FARMING MADE SIMPLE WITH ECOFLO MANUAL IRRIGATION PUMPS

Agriculture is the backbone or perhaps the only source of livelihood for a greater number of people living in suburban and rural communities today. It offers them the opportunity to work and earning a living for themselves and their families. 

The practice of agriculture in Nigeria by these individuals is limited by their dependent on rain. The rainy season is usually the only period farming activities are done and crops, both food and cash, cultivated.

Because of the #change in #climate, the rainy season is becoming shorter than expected. Sometimes the rains do not come as earlier as expected; and sometimes they (rains) stop earlier and too soon.

Depending on rainfall is becoming increasingly unreliable. If these individuals must continue farming, and do so profitably, they should be encouraged and supported to access irrigation tools like the #Ecoflo manual irrigation pumps. They are of high-quality and affordable pumps. They are very simple and easy to use. They are both effective and efficient. They are highly durable with little maintenance.

With these hand and treadle pumps, any farmers can be sure of farming all year round. And doing so increases their income and improves their standard of living.

If you are an individual and/or organization who works in the #development sector and, particularly with #farmers, we encourage you to introduce these simple, durable, effective, efficient and affordable manual #irrigation pumps to farmers under your programs/projects. Having access to these tools will increase their capacity to farm throughout the year. This will mean more food production, and hence increased personal and family income.

Let us know what you think about these #innovative manual irrigation pumps and their positive impact on small and marginal farmers especially #women and #youths.

For any enquiry about the pumps and how to acquire them, call +2348027085998 or +2348060420218. You can also WhatsApp us at +2348060420218; or email us at jomamel.ng@gmail.com. You may choose to leave us a comment indicating your interest.

Together, we can make farming fun and profitable for us all.

ECOFLO IRRIGATION SYSTEMS NIGERIA

ABOUT US

Ecoflo Irrigation Systems Nigeria is a marketing arm of Jomamel Limited which is set up to market all products manufactured by Ecoflo Irrigation (Bhavani Drip) Bhinge Brothers, India in Nigeria.

Jomamel Limited has asked for a partnership with Ecoflo Irrigation through its head of Exports and Global Marketing, Mrs. Nimisha Bhinge Sathaye in order to market and distribute its Ecoflo Irrigation products in Nigeria. It is a partnership that is yet to be consummated. However, based on request, we have been permitted to go ahead with the marketing of Ecoflo Irrigation solutions to small- and marginal-farmerholders across the states in Nigeria, hence the creation of Ecoflo Irrigation Systems Nigeria.

Ecoflo Irrigation Systems Nigeria, as a marketing arm of Jomamel Limited, is an online platform created to market Ecoflo Irrigation solutions to farmers – medium-, small- and large-scale -- within Nigeria and beyond. It is a social channel which is used to provide farmers, agricultural institutions and organizations, agro-allied companies, non-governmental organizations, both local and international, and government agricultural ministries, departments and agencies, and members of the public access to high-quality irrigation solutions and inputs manufactured by Ecoflo Irrigation, India.

Ecoflo Irrigation Systems Nigeria will serve as a communication platform where certain information about Ecoflo Irrigation solutions will be provided to all its visitors. However, we would like you to note that not all information about Ecoflo Irrigation and its products is provided here. For more information about Ecoflo Irrigation and its products, you may have to call or email us to find out. Our numbers to call are +23408027085998 and +2348060420218; and email is jomamel.ng@gmail.com. You may also join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EcofloNG and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/EcofloNG.

We also would like to encourage you to visit Ecoflo Irrigation website at www.ecofloindia.com. It contains a lot of information about their products and services, and you can also contact the company for further enquiries, if you so wish.

Ecoflo Irrigation and Jomamel Limited are your trusted partners in effective and productive farming. Together, we are making farming an all-year-round business activity for all of us.

We cannot afford to depend on seasonal and rain-fed agriculture for our collective sustenance. If we do, we are all going to “DIE” of food shortage. We do not think anyone wants to die of hunger!

OUR PRODUCTS

• Driplines

• Irrigation Kits

• Fertigation System

• Manual and Non-conventional Pumps

• Filteration System

• Low-cost Water Storage

Additional Products:

• Pipes and Fittings

• Protective Farming

In case you cannot find a particular product that you need here, please, feel free to make your enquiry. Be rest assure that we will help you find what you need for your irrigation projects.

