Labour-intensive irrigation pumps dull operators' sex drive in Malawi

Malawi is to probe claims that Indian-made manual irrigation pumps used by the country's poor farmers kill their sexual desire at night, a senior government official said.

"We are going to do a thorough study to determine the problem. We hear reports that men get tired and don't perform at night," said the irrigation officer, S. Maweru. He said if the study proved that the imported pumps were a "health hazard," the government would be forced to improve on the technology and make the pumps "user-friendly."

He did not say how the improvement would come about.

Complaints over the effect of the pumps on the sexual life of their users have been rife in Malawi in the past two years. Some observers noted that the excessive energy exerted by farmers in operating the irrigation machines during the day could be responsible for their loss of sexual desire at night.

About 100 000 treddle pumps, manufactured in India, have been distributed to poor farmers in Malawi since the past three years to help irrigate their crops to boost production of the staple food, maize. Up to 85 percent of farming is done by smallholder farmers who grow 80 percent of the food produced in the country.

Food security is often a pressing issue in the country, where despite a huge fresh water supply, the fields have little irrigation and most farming remains small scale.

IOL