“I am a firm believer in research and asking a lot of questions, and the more I spoke to Agrico the more boxes they ticked for us on what we required.” You can’t tell John Sawyer and his son, Jason much about farming in Africa. They graduated from Gwebi Agricultural College and Blackfordby Agricultural College in Zimbabwe respectively.

After losing their farm during the land seizures in Zimbabwe, they both gained experience in Nigeria. After a while, Jason started working on a Zambian farm to gain experience in corporate farming. In 2010 father and son purchased and started a partnership on Kingsfield farm in Serenje in the Luombwa Farm Block.

During the previous three years they produced soy beans on dry land, and last year they made the major move to purchase a turnkey pivot irrigation system from Agrico. The Sawyers already had a good relationship with Agrico. “We used their systems in Zimbabwe. When we heard that they were coming to Zambia as themselves and not through an agent, it appealed to us as we felt we would get a better purchasing price and service straight from the manufacturer,” Jason says.

Agrico installed four pivots with eight towers each, covering a total area of 240 hectares. Experience also required the Sawyers to buy a state of the art pump station for each pivot. They pump directly from the Luombwa River.

The Sawyers received their power supply during the time when Agrico installed the irrigation project, but the experience of their neighbours prompted the Sawyers to include a 250 KVA generator in the deal. Their generator allows them to irrigate three out of their four circles, which is significantly better than the frequent fluctuations or zero power their neighbours had to deal with.

The Sawyers’ system is also supplied with an automatic changeover switch. They opted for a 4 mm and a 9 mm nozzle package. The pump station compensates for the two different flow rates thanks to the installation of Variable Speed Drives (VSD). There is one pump set per pivot and a fifth one plumbed in for emergencies.

With the sector and trigger capabilities offered by the control system, they can set each of their pivot’s irrigation schedules in advance. The Sawyers opted for the top of the range management system – the Advanced Rain System. This gives them ultimate control of the pivots. “We have erected a GSM antenna on each pivot centre, so we can use Web Control software to run and manage our irrigation. It really is a complete management tool and definitely increases efficiency and saves time. Mistakes and down-time are reduced due to real time data at my finger tips on my phone and computer.

“We have yet to harvest our first irrigated soy bean crop, but we have seen a massive growth and quality difference and expect to increase our farm average by 1 tonne / ha.” Agrico’s irrigation system will allow the Sawyers to plant wheat for the first time this winter season. Now, double cropping will enable them to provide work throughout the year, as their labour needs expand – obviously increasing family incomes and skills development on irrigation systems.

“We ordered the system with high flotation tyres. They were more expensive, but will make up that difference with much less down time,” Jason says.

“The Agrico team on the ground is growing quickly and our after sales service has been great. I have been able to speak to the Lusaka Branch Manager, Hanre, on weekends, late at night and always get a decent responsive action,” Jason says.

An Agrico pivot system guarantees stability and profits. Contact Alfred Andrag at +27 82-824- 1214 or +27 21-950-411 or send him an e-mail to alfred.andrag@agrico.co.za.

The sturdy structure of the Agrico framework compares with the best in the world.

Agrico’s Advance Rain control system gives Jason Sawyer all the remote management functions at his fingertips.