Agricultural Mechanization and Irrigation Engineering

Under the agricultural mechanization and irrigation engineering consulting subsector, we offer a comprehensive suite of services, including but not limited to;

Irrigation,
Soil analysis,
Fish pond design and construction,
Agricultural equipment and machinery,
Agro processing and food technology equipment,
Agricultural consultancy.

Agricultural engineering (agricultural and bio systems engineering) is the application of engineering science and design principles for agriculture purposes, to improve the efficiency of farms and agribusiness enterprises, as well as to ensure sustainability of natural and renewable resources. SANKOFA remains at the forefront as a leading agricultural engineering company in Uganda, offering bespoke agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and agro processing and food technology equipment.
Broadly, under the agricultural engineering subsector, we undertake design of farm machinery, location and planning of farm structures, farm drainage, soil management and erosion control, irrigation, postharvest technologies, and agro processing and food technology equipment.

Irrigation

Irrigation is the application of a specific amount of water in order to meet the requirements of a crop growing in amounts that are appropriate to the crop’s stage of growth. It can also mean the application of water in amounts necessary to bring soil to the desired moisture level prior to planting. At SANKOFA, we, as one of the leading, premier irrigation consulting companies in Uganda remain steadfast in our goal of offering top notch irrigation services and irrigation equipment. We deliver on the most appropriate irrigation technologies based on suitability to terrain and crop type, drawing from a pool of most recognised methods of sprinkler, drip, or flood. Our involvement spans through from consultation, site assessment, irrigation system design, supply, and installation of irrigation equipment.

Based on our site technical assessment, we walk you through the different options for irrigation systems and guide you in selecting the appropriate choice that assures high quality performance, effectively meeting your irrigation needs. Our systems range from drip irrigation kits, sprinkler irrigation systems, traveling irrigators, and centre pivot irrigation systems.

A good irrigation system is one which is properly designed and sized to fit the job requirements. For various applications, terrain, and water sources, it requires research and careful technical design to achieve optimal system performance. Irrigation system design requires careful engineering, taking into account the land’s slope, contour, pressure, flow requirements, type of crop, soil type, and infiltration rate. As such, during irrigation system design, pumps have to be carefully sized and selected, so as to be able to match the required operating pressures of the field. In addition, the sprinkler-nozzle combinations have to be carefully selected to match the operating pressure range, since too much pressure would disperse the water stream into very fine sprays, resulting in increased evaporation losses, or poor distribution. Wind effects on sprinkler distribution patterns are more pronounced on fine droplet sizes. Conversely too little pressure would not sufficiently break up the water stream and would result in puddling, runoff, poor distribution patterns, and crop damage.

Our team of irrigation and water resources engineers helps you to select and design the most suitable irrigation type and equipment fit for purpose, keeping in mind the need to achieve the highest water use and energy efficiency, with a bias on solar powered irrigation systems. We also help you design and implement combined irrigation systems that also deliver fertilisers, a process known as fertigation and chemigation.

Smart Irrigation.

We deploy smart irrigation systems that offer “water on demand irrigation”. In essence, they monitor weather, soil conditions, evaporation, and plant water use to automatically adjust the watering schedule to actual conditions of the site.

This helps save both water and money (water efficiency). Our smart irrigation improves water use efficiencies as it tailors watering schedules to meet specific landscape needs. We fit your system with smart irrigation controllers that adjust sprinkler application rate based on site-specific variables such as outdoor temperature and soil type, so plants get water when they really need it.

Pressure sensors in smart agricultural irrigation.

This system is used in fields such as field planting, orchard planting, greenhouse vegetables, gardening, and greening.