SOCIAL CONSCIUOUSNESS: A BASIC CHARACTERISTIC OF SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS AND SOCIAL INNOVATORS

Social consciousness is the spark that lights up every social entrepreneur and social innovator and keeps them glued to what they are doing to bring hope to millions of disadvantaged and underserved people and communities across the globe. Combined with a strong moral/ethical fiber, an empathic and humane spirit, social entrepreneurs and social innovators will stop at nothing to make the world a better place for all. Just as Bill Drayton puts it,

“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”

Professor Muhammed Yunus shows how social consciousness can drive an individual to pursue a cause of positive social change for people most disadvantaged and excluded and left perpetually at the bottom of the pyramid.

“As a young economics professor at Bangladesh’s Chittagong University, Muhammad Yunus was dismayed because his knowledge of economics meant nothing to those in Bangladesh suffering from widespread famine and poverty. Villagers were borrowing from loan sharks, and it wasn’t uncommon for defaulters to become enslaved.

“While visiting the village of Jobra, Yunus made a list of 42 people who, all together, owed no more than $27. He gave each of them the money they owed, asking only that they concentrate on their work and repay him when they could. Later, Yunus served as guarantor for a larger loan to the villagers. It was not charity, not a handout. It was a hand up to those with an entrepreneurial spirit who were being systematically denied the small-business basic opportunities necessary to develop their ideas.

“Grameen Bank loans, by Western standards, are usually tiny, often in the neighborhood of $50 to $100. But with the help of a local network of supporters who serve as loan “collateral” — in the sense that they cooperate to ensure that individuals repay their loans — these financial boosts are enough to get people started while making credit a basic human right. But do the people ever repay these loans? Repayment rates typically are more than 95 percent. Today, Yunus and Grameen Bank are leading defenders of the global poor, having loaned out more than $5.1 billion to 5.3 million people.” (Source: Durieux M. B. and Stebbins R. A.: Social Entrepreneurship for Dummies, 2010. Wiley Publishing, Inc.)

Like Professor Muhammed Yunus, many socially conscious men and women and institutions around the world today are churning out social innovations capable of solving intractable social, cultural, environmental and economic problems and transforming society.

Are you socially conscious of the many social problems around you? If yes, you too can become a social entrepreneur and/or social innovator. Think about it! And start where you are now.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT: A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION TO STREET TRADING IN LAGOS STATE, NOT A BAN.

Street trading and hawking is a social problem requiring socially innovative and financially sustainable solutions. And these can mostly be provided by social enterprises. Bans on street trading are not sustainable solutions to such an entrenched social problem. Many attempts have been made by various governments and administrations to ban street trading and hawking and none have recorded any sustainable success. No amount of penalties in the form of fines and/or jail terms will deter street traders and hawkers in Nigeria and Lagos State in particular.

The recent ban on street trading and hawking by the Lagos State government has been generating a lot of mixed reactions from the generality of the people. The media, both print and electronic, are awash with reports from different parts of the state concerning the feelings of people on the ban. While some are totally against the ban, some are in support of it. 

Street trading and hawking is an informal form of direct marketing mostly common among petty traders who buy and sell consumable products along major streets and highways in big cities and towns across the country. The financial cost of starting up a street trading and hawking business is relatively small; it does not require any formal education; there are no strict regulations guiding its formation and operation; and it can be started in any day, and in anywhere, especially where there is a large traffic of persons, and vehicular movement is relatively very slow. Street trading and hawking is a common business activity in Nigeria and it is spread across major towns and cities of the country.

Recently, states like Kano, Kaduna and Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria, have enacted laws prohibiting street trading and hawking in various locations of the states. Lagos State is not the first to approach this intractable problem with a law. But how sustainable is the use of these laws and their penalties to solve this problem? Such laws are quick-fixes and usually unsustainable. They are ineffective and inefficient in addressing such a pressing social challenge because the root causes of the problem are usually left unattended to. Addressing the symptoms of a problem will never solve it.

Why do people indulge in street trading and hawking? Here are the common factors that encourage and support street trading and hawking among Nigerians:

1.      General unemployment especially among the youth.

2.      High cost of living in urban areas.

3.      Poor quality of education.

4.      Poor infrastructural development especially in rural areas.

5.      Bad and inadequate road networks.

6.      Inadequate economic opportunities.

7.      Poor and inconsistent government policies.

8.      Others.

And you will agree with me that unless these conditions are removed, the challenge of street trading and hawking will persist. But, how can such conditions be removed?

Social enterprise development offers sustainable alternative solutions to any legislation prohibiting street trading and hawking in Lagos and Nigeria at large.

JOB CREATION

Social enterprise development has been identified as one form of social innovations capable of generating jobs and employment pathways for those most disadvantaged in the labour market. Intermediate labour market programs based on social enterprise models have been proven to be successful at creating decent and sustainable jobs.

LOW COST OF LIVING

Apart from the creation of jobs and employment for those most disadvantaged, social enterprises provide underserved members of the public access to high quality and affordable basic needs of food, clothing, housing, water, electricity, healthcare, etc.

QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE EDUCATION

Social enterprises in the education sector are using creative, innovative and financially sustainable means to provide the general public access to quality and affordable pre-nursery, nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education. The Open University program is one innovative way social enterprises have been able to make education available, accessible and affordable to the general public.

SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The reinvigoration and revitalization of rural economies have been made possible by social enterprises across the globe. Trading for social purpose and reinvesting surpluses in communities have made social enterprises strategic in the socio-economic transformation of communities especially those underserved.

INCREASE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Social enterprises create opportunities for people to participate gainfully in their communities. They open up economic opportunities by introducing innovations, using new technologies and exploring and exploiting new markets in communities underserved.

CONSISTENT GOVERNMENT POLICIES

Social entrepreneurs collaborate with governments to design and implement policies that will improve the living standard of the people and sustain the environment. A socially entrepreneurial government makes policies for the ultimate good of society where it is easier for everyone to do business and secure decent and sustainable employment.

I would like to conclude by advising the government of Lagos State to develop its social enterprise sector which in turn will provide the required social innovations and initiatives to tackle the problem of street trading and hawking in the state. An Office of the Governor on Social Enterprise Development should be set up to lead the development of the Lagos State social enterprise sector. This is a better and more sustainable solution to the menace of street trading and hawking in the state, and country as a whole, and not a ban.

THE NIGERIAN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE SECTOR: NEGLECTED OR NON-EXISTENT?

I started this blog with the above question in my mind. And I am seeking for answers on whether the Nigerian social enterprise sector actually exists, but has been totally neglected; or it does not exist at all. So many reasons informed this pertinent question. One of such reasons is the fact that nothing is being said about the social enterprise sector at any given time since I have been studying and researching on the sector couple of years ago. Governments – federal, state and local – are quiet about it; the media show little or no knowledge about it; and the academia seem not to understand and accept it. 

I have no doubt that there is a social sector in Nigeria. And because there is a social sector, it, therefore, means there is the possibility of a social enterprise sector presence. It may have been long neglected, but it exists.

What could be the cause of the negligence of such a critical sector of the economy? 

There is a bias against the social enterprise sector mostly due to inadequate knowledge and understanding of the sector. The public, private and nonprofit sectors of the economy are given more attention and are favoured above the social enterprise sector. Public policies and economic development strategies do not recognize the existence of the sector. At the recent launch of the “Strategic ImplementationPlan for National Home-grown Feeding,” and the other five schemes that constitute the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (yet to be launched), there was no mentioning of the social enterprise sector either as a partner or collaborator in the implementation of the scheme. The involvement of the civil society does not mean that the social enterprise sector is involved. The social enterprise sector and civil society organizations are distinctive bodies within the social sector of the economy and do not represent each other. Failing to recognize and involve the social enterprise sector in the implementation of the Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government may limit its success and impact.

But how can the social enterprise sector be recognized and enlisted as partner and collaborator in the implementation of the social investment programme of the government when little or nothing is known about the sector? At the time of writing this article, there is no established recognition of the social enterprise sector as part of the Nigerian economic sector. The Nigerian social enterprise sector has been dormant and there is nothing indicating its eruption soon.

Considering the proposed plan of the Federal Government to diversify the economy, and its unique Social Investment Programme, there is the urgent need to activate the social enterprise sector which has the potential to transform the economy. The social enterprise sector is known for its creative, innovative and transformative approach at addressing intractable social problems in society. It is a sector of the economy that drives positive social change, inclusive growth and sustainable development. 

Though emerging, the social enterprise sector is one that creates jobs, attracts investments and helps to better our society and our environment. Across the world, social enterprises are working alongside government to tackle society’s persistent challenges, ones that are too difficult – and too important – for the public sector (and the private sector) to solve alone. And they are doing it with impressive results.

Here are ways the Nigerian social enterprise sector can be activated by the government:

1.      Identifying and recognizing the presence and importance of the social enterprise sector;

2.      Mapping social enterprises in the country;

3.      Creating an enabling environment for social entrepreneurial initiatives;

4.      Encouraging social innovations;

5.      Rewarding social initiatives for their performance;

6.      Scaling successful social initiatives; and

7.      Producing, encouraging and supporting knowledge that enhances social entrepreneurs’ efforts.

The social enterprise sector offers the government an opportunity to achieve so much with little. It offers a new source of assistance to the government in terms of social innovations and effective and efficient delivery of public services.

Neglecting the social enterprise sector will limit the chances of the government in the effective and efficient implementation of the Social Investment Programme and hence the diversification of the economy.

Now is the time to get the Nigerian social enterprise sector active, engaged and thriving for our common good.