Abstract
Greenhouses can help farmers increase their yields and improve their livelihoods while reducing spoilage and furthering food security. As farms are getting smaller and access to water is getting more difficult, greenhouses are gradually gaining popularity in the agrarian economies of sub-Saharan Africa. Most greenhouses sold in the market are designed for commercial farmers and are beyond the reach of smallholders. The Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program at the Pennsylvania State University has developed and commercialized affordable greenhouses that utilize locally-sourced materials. The only exception is the glazing - the plastic covering on the greenhouse structure - which is imported from abroad. The cost of this glazing is too high, and is subject to foreign exchange fluctuations and supply chain anomalies. In an effort to further decrease the cost of the greenhouse, and thereby increase its accessibility in the market, this article investigates the feasibility of locally-available, inexpensive materials that can be used as substitutes for typical glazing materials. The primary emphasis of this paper is on rice bags and a Polyethylene ground tarp, which are both abundant, inexpensive materials found commonly in developing countries. Two properties of the materials were tested: light transmission and UV resistance, and a third test, water conservation, was performed on the ground tarp material. Results indicated that while rice bags are not an ideal substitute for standard glazing, they may be appropriate as low-cost shade nets, and the ground tarp plastic may prove appropriate as a potential greenhouse glazing replacement.
Highlights
Reflecting the rising global food security challenges, over 60% of the East African population is considered malnourished with many regions in a state of famine (Mati 2006)
Results indicated that while rice bags are not an ideal substitute for standard glazing, they may be appropriate as low-cost shade nets, and the ground tarp plastic may prove appropriate as a potential greenhouse glazing replacement
In an effort to further decrease the cost of the greenhouse, and thereby enhance its accessibility in the market, this paper investigates the possibility of using locally-available, inexpensive and recycled materials as substitute greenhouse glazing
Summary
Reflecting the rising global food security challenges, over 60% of the East African population is considered malnourished with many regions in a state of famine (Mati 2006). Evapotranspiration, or water loss from crops exposed to the environment, is a significant problem resulting in an increase in the total water demand for crop production (Sanchez 2002). This is especially true for many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 80% of land area is classified as arid or semi-arid. Irrigation systems inside greenhouses have been shown to further reduce water use per unit yield (Fernandez, et al 2010) This significant reduction in water requirements allows the expansion of cultivable land from high and mid-potential zones to areas previously deemed unsuitable for cultivation
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