Bosman Van Zaal - South Africa
Bosman Van Zaal - South Africa

A Robust, Modular & Automated Irrigation / Fertigation Solution for Made with Rural™

The Opportunity / Background

Made with RuralTM (MWR) is a social enterprise that brings together key players in the rural development and agribusiness sector to provide opportunities and tools that enable rural farmers to participate meaningfully in South Africa’s economy.

Bosman Van Zaal was delighted and privileged to be introduced to their initiative for uplifting emerging farmers by a farmer, who based on his previous experience in our quality products and services, was confident in our expertise to provide a suitable irrigation and fertigation solution for a project which presented a unique set of challenges.

The Challenge

In July 2019, MWR was appointed as an implementation partner for the 18 month long South African Breweries Young Farmers Program aiming to provide young emerging farmers with access to farming infrastructure to play an active role in commercial farming, access to commercial markets and access to training and mentorship. For this initiative to be a success, farmers needed to be able to maintain plant health for producing consistently good quality yields suitable for a competitive marketplace while aiding in their mission to “take their network of farmers to the world, and bring the world to them”. 

The project was made more difficult by the need to overcome various challenges around logistics, security, control, accessibility and efficiency in the 10 farms around the country where the solution needed to come to fruition.  

The Solution

Through our experience and innovation, while closely collaborating with MWR, Bosman Van Zaal was able to design a completely new product to overcome the unique obstacles presented by the project along the way:

A fully containerised and modular pump station, complete with a fertigation dosing system. The electronic irrigation valve connections of the system have the ability to be automated via a climate and fertigation controller that can be remotely managed from a mobile device with an internet connection.

All the components of the product come fully fitted inside the container, making it a robust, secure and complete, lock-up-and-go solution, overcoming security and hazardous weather challenges.

The horticultural computer fitted to the solution is the all-new HortiMax-Go. It’s designed for producers who are starting to grow protected crops while leaving out the unnecessary complexities of more expensive, high-tech solutions on the market. 

It enables/supports the efficiencies and control needed to produce consistently good quality yields, like integrated climate, irrigation and fertilizer dosage controls.

All these benefits combined make it the perfect solution for emerging farmers in remote areas needing to fertigate more efficiently while gaining the necessary control over their desired cultivation outcomes, all through a mobile device in the palm of their hand.

Looking for a robust greenhouse solution with internationally acclaimed quality ?

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Bosman Van Zaal has 90 years of experience in the development and construction of greenhouses and over 40 years' experience with technical systems for international horticulture.

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