THE ROLE OF TREADLE PUMPS IN CHANGING THE WORKING AND

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF WOMEN IRRIGATORS: SOME

CONSIDERATIONS FROM AFRICA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO
ZAMBIA

1
F CHANCELLOR and D O’NEILL

Treadle pumps are an attractive technology. They are relatively simple and cheap to manufacture, they are
affordable to farmers, they are cheap to operate and maintain, relatively easy to repair, spare parts are
readily available and improvisation is possible. As a result they are increasingly popular in development
circles and are seen as a route by which African smallholders can access the benefits of small-scale
irrigation.

In contrast to smallholder schemes of the past that relied on agencies or farmers ability to co-operate to
share water and organise the management and maintenance aspects of the scheme, the treadle pump can be
owned, operated and managed by one household or an individual. It does, however, require water to be
accessible and that the lift is relatively small. It also requires substantial input of human energy.

Who supplies that energy and how that is rewarded is affected by a number of considerations. In the case of
the energy supply, this is governed by cultural, social and intra-household arrangements whereas the energy
demand is influenced, to a certain extent, by the design of the pump itself. In these contexts, it is necessary
to analyse the adoption patterns that have emerged so far and interpret them to predict future impacts.

The rewards are closely linked to market access and the ability of the small producer to predict demand and
to strengthen his/her bargaining position either individually, or as part of a group or alliance, that can
influence market conditions.

Gender disparities are evident in both these crucial areas. These disparities need to be taken into
consideration so that the effects of treadle-pump adoption are better understood and the policy implications
of widespread adoption can be assessed. This paper, based on field work in Zambia, drawing on data and
information from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Niger and South Asia, reviews the information available to date and
explores the potential of the treadle pump to meet women’s practical and strategic needs.

1 INTRODUCTION

Small-scale irrigation is coming to be regarded as one of the more promising ways of reducing the shortfall in food
production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is particularly so for the drought-prone areas, where the need to foster
small-scale commerce in order to raise food and economic security is paramount. Although men commonly hold land
title, more than 70 % of the time and labour input for smallholder irrigation is provided by women (Chancellor, 1997).
Yet, the control and management of small-scale irrigation is male-dominated, especially where crop production,
although small-scale, may already be semi-commercial and generate a cash income.

1 Socio-economist and gender specialist at HR Wallingford ltd., Howbery Park, Wallingford, UK. E-mail: fc@hrwallingford.co.uk

6th International Micro-irrigation Congress South Africa, 22 – 27 October 2000

‘Micro-irrigation Technology for Developing Agriculture’ Organised by: Conference Planners
Conference Papers CD Produced by: Document Transformation Technologies
With the main concern of irrigation engineers being the efficient sourcing and use of water (and, maybe, energy), the
design of irrigation schemes and equipment can fall far short of the needs of the people who use them. Design
shortcomings for small-scale producers typically include inappropriate water delivery systems and water scheduling,
heavy manual handling demand of irrigation equipment, difficulties with pump operation and maintenance and
inadequately prepared land (levelling or tillage). These are not in themselves gender-specific but such shortcomings
generally affect women more adversely than men and, therefore, exacerbate existing, widely acknowledged women’s
problems in SSA.

The treadle pump has several attractive characteristics making it increasingly popular in development circles. It is
relatively simple and cheap to manufacture, affordable to farmers, cheap to operate and maintain, relatively easy to
repair, with spare parts being readily available and improvisation also possible. The treadle pump offers considerable
opportunities to African smallholders, particularly women, to access the benefits of small-scale irrigation.

In contrast to smallholder schemes of the past that relied on agencies or farmers' ability to work together to share water
and organise the management and maintenance aspects of the scheme, the treadle pump can be owned, operated and
managed by one household or an individual. It does, however, require that water is accessible and that the required lift
is relatively small. Its operation requires a substantial input of human energy.

Who supplies the energy and how that is rewarded are affected by a number of considerations. In the case of the energy
supply, this is governed by cultural, social and intra-household arrangements and may be influenced by the design of
the pump itself. It is, therefore, appropriate to analyse the adoption patterns that have emerged so far in order to predict
future impacts.

