Manufacturing Agricultural Utility Vehicles in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
Reliable and affordable transportation is vital to economic growth. Transportation connects products to markets, people to education, and supplies to businesses and farms. However, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) generally has poor road infrastructure. Cameroon, a country of 23 million people in Central Africa, is no exception with paved roads comprising only 10% of all roads. Many of the unpaved roads are not maintained and are in poor condition. In addition, access to motorized transportation is severely limited in Cameroon where there are only 19 motorized vehicles per 1000 people and all of these vehicles are imported. Little work has been done on developing a vehicle that is affordable, locally manufactured, and suitable to the roads in SSA.
A university/NGO partnership has been working on affordable transportation and agricultural mechanization through the development of the Practical Utility Platform (PUP). The PUP is a three-wheel vehicle with a carrying capacity of 900 kg. While primarily a transportation vehicle, the PUP can be used for many other operations requiring power. Water pumps, generators, grinders, and similar devices are easily powered off of the engine, making the PUP a portable power source. Also, testing has been performed where the vehicle successfully pulled ground-engaging agricultural implements. These added capabilities make the PUP more valuable to end-users.
The PUP can be built using parts and materials that can be obtained in Cameroon. The vehicle frame uses a single, common size of angle iron that is locally available. To power the vehicle, any 5-9 kW engine can be used. A belt and pulley set and a chain and sprocket set provide the necessary reduction for a maximum vehicle speed of about 35 km/hr. The driveline uses the transmission, driveshaft, and rear axle from a small car or truck, as there are many salvaged car parts locally available. The front strut, wheels, and brake system also come from used cars. Various prototypes have been designed, built, and tested extensively, both at the university and in Cameroon. The vision of this partnership is to set up a micro-factory for manufacturing these vehicles independently. Local manufacturing provides employment opportunities and boosts the local economy. Similar manufacturing models can be implemented in many other places in SSA, extending the impact. The PUP is designed for simplicity in manufacturing. The only necessary power tools are a drill, a grinder, and a welder. The frame is designed to utilize simple cuts and welds. The total cost of parts and materials for one PUP is typically under $2000 USD. With the low cost of labor, and an estimated build time of 3 weeks per vehicle, a PUP can be built and sold with a profit for a very reasonable price. In summary, an affordable vehicle has been designed that meets multiple transportation and utility requirements, and can be built in Cameroon using locally available resources.