Every plant has a humidity suitable for its growth. Too high or too low humidity is not conducive to plant production. Irrigation is to adjust the soil humidity within the range suitable for plant growth. The intelligent irrigation system is based on the provision of proper irrigation, achieving water and energy savings, and can greatly reduce labour costs. It is an automated and intelligent system developed based on contemporary technology. The programmable controller collects data from sensors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, flow rate, etc. according to a pre-programmed program, and then controls the actions of pumps, valves, and other equipment so that the system can automatically irrigate according to a certain amount of water or a specified time. Realization does not require direct human operation, and the system automatically implements irrigation. In the whole process, humans only need to adjust the control program and overhaul the control equipment according to the actual irrigation needs, thus greatly saving manpower and material resources.

We can set the humidity alarm value according to the characteristics of the water demand of the plants. When the signal monitored by the humidity sensor is lower than the alarm value, the controller sends a signal to start the water pump for irrigation, and stops when the humidity value reaches the set value. You can also set timing. For quantitative irrigation, the control program is pre-programmed in the controller, and the start time, end time, irrigation time, and stop time are respectively set. The system automatically circulates irrigation according to the set time.

With appropriate irrigation scheduling, deep percolation and transport of fertilizers and agro-chemicals out of the root-zone is controlled, water-logging is avoided, less water is used (water and energy saving), optimum soil water conditions are created for plant growth, higher yields and better quality are obtained and rising of saline water table is avoided. In water scarce regions, irrigation scheduling is more important than under conditions of abundant water, since any excess in water use is a potential cause for deficit for other users or uses.

Why it is important to install an irrigation water meter.

Inclusion of a water meter after the pump is important as it tracks both the efficiency of the system and that of the pump itself. Through recording of daily consumptions, if an unexpected excessive deviation from the norm is noticed, it may be an indicator of a leakage and calls for intensified inspection. On the other hand, if it is noticed that water delivered was very low compared to the norm, it may be an indicator of reduced pump efficiency or that there is a challenge with the water source or the pre-treatment system before the pump. Either way, knowledge of how much water is used comes in handy. In systems where irrigation water is paid for, this knowledge is a key input in the economics of the entire system.

Chemigation and fertigation.

The application of fertilizers through irrigation systems (fertigation) is a common practice in modern irrigated agriculture. Localized irrigation systems are highly efficient for water application, and also suitable for fertigation. Thus, the soluble fertilizers at concentrations required by crops are applied through the irrigation system to the wetted volume of soil. The application of both chemicals and fertilizers can be done when using drip irrigation systems through injector pumps. Fertigation (efficient fertilizer application) and chemigation (easy control of weeds and soil borne diseases) are being adopted widely for both food crops, ornamental crops, and on commercial farms, with the systems recognized for their efficiency since they deliver fertilizers and chemicals to the plant roots directly.

We undertake supply of the following high quality irrigation fittings, equipment, and accessories;

Driplines, drip emitters, drip tapes, and irrigation laser spray tubes,
Sprinklers, micro sprinklers, pop up sprinklers, and tripod sprinkler stands,
Latched irrigation pipes,
Lay flat flexible pipes,
Mist foggers (misting irrigation systems) and dust suppression systems,
Automatic filter stations,
Monitoring, automation, and control elements (irrigation network automation),
Treadle pumps/manual pumps,
Solar powered and electrical submersible water pumps,
Surface water pumps (diesel and petrol powered),
Water turbine hose reel machines,
Boom irrigation systems (overhead irrigation systems for greenhouses and nurseries),
Travelling irrigators (drag hose irrigation),
PVC and HDPE geomembrane liners (dam liners/pond liners) i.e. We supply dam liners ranging from 0.25mm – 3.00mm thickness. Our dam liners have excellent physical and mechanical performance, high tearing resistance, high puncture resistance, good deformation adaptability, high UV resistance, excellent chemical resistance, good high and low temperature resistance, seepage resistance, and long durable life. They can be used for irrigation water harvesting and storage, as liners in fish ponds, and application in other hydraulic water retention structures,
HDPE plastic welding rods (HDPE extruder wires),
Soil moisture sensors and weather-based irrigation controllers (smart irrigation),
Chemigation and fertigation systems,
Hydroponics and aquaponics systems,
Vertical hydroponics (vertical growing towers) and soilless planting systems/soilless cultivation facilities,
Irrigation water meters,
Pressure regulators,
Rain sensor devices,
Fertilizer tanks,
Venturi injectors,
Automatic disc filters,
Tensiometers,
Weather stations and evapotranspiration monitoring stations i.e. leaf wetness sensors, soil temperature sensors, soil heat flux sensors, and soil water potential sensors for commercial irrigation instrumentation,
Precision farming systems (agricultural and soil monitoring instrumentation),
Greenhouses (polyhouses/polytunnels/net houses) i.e. gothic greenhouses, tunnel greenhouses, multispan film greenhouses, photovoltaic greenhouses, glass greenhouses, polycarbonate sheet greenhouses,
Garden hose pipe (delivery hose pipe).

