Nghe An farmers turn motorbikes into water pumps to fight drought

In An Hoa commune, in recent days, dozens of households have brought pumps to the fields to get water. Every year, in the Cau field area, Chua field, and Dut field... after people finish planting rice, they all fall into a state of water shortage for production and the land is cracked. After 10 days, water from the canals flows back, so every household takes the opportunity to bring pumps to the fields to pump water into the fields to save the rice plants.

Although the water source for production is more favorable than in other districts, due to the prolonged heat, the area of ​​drought in Quynh Luu is estimated at about 600 hectares. In the communes at the end of the canal system, farmers bring pumps to the fields to get water into the fields. Photo by Viet Hung

In addition to using portable water pumps, some households use motorbikes with engines to pump water. This unique way of pumping water makes many curious passersby stop to watch.

An Hoa is a locality that faces many difficulties in rice production due to lack of water. Taking advantage of the water flowing from the canals, farmers mobilize all the pumps to the fields. Due to lack of water for rice growth, every 2-3 days, farmers in An Hoa commune use water pumps to pump water into the fields to fight drought. Photo by Viet Hung

The first person in An Hoa commune to transform a motorbike into a drought-fighting pump was Mr. Le Van Dung in But Thanh village. As a motorbike repairman in Vinh city, through researching and understanding the operating principles of motorbikes, he created a pump system connected to a motorbike engine to pump water into the fields.

He brought this motorbike engine pump home for his family and relatives to use very effectively during the dry season.

The unique feature of pumping water to combat drought for rice is the use of a pump head attached to a motorbike engine, invented by farmers in An Hoa commune (Quynh Luu). The pump head is attached to the engine drive to use the rotational force of the motorbike to pump up water. Photo: Viet Hung

It is known that the pump is invented very simply, it is a pump head made of hard plastic or steel metal, inside there is a fan and 1 inlet and outlet. This pump head will be attached to the motorbike's rotating shaft on the left side, near where the gear pedal is placed. When the suction hose is attached to the pump head, the user just needs to start the engine, turn the throttle and the machine can operate, the water is pumped up very strongly (depending on the throttle adjustment). When finished using, people just need to remove the engine and start the motorbike normally.

Using a pump head attached to a motorbike engine saves costs and can be used in any conditions. Photo by Viet Hung

Mr. Le Van Luyen said that the pump attached to the motorbike engine is extremely effective. Compared to a portable petrol pump, using this engine is compact, light, saves fuel, and is cheap. The water pump head attached to the motorbike is used for manual transmission vehicles with a screw in the middle of the engine, just remove the screw and install it easily. Currently, a pump attached to the motorbike engine costs from 800 - 900 thousand VND/unit, while a petrol pump costs more than 1.5 million VND/unit.