PRESENTATION OF THE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM OF THE SODECAO CENTRE IN EBOLOWA

1-  Background

Context

• Loss of planting material due to water stress during the dry seasons;
• Drop in sales of production seedlings
• Reduction of the envisaged income

 Objectives

• Produce high-performance planting material (good quality seedlings) to be distributed to operators in the cocoa sector ;
• Install a water supply system in the cocoa nurseries in order to constantly provide the seedlings with the water need

• Previously used equipment 

The SODECAO Centre in Ebolowa had tree traditional wells, all which usually dried up during the dry season, with very low water levels. Watering was thus done using plastic watering cans, which made work tedious and inefficient, causing close to 40% losses in planting materials. To overcome this situation , a watering system has been constructed in order to ensure the permanent availability of cocoa seedlings and achieve government's objectives set out in the NDS30.

• Water demand estimate assumption. 

• Nursery capacity : 125 000 seedlings
• Average daily water requirement per cocoa seedling : 0.06 litres
• Average total water requirement daily : 7 500 litres

4- Presentation of the water supply system components.

• A 74 metre-deep borehole ;
• An electric submersible pump with a capacity of 3.6m3/h and 1.5 hp;
• A water supply and distribution network with a total length of 340ml;
• A set of 8 water taps;
• A 5.5 Kva generator;
• A 5m3 cubitainer
• Five 19 x 50 m hoses with nozzles;
• A wooden cubitainer stand;
• Cubitainer filling time: 50 min.