We offer high quality irrigation related consultancy and implementation services, including but not limited to;

Feasibility study and engineering design of solar powered irrigation systems i.e. sprinkler irrigation systems, drip irrigation systems, laser drip irrigation water jet systems, hydrant irrigation systems, and centre pivot irrigation systems,
Feasibility study, engineering design, excavation, and construction of valley dams (valley tanks),
Engineering design and installation of chemigation and fertigation systems,
Engineering design and installation of hydroponics and aquaponics systems,
Engineering design and automation of irrigation systems (irrigation network instrumentation),
Engineering design and installation of misting systems (fogging solutions) for greenhouses, agricultural humidification, and controlled agricultural environments,
Engineering design and installation of boom irrigation systems for agricultural greenhouses and nurseries,
Engineering design and installation of lawn irrigation and turf irrigation systems for compounds, golf courses, football pitches, stadiums, and as dust suppression systems,
Engineering design and construction of agricultural greenhouses (polyhouses/polytunnels/net houses),
Installation of dam liners i.e. seaming/thermal welding of HDPE geomembrane dam liners for irrigation reservoir dams/reservoir tanks,
Engineering design and installation of irrigation water reservoir tanks i.e. HDPE tanks, reinforced concrete cement (RCC) tanks, ISSB tanks, ferrocement tanks, and underground tanks,
Engineering design and construction of irrigation canals,
Technical audits, troubleshooting, and water and energy efficiency assessments for irrigation systems,
Rehabilitation and desilting of valley dams (valley tanks),
Borehole drilling, motorization, and irrigation pumping system design and installation,
Agricultural drainage system installations i.e. tile drainage systems, French drainage systems, etc,
Rehabilitation of irrigation systems, irrigation system performance and optimization, and irrigation system modernization.

At SANKOFA, we offer a wealth of experience and knowledge base, and possess expertise to skilfully design irrigation systems that supersede your expectations, ranging from micro, mini, and large-scale irrigation systems.

Soil Analysis

In the twelfth century, the Andalusian agronomist Ibn-Al-Awan wrote in his Book on Agriculture, “The first step in the science of agriculture is the recognition of soils and how to distinguish which is of good quality and which is of inferior quality. He who doesn’t possess this knowledge lacks the first principles and deserves to be regarded as ignorant”.

Every crop has particular macro nutrients, micro nutrients, and soil type it needs to grow. It is thus critical to know one’s soil condition and implement proper soil improvements e.g. pH, since in say acidic condition, some nutrients become bonded into complex compounds and are inaccessible for plant use.

SANKOFA uses ultra-modern portable digital soil testing scanners. This real-time technology relies on digital scanning of soil samples, by spectrometry, and avails a soil test report in less than 10 minutes, right at the farmer field. This includes pedon and landscape scale soil properties such as base saturation (BS), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pH, which all do influence crop type, cropping patterns, and land use management practices. The handheld soil scanner determines nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, cation exchange capacity, soil temperature, and the organic matter level. This enables farmers to make confident cropping decisions, and plant the right crops for the right soils, since farmers get to know which nutrients are deficient and in what quantities and thus apply the right amounts of fertilizers. This helps avoid over fertilization that causes soil pollution, degradation, and leaching, hence enabling optimal fertilizer application, allowing for field appropriate soil fertility amendments. It thus guides farmers on the most suitable cropping and soil management practices for their gardens.

