New country
New land for new ideas - high-quality farmland as the basis for development and prosperity
New standards in land reclamation
for the agricultural sector
Using modern forestry mulchers and rotary cutters, the vegetation is finely shredded and directly added to the area as organic, humus-forming material. This further improves good soils and significantly enhances the often degraded, sandy soils with humus-forming components. In particular, the nutrient content of the soil and its ability to bind water is improved.
Milling or deep mulching also shreds the entire root system of the bushes and shrubs and adds it to the soil as additional humus material. This not only creates a homogeneous, airy soil horizon, but also a soil that is easier and more economical to cultivate. Plows and harrows encounter fewer solid obstacles such as roots and stones and less resistance in the upper soil layers. This protects the material and enables a higher driving speed with lower diesel consumption.
This type of agricultural land reclamation creates the basis for sustainable, modern and mechanized agriculture. This will make the sometimes inhumane physical exertion of field work a thing of the past and make working in agriculture a genuine and extremely sustainable prospect for future generations.
Anyone who knows that a farmer in West Africa cultivates an average of 1-2 hectares of land, usually with laborious manual work, can imagine that every additional hectare of cultivated land significantly expands the opportunities and prospects of farmers. And since 2/3 of the population work in agriculture, these additional acreages are of extremely high economic relevance as well as of significant social and developmental importance. They are the key to prosperity, social peace and prospects for the younger generation.
Based on our concepts and partnership with leading manufacturers of tractors, mulchers and rotary tillers, we can make a significant contribution to the creation of new arable land.
Until now, land development projects in West Africa have been carried out using bulldozers. The vegetation was removed from the area with heavy equipment and large rootstocks were pulled out of the ground. The resulting holes had to be filled in and the area leveled with a dozer blade or grader. Then the actual cultivation could take place.
While slash-and-burn and manual clearing are still the order of the day in many regions of Africa, our customer CALAFI is already leaving the age of arable land reclamation with bulldozers behind with the delivery of the first large forestry mulcher to Togo.
Thought-provoking
Money is like manure, it belongs in the field where it can grow
Klaus Kobjoll
German management trainer
PHASE
Project evaluation, environmental and social impact assessment
01
Before work begins on a land reclamation project, we support the project sponsor in discussions and negotiations with all project stakeholders. These may be local communities, representatives of authorities at all levels or associations and organizations. The documentation and recording of all discussions and agreements ensures maximum compliance with the applicable legal, environmental and social standards for all parties involved.
PHASE
Area exploration
02
The exploration of the area is carried out in cooperation with the client and geographers, forestry and agricultural engineers. The aim is to optimally parcel out the area to be prepared with regard to the planned use and against the background of the topography, hydrology, access routes and existing vegetation. The focus is on creating arable fields that enable efficient cultivation as well as a landscape that fits both visually and functionally.
PHASE
Planning the project resources
03
In order to plan the project well in terms of time and costs, conditions such as soil, vegetation, access routes, local human resources, climatic parameters, the planned time frame and future crops must be known. With this knowledge, I can plan the equipment and machinery to be used as well as the staffing and draw up a cost budget.
PHASE
Project camp setup
04
Once the budget, schedule and resources have been determined, a camp must be set up on the project site to provide an office, storage facilities for machinery and equipment and, if necessary, accommodation for staff. If the construction or expansion of access roads is necessary, this must be tackled first. Only then can the equipment be delivered.
PHASE
Clearing and mulching work
05
Depending on the vegetation, larger plants and trees that are an obstacle to the parceling of the land must be removed with chainsaws and mulchers. Useful wood is usually left to the communities. Undergrowth and the branches and leaves are worked into the soil.
PHASE
Tillers
06
While mulching shreds the vegetation and leaves it on the surface, tilling works the mulch into the soil and shreds roots and stones. The mulchers to be used can also work to a certain depth in the soil, but this is at the expense of working speed. In contrast, the tillers we offer, which are suspended behind the tractor, are designed for efficient tilling of soil depths of 10 to 40 cm. In terms of efficiency, you should only work as deep as necessary.
PHASE
Creation of irrigation systems
(if required)
07
Where water is only temporarily available for agricultural use, irrigation systems are required. In the context of new agricultural areas, it is therefore important to create the hydrological conditions for optimal land use. Particularly in the drier regions towards the Sahel, where there is only one rainy season, well-planned irrigation is important to enable two cultivation and harvesting cycles. It takes a lot of expertise and the right machinery to perfectly equip new cultivation areas hydrologically.
PHASE
First tillage
08
Once the new agricultural land has been mulched, milled and parceled out, cultivation can and should begin immediately. If no or no suitable equipment is available for cultivation on the project side, we recommend, also for quality reasons, to have at least the first soil cultivation carried out by experienced contractors. Depending on the planned crop and soil conditions, the fields are worked with a plow, cultivator or harrow in preparation for the first sowing.
PHASE
Project handover
09
On completion of the commissioned services, the project is handed over including detailed documentation. This includes surveying data, a description and localization of special conditions such as swampy areas, work documentation, management recommendations, a list and description of the recommended machinery and optionally a soil report with soil analysis and fertilizer recommendations.
PHASE
Management services
10
In the event that the client decides to outsource all or certain cultivation services for economic or budgetary reasons, we are happy to help outsource these services. We can provide service providers with the right machinery to cover everything from tillage to harvesting and to enable them to work at a fixed cost per hectare. Find out more about cultivation services here.
Thought-provoking
Where the farmer is poor, the whole country is poor.
Polish proverb
Mulching & rotary tillers -
Ecological aspects
Better water balance for the soil
01
In contrast to non-organic soil components, mulch, i.e. small pieces of wood, stores water and slowly releases the moisture back into the soil or plants. This regulates the water balance much better, especially in sandy, humus-poor soils.
Loose, well-aerated soil
02
In heavy, humus-rich soils, incorporated mulch ensures that the upper soil layers are loosened. This ensures better aeration and even irrigation of the soil.
Very good regulation of the floor temperature
03
The introduction of mulch acts as an insulator, especially in sandy soils. As organic material (e.g. wood) does not heat up as quickly (e.g. stone, sand), a more constant soil temperature is achieved, which is also lower overall during hot periods. This is much better for cultivated plants.
Protection against washout and erosion
04
A large amount of mulched material in the top layer of soil prevents the already composted humus from being washed out during heavy tropical rainfall events. The buffering and shielding effect of the wood particles is responsible for this effect. Mulching makes an important contribution to preventing the erosion of unprotected soils that is so problematic in Africa.
Nutrient input and storage
05
The successive composting of the mulch adds nutrient-rich material to the soil. This constantly increases the humus content. The quality of the soil increases and with it the productivity of the land.
Basis for sustainable mulch sowing systems
06
By mulching the crop residues (maize straw, soy straw, etc.) during the cultivation phase using rotary and disc harrows, organic material continues to be introduced into the soil even after years, when the mulch of the original vegetation has already been composted and converted into humus.