Promotion of treadle pump technology is already widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, when it was initially
introduced in the early 1990s it was less successful than it had been in Bangladesh. The groundwater is much deeper
and the irrigated land hillier (with the possible exception of dambos and vleis) so water has to be pushed further to the
point of use. The development of the pressure pump has helped overcome this constraint and has resulted in a
significant rise in sales in the late 1990s (Kay, 2000). However, pressure pumps require greater effort by the user than
the simpler suction versions.

In general where there is a concentration of growers using bucket irrigation, adoption will be rapid if there is a market
for vegetables, water is reliably accessible and there is potential for expansion of the area irrigated. The impacts are
very favourable where these conditions are met and interviews with farmers who have used pumps since 1996 suggest
that incomes have risen substantially (Chancellor and O’Neill, 1999). This is due in part to the greater areas it is
possible to irrigate, improved quality achieved through avoiding water stress and increased variety of crops grown as a
result of increased confidence when several successful seasons have been accomplished. Other benefits reported are
reduced length in the working day, increased returns to fertiliser as result of increased soil moisture, greater efficiency
of pesticide sprays than with bucket irrigation and available income from irrigation to support rain-fed farming
activities (Kay, 2000).
The cost of pumps is still beyond the means of many small farmers. Given that women tend to be among the poorer,
their access to pumps, as owners, is limited. In Zambia, of all the pumps sold in 1999, only four were sold to women.
In Kenya, it appears that men buy treadle pumps for use by women, but in practice women hire young men to operate
most pumps. In contrast in Niger, men buy and operate the treadle pumps. In South Asia, abundant family labour
seemed the dominant criterion for adoption (Shah et al, 1999). However, in South Asia, unlike SSA, the treadle pump
was in much closer competition with the diesel pump. Also, in contrast, women in South Asia have traditionally played
only a very small role in manual irrigation, although the treadle pump may now be encouraging this to change (Shah et
al, 1999).

A recent project investigated the “user-friendliness” of small-scale irrigation systems, focussing on how different
aspects of design and management affect male and female users. The project considered a range of smallholder
irrigation in three countries - South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - which appear to be subject to somewhat different
constraints, despite the similarities in their farming systems. Zambia differs from the other two countries in that there
are virtually no formal small-scale irrigation schemes, with smallholder irrigation being undertaken almost entirely by
individual farmers (and their families) making use of surface- or shallow ground-water. In the last three to four years,
the Ministry of Agriculture has promoted the use of the treadle pump, in preference to buckets, to raise the productivity
of smallholder farmers. In this brief review, the performance of treadle pumps, in the context of small-scale farming in
Zambia, is analysed and associated gender issues discussed.

2 BACKGROUND TO THE TREADLE PUMP

The treadle pump was invented in the late 1970s by a Norwegian engineer, Gunnar Barnes, working in Bangladesh,
where it was developed and promoted initially by the Rangpur Dinajpur Rehabilitation Service (RDRS) sponsored by
the Lutheran World Federation. Latterly, it has also been sponsored by International Development Enterprises (IDE).
Since then, treadle pump technology has been disseminated in many parts of the industrially developing world from
south east Asia to west Africa (eg see Perry and Dotson, 1996) and, after 20 years, there were more than half a million
operating in Bangladesh (Batchelor, 1996). The basic design and operating principles have been clearly illustrated by
Elson and Shaw (1993), and are reproduced in Appendix 1. In the last 20 years, the design has undergone a number of
modifications and refinements, to deal more effectively with different types of water source and to provide a pressure
version in addition to the original suction version. More information on the design concept and features has been
provided by Stickney et al (1985) in their paper describing the transfer of the technology from Bangladesh to the
Philippines. This involved a modification to make the pump more suitable for open wells, which were more common in
the Philippines than the shallow tube-wells of Bangladesh.