Fish Pond Design and Construction

Fish rearing (aquaculture) has emerged as a lucrative business lately, done at both subsistence and commercial levels. Aquaculture plays an important role in providing food security to the world and is increasingly being practiced as one of the most sustainable methods of food production. It is imperative to note that any successful aquaculture practice with a good harvesting is a direct result of proper construction, preparation, and maintenance of the fishpond.

Different types of fishponds exist, which can be earthen, concrete, or PVC in nature. The exact type for a particular fish pond is dependent on factors such as terrain, water source, and quality of the soil at the proposed site, among others.

At SANKOFA, we undertake fish pond design and fish pond construction; guide you in managing water quality and pond dynamics for both earthen, concrete, and PVC fish ponds.

We undertake supply the following fish farming related equipment;

Fish feed making machines (fish pellet making machines),
Pond aerators (air pumps),
Oxygen meters,
pH meters,
Aqua thermometers,
Chest waders,
Ammonia kits,
PVC and HDPE dam liners and pond liners (HDPE geomembrane liners), from 0.25mm – 3.00mm,
PVC and HDPE heat welding generator sets (hot wedge welding machines), seaming equipment, hot air guns,
Soilless planting hydroponic gardens and aquaponics systems,
Floating cage systems used in cage fish farming on existing water bodies,
PVC fish tanks,
Fish hatching equipment,
Galvanized fish tanks.

Agricultural Equipment and Machinery

Owing to modernization, innovation, and technological advancements in the agricultural sector, there has been invention and adoption of numerous machinery and equipment, aimed at improving agricultural productivity and value addition through agro-processing. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools, and the countless kinds of farm implements that they tow or operate.

We undertake supply and installation of high quality on farm and off farm agricultural machinery and technologies, including but not limited to;

Farm tractors (agricultural tractors) and walking tractors,
Tillers,
Agricultural mulch films and surface water retention technologies (SWRTs),
Clear greenhouse plastic sheeting (greenhouse UV films/UV plastic for greenhouses/UV stabilized greenhouse plastic films),
Agricultural shade nets,
Lawn mowing tractors, ploughing tractors,
Bee hives,
Solar wax melters,
Honey presses (beeswax extractors),
Honey harvesting knives,
Stainless steel honey settling tanks,
Bee brushes,
Bee hive smokers,
Bee suits (bee farming suits),
Stainless honey centrifugal extractors,
Honey testing kits (refractometers),
Uncapping forks,
Bee hive scrapper tools,
Sting stopper bee keeping gloves,
Air tight buckets,
Honey extractor and harvesting kits,
Beekeeping starter kits,
Poultry cages,
Cage cleaning robots, industrial vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners, electric pressure washers, hot water high pressure washers, wet vacuum cleaners,
Cattle spray races machines,
Cattle drinking troughs (automated),
Irrigation moisture retaining gels, super absorbent polymers (SAPs), and vermiculite,
Seeders,
Fertilizer spreaders/solid fertilizer applicators,
Transplanters,
Disc ploughs (disc plows) i.e. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 disc ploughs,
Furrow opener ploughs,
Subsoilers,
Baler machines,
Hedge cutters,
Water ballast land rollers,
Mounted crop sprayers, trailed crop sprayers, self propelled sprayers,
Disc harrows,
Lawn mowers(slashers) and brush cutters (grass cutters),
Silage making machines,
Milking machines,
Agricultural drain trenching machines,
Loggers,
Log loaders,
Log trailers,
Delimbers,
Forestry mulchers,
Combine harvesters,
Peanut harvesters,
Tractor corn harvesters,
Onion harvesters,
Potato harvesters,
Forage/silage harvesters,
Cotton pickers/harvesters,
Sugarcane harvesters,
Chainsaws,
Stump grinders,
Maize combine harvesters,
Sorghum, sugarcane, wheat, combine harvesters,
Soil testing kits and mobile soil testing vans,
Incubators and hatcheries,
Animal feed mills,
Drinkers and nipples,
Electric sheep shears (shearing machines/wool cutting machines),
Castration pliers (burdizzo castrators),
Calf pullers and dual action calf pullers,
Feller bunchers,
Dehorning equipment and electric livestock dehorners.

