An onion farmer has cut her spend on farm workers making onion transplanting holes from Sh12,000 an acre to about Sh5,000 as well as halving her planting time thanks to a jua kali drum roller planting assistant.
The onion dibbler or hole driller, made from a metal drum, speeds up the planting process by creating multiple onion planting holes at once, reducing the time and effort required for planting. In Benin, the introduction of dibblers for rice farming has increased farmers’ working speed by more than four times compared to traditional planting methods. This has reduced the physical strain associated with manual planting and promoted timely planting.
“I took the drum which was marked 10cm×10cm apart together with the metal rods to the fundi and had him weld them onto the drum. The metal rods are one-inch long pieces of eight-millimetre metal rods and recycled metal water pipes welded onto the drum’s surface 10cm apart,” explained Njambi Mwangi.
Working with the welder they were able to share feedback and recommendations, ensuring the final product met her exact needs.
If you need your holes to be deeper she explained that longer metal rod pieces or making the barrel a bit heavier by adding water to it also does the trick. “The drum was not as heavy as I’d liked and we had to add water to it. A heavier drum makes the holes better defined,” she said.
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Njambi also advises farmers to ensure that their planting beds are level and free from debris to ensure the drum rolls smoothly on the farm.
The handle of the dibbler is made to rotate freely, when either pushing or pulling depending on the user’s preference.
The mixed farmer in Taveta explained that the need to cut down on the hours she spent bending and transplanting onions and the amount of money she had to fork out to farm labourers forced her to go searching for new ideas.
“My first planter was a wooden one which failed miserably. But I kept on researching online for alternatives and I think I have landed on a winner,” she said.
According to research, manual dibblers used to grow onions had a 98 per cent hole placement accuracy score. This precision ensures consistent plant spacing crucial for maximum growth and yield.
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