Mechanization company Tijms from Geesbrug goes on the farm in Gambia. The company must ensure that the peanut harvest is improved. Gambia’s main export product is suffering from diseases and pests.
Together with several partners, Tijms signed a contract today to supply almost 17 million euros in agricultural knowledge, irrigation systems and machines to the African country. The expectation is that with these investments, plots with peanuts, vegetables, potatoes and maize for the local market will yield more.
“The return on peanut production is so low that the Gambian farmers can at least double this,” says Michiel Hillen, who is involved in the project with Tijms, enthusiastically. “Because there will be much less outage, their income will triple.”
Tijms works with drip irrigation, where water hoses are placed between the crops in the field. A system that has existed for some time, but that has been further developed by the company from Geesbrug in recent years. Sensors between the crops automatically determine how much water is given to the crops. In addition, the system also shows whether a plant needs potassium, nitrogen or, for example, phosphorus.
The pump that pumps the water into the field works on solar energy. For example, unlike a traditional reel, a diesel generator is not used. In addition, much less water is used and fertilizers or nematodes can be added to the water to allow the crop to grow better and to better protect against insects.
The system has been used in Drenthe for years. The system has also been introduced in The Gambia through a company in New Amsterdam. “People there were soon convinced that it works,” says Hillen. “We then ran a test in 2019 at our own risk and with the support of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.”