Information about design for agriculture

Agroprocessing

Agriculture alone is not always able to provide a reliable livelihood for the growing populations in many developing countries. Alternative or additional income generating opportunities are needed to support the millions of poor families who can no longer support their livelihoods from the land alone.

Agroprocessing - turning primary agricultural products into other commodities for market - has the potential to provide those opportunities.

Practical Action's agroprocessing projects aim to increase income and access to food for the poor, by establishing small-scale, appropriate and sustainable processing businesses that are flexible, require little capital investment and can be carried out in the home without the need for sophisticated or expensive equipment.

Peanut butter production

ITDGPractical Action has helped more than 100 women and some men increase their income through peanut butter production to ten times the average per capita earnings in Zimbabwe.

Most peanut butter producers are women working from their own homes. Traditionally they make the butter by manually grinding peanuts between two stones - and then grinding them again.

ITDGPractical Action has introduced small electric grinding mills which have reduced the drudgery involved in making peanut butter and increased quality and productivity.

Women are able to rent time on the machine at ITDGPractical Action’s ‘service centres’ for small entrepreneurs; or in cases like Fadzavanhu Enterprises, a small women’s co-operative, ITDGPractical Action can help the producers get access to credit to buy a mill.

Technical advice is central to the project - for example, to avoid the risk of toxic mould on the peanuts. But business and marketing training may also be required to enable these small scale producers to sell their product successfully in local markets.

Honey processing

Practical Action's agro-processing programme has helped around 1000 beekeepers in Zimbabwe to produce more and better quality honey and so increase their incomes.

One of the technical changes adopted by the beekeepers has been the Kenyan ‘top-bar’ hive, a more efficient and productive construction than the variable traditional hives, but one which can still be made from local materials.

Again, technology is only part of the story. Practical Action has helped beekeepers improve their techniques, but has also helped them to organise together in beekeepers’ associations, which are able to facilitate better access to markets, and to establish a collective honey processing centre which is also a key point for sales.