The advantages and benefits of treadle pumps, as summarised by Stickney et al (1985), are as follows.
ease of operation:- use of body weight and leg muscles is less tiring than use of arm and back
muscles, as required by conventional pumps
low cost:- approximately 20$2 for the pump (plus installation costs - labour and materials of about 5$)

2
Batchelor (1996) quoted 12 $ for Cambodia
 simple construction:- can be fabricated from locally available materials and common tools; easy to
maintain and repair
adaptable:- can be stationary or portable and can be adapted to shallow tube-wells, open-pit wells,
streams, rivers and lakes
high capacity:- because of the effective use of body weight, the performance specification is higher
than for most manual pumps
approx. 3 l/s for a 2 m lift and 2 l/s for a 4 m lift.

Further advantages of a treadle pump over other forms of manual irrigation technology are evident in Table 1, taken
from Lambert and Faulkner (1991). Their analysis, for a mixed- vegetable crop in Zimbabwe’s (relatively cool) dry
season, assumed a weekly irrigation time of 20 hours providing 25 mm of crop water.

Table 1 Areas irrigable with manual irrigation technology

(from Lambert and Faulkner, 1991)

Irrigation system Flow rate (l/s) Area (ha)

Watering can 0.10 0.03

Simple distribution 0.30 0.09

Pumped distribution 0.85 0.24

3 TREADLE PUMPS IN ZAMBIA

The treadle pump was first introduced to Zambia in early 1996 as part of the Special Programme for Food Security
(SPFS), an FAO initiative. The implementation has been undertaken by a collaborative effort between MAFF (Ministry
of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries) and IDE, who have been mainly responsible for the technical aspects of
manufacturing, operation and maintenance. A booklet on treadle pump operation and maintenance has been published
(Daka and Elkind, 1998), which serves as a very useful field manual for MAFF/IDE staff and farmers. Three versions
of the treadle (“chova”) pump are available in Zambia. These are the:
• river treadle pump
• modified bore hole treadle pump
• pressure pump.
The river pump is the most popular version. The modified pump is different from the standard bore hole pump in that
the inlet is not of straight cylindrical section but has an elbow to enable connection to a horizontal pipe, and it has a
modified frame to support the treadles. All versions have twin cylinders of 89 mm (3.5 inch) internal diameter, and for
the inlet (suction) side of the pump a 38 mm (1.5 inch) PVC (Class 6) pipe is recommended and for the outlet a 50 mm
(2 inch) pipe. Except in the case of the pressure pump, the quality of the outlet pipe is not so important as the water is
free flowing.

Daka and Elkind (1998) claim the following advantages for the treadle pump in the Zambian context, less than half of
which appear on Stickney et al’s (1985) list.
It is cheap, costing 135 000 Kwacha (approx. 60 $) as of September 1998.
It is durable, lasting 10 to 15 years if maintained.
It is portable, being easily moved in fields and between water sources.
It does not use (expensive) fossil fuel or electricity.
It can discharge 1.5 to 2 l/s, thus irrigating up to 1 ha/day.
It is easy to install, operate and repair.
It does not require expensive or scarce spare parts.
It is environmentally friendly, causing no pollution.
It does not cause erosion under normal discharge rates.

In real terms, the cost of the pump would be about the same (20 $ in 1985 to 60 $ in 1996), but there is the unspecified
cost of expensive piping (approximately 2 $/m) to be added to the Zambian case. The advantages have led to strong
demand for treadle pumps in Zambia, with 700 units being sold in 1998, and more than 1000 since the SPFS started
(Chancellor and O’Neill, 1999). However, as yet, it is too soon to determine their long-term impact on the food and
economic security of the target small-scale farmers.

The many admirable features of the treadle pump should make it attractive for women to use but, so far, there is little, if
any, firm evidence of its wide adoption by women. In Zambia only four of the 1000+ units have been sold to women. A
very brief survey indicated that treadle pumps which were purchased by men were used by women on an occasional
basis only: the reason given by the women was that it is too hard work (Chancellor and O’Neill, 1999). In addition,
treadle work offers less opportunity for social interaction than carrying buckets to and from a communal source. As yet
very little is known about women’s preferences in relation to the trade-off between intensity and duration of water
related work, or about the values assigned to the alternative uses for saved time.