Agricultural Equipment and Machinery

Agro processing and Food Technology Equipment

Coffee huller machines,
Wet coffee processing equipment (coffee pulpers),
Coffee roasters,
Cashew shelling/peeling machines,
Sisal fiber decorticators,
Maize mills with cyclones,
Food processing equipment,
Rice milling machines,
Maize shellers,
Maize threshers,
Feed grinders,
Solar dryers,
Digital scales,
Peanut butter machines,
Cooling solutions i.e. solar cold room storage rooms/warehouses and refrigerated trucks,
Threshing machines,
Fruit picking machines,
Grain dryers,
Grading machines,
Milk coolers and dairy equipment,
Grain storage steel silos and bulking equipment,
Baler machines,
Sorting machines,
Pallet stacker trucks,
Grain moisture meters,
Milk processing plants, including processing to powder form,
Milk pasteurizer machines,
Juice, wine, carbonated drinks, beverage, and mineral water packaging lines i.e. 3-in-1 machines for rinsing, filling, and capping, sachet bag water filling plants,
Road milk tankers,
Meat processing machines,
Microbrewery and commercial brewery plants,
Cassava starch processing machines,
Avocado oil press machines (avocado oil extraction machines).

We have in depth knowledge of installation and operation of all the above agricultural machinery and agro processing equipment, from basic manually operated to fully automatic systems. Our highly trained, qualified, and experienced team of agricultural and agro processing engineers undertake installation and commissioning of equipment for both small and complex projects. On request, our technical staff can as well offer annual maintenance services, under planned preventive maintenance, if required.

Agricultural Consultancy

We offer high quality agricultural consultancy and implementation services, including but not limited to;

Engineering design and construction of cattle spray races and plunge dips,
Feasibility study, engineering design, and installation of bio gas plants (utilizing farm manure),
Drone application in agriculture i.e. crop growth monitoring, crop health analysis, soil and field analysis and monitoring, field damage assessment, crop loss assessment, yield prediction, pest monitoring, pre-symptomatic disease detection, animal counting, species identification, and agroforestry surveys,
Engineering design and construction of automatic filling cattle drinking troughs,
Crop monitoring services using satellite technology,
Planning, engineering design, and construction of farm structures such as drying shades, solar dryers, grain silos, goat sheds/goat shelters (goat barns), pig pens (pigsties), milking parlors, farm stores, farm houses,
Design and installation of smart farming systems and urban farming systems such as vertical farms, hydroponic farms, aquaponics,
Farm structures planning, engineering design, layout, and preparation of structural designs,
Soil sampling and analysis, and implementation of soil health monitoring programs,
Engineering design and construction of abattoirs (animal slaughter houses),
Planning, engineering design, and setup installation of plant and tree nursery beds and nursery sheds,
Planning and engineering design of agro processing plants, selection of agro processing equipment, preparation of installation related structural drawings, and undertaking equipment installations,
Conceptualization, planning, design, and installation of agroprocessing plant facilities, including site setup, site masterplanning, plant operation and maintenance (O&M), and plant decommissioning,
Agro processing facility installations, including plant monitoring and industrial process automation, clamshell grabs, overhead hoist gantry cranes, floor scales, weigh bridges, telescopic boom lifts, cargo lifting cranes, container straddle cranes, pallet trolleys, rack and stacking solutions,
Installation of electric fencing systems for farms,
Installation of solar enabled remote farm monitoring systems/cameras i.e. enable monitoring of farm activities remotely via internet on your phone.

Agricultural Mechanization and Irrigation Engineering