Cocoa Irrigation

Dincher, Adam; Krueger, Karris; Snow, Casey

Student Work

Cocoa Irrigation

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The overall goal of our project is aimed at improving the food security and rural employment of Ghanaians, while also promoting the benefits of recycling and repurposing material waste. Ghana’s seasonal patterns have experienced changes as a result of global climate change. These changes affect the growth and fruiting productivity of crops and directly endanger the subsistence of rural communities. Recently, the chief of Akyem Dwenase facilitated the planting of 16 acres of cocoa trees to support the village’s economy. The chief wishes to implement an irrigation system to continue supplying water to the cocoa trees during the increasingly inclement dry seasons. A gravity drip irrigation system can target the cocoa plants directly and minimize water loss caused by evaporation and unwanted vegetation. One main basin with multiple lines branching out to different sections of the field allows for future expansion. A sustainable irrigation system brings the concept of generative justice into play as the local economy benefits from the production of these systems as well as the ability to easily restore and reproduce the system without relying on expatriate resources. With a drip irrigation system, cocoa plants are given the large and consistent levels of water they need when starting, thus providing a larger yield when they eventually start producing fruit. In return, farmers don't have to spend as much time manually watering and maintaining their crops, or bear the consequences of an unpredictable climate. Our irrigation system design is reliant on access to materials from local suppliers. With the help of partners like Nelson Boateng and his company NelPlast Eco Ltd. in Accra, building bricks can be fashioned out of recycled plastic that would otherwise end up in overflowing landfills. Using local suppliers and repurposing waste allows for the ability to replicate the system in other small-holder farms.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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