4 PUMP PERFORMANCE AND HUMAN WORKLOAD

The two immediate aspects of treadle pump operation on which people base their opinions are: i) the force required to
operate the treadles and ii) once this action has been initiated, how long it is possible to continue the work. This is
closely related to the power demand.

4.1 Force Requirements

The pressure head of the column of water to be lifted and the area of the pistons, or plunger discs determines the force
required to operate the treadles 3. Thus, the force required on each treadle has to exceed F, which is given by the
equation:

3
For consistency, the terminology used by Daka and Elkind (1998) will used.
 F = (ρgL).(πd2/4)

Where ρ is the density of water, g is gravitational acceleration, L is the height through which the water is to be lifted
and d is the bore of the cylinder. This simplifies to:

F = 7705d2L Newtons (where d and L are in metres) ........................................... (1)

Figure 1 gives a plot of these forces as the lift varies between 1 and 5 m and the diameter of the cylinder varies between
70 and 100 mm. In practice, the forces would be considerably higher because of the friction:
between the plunger discs and the cylinder wall
in the pulley and rope assembly
at the treadle pivot points.

100

90
Newtons
300-400
400 80 200-300
300 100-200

0-100
Treadle force (N) 200 70
Bore diameter:
100 70, 80 ,90, 100 mm

0
1 2 3 4 5

Height of lift (m)

Fig 1 Treadle force (vertical axis) vs lift and bore

It is felt, therefore, that in reality the forces could be almost double those shown on the ordinate of figure 1. Some
investigation into the magnitude of the frictional forces may be warranted.

4.2 Power Requirements

The action of moving the treadles against the resistive forces causes work to be done and mechanical energy is, thereby,
expended. The work may be done slowly or quickly and the rate at which energy is expended - power consumption - is
the major determinant of how long people can work before tiring.

The mechanical energy required for pumping is, by definition, the product of the force on the plunger and the distance
that the plunger moves. Thus, for each stroke of the plunger, the energy required (E) is given by the equation:

E = Fl

where l is the distance moved by the plunger (ie the stroke length). Substituting for F, the energy equation can be
rewritten as:

E = 7705d2Ll joules (per stroke of the plunger)................................................... (2)

The power consumed depends on how quickly the plunger is operated. If the operator works at n cycles/min, for a twin
cylinder pump, the power (P) would be:

P = 2En/60

which simplifies to P = 257d2lLn watts.................................................................................................. (3)

The power characteristic for different values of L and n, for a cylinder bore of 90 mm (as used in Zambia - Daka and
Elkind, 1998) and a plunger stroke length of 200 mm, is plotted in figure 2.
Again, this analysis does not take into account the effects of friction so, as above, the power requirement could be
almost double the values shown.

120
50
100 Watts
45 100-120

80 80-100
40
60-80
Power (W) 60 35 40-60

40 20-40

0-20
20

0 Rate:
1 35, 40, 45, 50 /min
2
3
4
5
Height of lift (m)

Fig 2 Power (vertical axis) vs lift and treadle rate

4.3 Factors Affecting Ease of Use

From the operator’s point of view there are four variables that determine how easy it is to use the pump. These are:
the force required to move the treadles
the movement of the feet whilst treadling
the frequency of treadling
how long it is possible to keep treadling at the required rate.
4.3.1 Force

The force required to move the treadles has been discussed in 4.1 above (ignoring the effects of friction). The range of
forces that lie within the comfort envelope has been suggested by Stickney et al (1985) to be 150 to 450 N. Considering
the posture of the operator (see Appendix 1) and the absence of any bracing force (the reaction through the handles
would be almost negligible for a sustained period of work), the force driving the treadle downwards must about 75 to 80
% of weight. Taking the average body weight for a rural Zambian to be 60 kg (eg see Wyndham, 1975, for
anthropometric data on Bantus), then a force of 450 N applied successively on each treadle would seem reasonable.

