafy vegetables out of the main harvest season.

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The wonder of earthworms (Summary)

Earthworm compost can increase soil fertility and help increase the production of vegetables in poor and salty soils. Here we will learn about a fast and easy way to make earthworm compost on a small piece of land.

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Solar drying of chillies (Summary)

When chillies remain moist, moulds develop and the chillies will go bad. Some moulds produce a poison, called aflatoxin, which is toxic to people. To speed up drying and to dry your food hygienically you can use a solar dryer that uses the heat of the sun to dry fruits and vegetables. Solar dryers come in many shapes and sizes, but the principles stay the same. In this audio podcast, we will learn how to make and use a simple solar dryer to dry chillies.

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Making chilli powder (Summary)

It is very important to have a product that doesn’t change, that is of the same quality, the same taste, the same colour and that is well presented.

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Managing vegetable nematodes (Summary)

Nematodes are dreadful worms that live in the soil and in the roots of many different crops and weeds. Nematodes are easier to prevent than to control. The secret is to: grow healthy seedlings; destroy all sources of nematodes in and near your vegetable field; rotate with crops that are resistant to nematodes; and avoid introducing nematodes from other fields. Farmers in southern Benin tell us how to control nematodes.

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Transplanting chillies (Summary)

This audio podcast features the importance of good planning and knowledge. We can reduce losses by following good practices when installing the seedbed, preparing the field and transplanting chilli seedlings.

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Making a chilli seedbed (Summary)

Use quality seeds in a seedbed of one meter wide. Make furrows about every 15 cm. Do not sow too many seeds too close together or the seedlings will be too tall and weak and they will break easily when transplanted. Protect the seedbed from the hot sun and hard rains by covering it with straw, palm leaves or other mulch. Protect the seedlings from pests and animals by putting an insect net over your seedbed. Transplant the seedlings at the right stage. Strong and healthy seedlings are the best start for a healthy and productive crop.

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Insect nets in seedbeds (Summary)

Grasshoppers and snails can be a serious problem for any vegetable seedbed as they chew the tender stems of seedlings. Caterpillars can also cause damage, but more so on tomato and cabbage than on chilli.To protect their young crops many farmers use pesticides. While pesticides are expensive, they are also dangerous for the health of farmers, consumers and the environment. You can protect your seedlings by putting an insect net over them.

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