4.3.2 Foot movement

The fundamental design of the treadle pump means that there is a fixed relationship between the range of plunger
movement (ie stroke length) and foot movement, assuming that the operator always adopts a similar (the obvious)
position along the treadle (see Appendix 1). By the Principle of Moments, there is a relationship between the force on
the plunger and the force at the operator’s foot. The product of the plunger force and the distance of its line of action
from the treadle pivot point must be the same as the force applied through the operator’s foot and its effective distance
from the pivot point. Referring to the dimensions shown in Appendix1, this is described by the following equation.

Ffdf = Fdp................................................................................................................... (4)

where df is the effective distance of the operator’s foot from the pivot point, dp is the distance of the plunger from the
pivot point and Ff is the force applied by the operator’s foot. These relationships can be used to derive some design
criteria.

The operation of the treadles is similar to i) climbing stairs, with respect to vertical movement of the feet (ie flexion of
the knee), and ii) riding a bicycle, with respect to the frequency (or cadence) of the repeated movements, as well as
flexion of the knee. For repeated, forceful flexions of the knee to be near maximum efficiency, the excursions of the feet
lie in a relatively narrow range. According to Grandjean (1980) in his text of good practice in ergonomics design, the
most efficient riser height for stair climbing is 170 mm and, according to Irvine et al (1990), riser height should not
exceed 200mm. Optimum crank lengths for cycling have been proposed by de Vey Mestdagh (1998) and these vary
between 19.4 % and 21.4 % of inside leg length, decreasing as leg length increases. These can be converted to actual
lengths, or distances, by reference to Wyndham’s (1975) anthropometric data (for Bantus) which give mean crotch
height as 818.1 mm. Taking 20 % as the representative leg length, optimum crank length would be 164 mm, which is
slightly less than Grandjean’s (1980) optimum and considerably less than Irvine et al’s (1990) maximum. However,
most of the pedal force in cycling is achieved from just after top-dead-centre (tdc) through the subsequent 100 to 120°,
so optimum foot excursion would be about 115 to 150 % of recommended crank length. Taking 25% as a conservative
proportion to increase crank length, foot movement becomes 205 mm, which is considerably more than Grandjean's
(1980) optimum and slightly more than Irvine et al's (1990) maximum. Thus, it would seem reasonable to design
treadles for foot movements of about 170 to 200 mm. It should, however, be noted that Wyndham's (1975)
anthropometric data were collected from mineworkers so would have excluded females. Some scaling down would be
appropriate to accommodate women operators.
4.3.3 Frequency
There is less information in the literature on preferred frequencies of pedalling or treadling, as it seems there may
considerable interaction with the intensity of the work. For exercise tests with a bicycle ergometer, Astrand and Rodahl
(1970) found the greatest mechanical efficiency at submaximal workloads to occur at pedalling frequencies between 40
and 50 revolutions per minute. In their detailed investigation of human-powered pumps, but using only two young male
subjects, Lambert and Faulkner (1991) found that the subjects chose operating frequencies between 30 and 50
revolutions per minute and that these varied only slightly with work load.

4.3.4 Power demand

Human beings are capable of only very modest (mechanical) power outputs on a sustainable basis. For a champion
athlete, it may be as high as 150 W (Wilkie, 1960) but for a typical rural peasant, it could be as low as 40 W (Dibbits,
1993). For a woman, it is likely to be even less. Additionally factors such as repetitiveness and boredom erode users’
determination to keep going. Using equation 3 to relate discharge to lift and power
V = 0.051P/L (l/s)..................................................................................... (5)
Table 2 has been compiled showing what suction and discharge could be expected for human power inputs of between
30 and 50 W.

Table 2 Treadle pump discharge (l/s) depending on power input and suction (lift)

Mechanical power input (W)

Lift (m)
30 35 40 45 50

1 1.53 1.79 2.04 2.30 2.55

2 0.77 0.89 1.02 1.15 1.28

3 0.51 0.60 0.68 0.77 0.85

4 0.38 0.45 0.51 0.57 0.64

5 0.31 0.36 0.41 0.46 0.51

It can be seen from Table 2 that, if no more than 40 W is available, discharges greater than 1 l/s can be achieved only if
the lift does not exceed 2 m. This agrees with Shah et al's (1999) comment, based on a World Bank study in
Bangladesh, that a comfortable discharge rate would be around 50 litres per minute at a head of 3 m. At a head of 5 m,
the discharge drops to 28 litres per minute.
4.3.5 Summary of operational constraints
Treadles should operate with movements of up to 200 mm, at a rate of 40 to 50 cycles per minute (i.e. 0.67 to 0.83 Hz),
with a treadle force not exceeding 450 N and a power requirement not exceeding 40 to 50 W (depending on the duration
of work) when they are designed for ease of human use.

5 DISCUSSION

The relationships between force, power, frequency, bore diameter and stroke length warrant some consideration. As
bore or length increases, the frequency must decrease if the power remains constant. In other words, a greater pressure
or a longer foot movement will reduce the frequency. Alternatively, if the frequency remains the same, the power input
from the operator must increase to meet these greater demands. For each operator there is likely to be a preferred
combination of force, foot movement and treadling rate, and this will apply to each pump design and set of operating
conditions. Within these operating conditions, the trade-off between lift and discharge may be particularly important.
It may, therefore, be appropriate to test various treadle pumps of different design characteristics, especially d, df and l,
on a number of users to determine optimum ranges for these design characteristics. Both men and women should be
involved in discussion of trade-offs as their different priorities may result in different design approaches.

The treadle pump has an advantage over hand-arm operated pumps in that working with the leg muscles is more
advantageous than working with the smaller muscle masses in the arms and upper torso. However, because of the
posture in the conventional treadle pump, the leg muscles can do no more than transfer the body weight. They have the
potential to exert a greater force (2 to 3 times body weight - Grandjean, 1980) if the body were braced by a rigid
structure. It may be interesting to investigate if pumping could be made more effective by seating the operator and
supporting his or her back as in an arrangement similar to a pedal car. Extension of the knees in this posture generates
more force than the reaction provided by body alone. Furthermore, a sitting posture reduces the fatigue from support of
body weight. Alternatively, the treadles could be designed to accommodate two operators together so that the workload
is shared and boredom reduced. Such a practice is occasionally seen but is rather awkward because the design has not
catered for joint operation.

It was noted in Zambia that the more innovative pump users built a simple crossbar to help support their body whilst
treadling. At least one farmer claimed to have done so in response to his wife’s anxiety about falling off the pump. At
another site women complained of difficulty in clambering aboard the pumps. It seems that effort could be reduced and
safety increased by incorporating back support in an improved design.

There is some evidence, although not particularly strong in Zambia, that in some communities the operation of treadle
pumps by women was not socially acceptable. The swaying action of women raised above the level of the field and
generally very visible gave rise to concerns on the part of the husbands. In Bangladesh, women often use pumps within
a shelter but in the African situation where the portability of pumps is an important feature this may be thought less
suitable. Developing an improved design that allows the operator to adopt a sitting position could also provide a
solution to this type of objection. The extent to which the treadle pump can be adjusted may be an important feature if
the family wants to be sure that different family members, maybe together, can use the pump effectively and safely on a
regular basis.

These improvements to safety, ease of use and propriety would seem likely to increase the extent to which women
might use the treadle pump, particularly, if they can be achieved without increasing the cost, or better still at a reduced
cost. However, participation of men and women in the design process will be crucial to prioritising the various
improvements that are possible with a restricted budget and to obtaining user perspectives on the trade-offs that may be
required to meet users' needs as closely as possible.

6 ENABLING WOMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN DESIGN

In general, design of irrigation equipment in the past was dominated by concerns of water-use efficiency and cost, with
user-friendliness lagging substantially behind these considerations. The perception was that users must adjust their
work patterns or train to use the system or equipment. More recently, consultation with users has received some
attention but the effectiveness of consultation is limited by several factors that were identified in the Gender-sensitive
Irrigation Design project.

Some mistaken, but common, assumptions limit the effectiveness of this consultation:
men are the main providers of human effort in irrigated agriculture
technical information is discussed within households
needs are freely voiced in public meetings
poor people are as likely to participate as the better off.

Other factors including cultural gender norms, men’s greater mobility, their dominance in matters of land tenure and
their control of cash incomes, increase the likelihood of men being involved in consultation to a greater extent than
women. Gender imbalance can be further exacerbated where gender awareness is poor among government employees
or NGO staff who are promoting irrigation equipment.

There is a danger that if promoters remain unaware of the gender issues relating to treadle pumps, men will benefit
disproportionately from their introduction. Women have traditionally been the growers of vegetables, growing and
selling locally. Increased production and commercialisation, combined with the transfer of watering from the woman’s
domain to that of the man, may alter the way in which the revenue from sales is distributed within households.
Although overall production may rise and household income may rise depending on market conditions and what the
smalholder has chosen to grow, distribution changes may channel the increases to men rather than women. In addition,
women who cannot afford a treadle pump or gain access to one (often women-headed households) will be in direct
competition with sellers who are likely to outstrip them in quality and quantity, flooding the local markets and reducing
the general price level. It is important, therefore, that if treadles are to fulfil their potential to alleviate poverty and
empower women, they are easy for women to operate and cheap enough for women to buy.
If women are to benefit from improved treadle pump design, it is important that they be specifically encouraged to
participate in design activities and that special efforts are made to ensure that they are able to respond. Without this
special effort, the increases in production and income may be accompanied by a shift of benefits from vegetable
growing from women to men.

Helpful strategies would include the following:

Raising awareness among women of the contribution women can make to irrigation equipment design through
women’s interest groups.
Raising awareness of the crucial role that women play in successful irrigation and in family wellbeing.
Raising awareness of women’s potential for positive impact on design throughout the irrigation sector.
Involving women in design team activities to promote understanding of the design process, on the one hand, and
the work realities, on the other.
Ensuring that women participate in testing and evaluating pumps in the field.
Promoting credit systems that cater specifically for women borrowers.

A wide approach is required to address the market problems often associated with sudden increases in supply. For
example in Zambia, increased rape production has resulted in peri-urban growers barely covering their production costs
from sales revenue. However, they continue to grow rape because of the advantages of the continuous cash flow that
can be achieved by successive plantings of this fast-maturing crop, although the total cash generated is drastically lower
than might be achieved with other crops. Problems of this sort will be addressed in Zambia through a significantly
enhanced interactive training programme.

7 CONCLUSIONS

If treadle pumps are to enable African women to improve their livelihoods through their sustained use to irrigate food
crops and vegetables, research must address the constraints that have kept women from purchasing and using the pumps
as much as men. Although some of the contra-indications such as land tenure and marketing cannot be addressed by
design, technological and cost issues can. This paper suggests that there is considerable potential for improving the rate
of adoption and use by women if women are closely involved in the design process and due attention is given to
ergonomics and user-friendliness in the design.

The literature on biomechanics and work physiology suggests that treadle pump design should aim to meet the
following criteria.

1. Treadle operating force at each foot should not exceed 450 N.

2. Pump power input for all-day operation should not exceed 40 W.
3. Treadling frequency should be between 40 and 50 cycles/min (c. 0.7 to 0.8 Hz)
4. Treadle movement at the feet should not exceed about 200 mm.
The second criterion is more stringent than the first (which is, in fact, based on a male population) and should,
therefore, be regarded as dominant. At this level of power input, ignoring frictional losses, the pump would be expected
to deliver about 1 l/s against a 2 m suction or 2 l/s against a 1 m suction (Table 2).

Ideally, improvement to treadle pump design would not take place in isolation. It must be integrated into a wider effort
to promote cost-effective irrigation, empower women farmers and establish a thriving and sustainable smallholder
irrigation sector, that will support improved livelihoods for the poorest people throughout the rural areas. As
commented by Shah et al (19????), with reference to South Asia - "There is perhaps a great deal more to how the
treadle pump technology changes gender relations in adopter households than we know".

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This publication is an output from a research project partly funded by the United Kingdom Department for International
Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries (R6876). The views expressed are not necessarily those of
DFID or the other supporting organisations.

REFERENCES

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