Hippo Water Roller Project

Cargill has invested in 360 x Hippo Water Rollers at a total investment of $45,000 to support local small-scale cotton farmers in Zambia. The rollers were transported by road from South Africa during December 2011 to Cargill's Zambia operation.

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. It is also one of the world's leading cotton traders and has been active in Zambia since 2006.

Cargill supports initiatives to improve agricultural working practices and to help farmers increase their incomes and deliver benefits to local communities. One such initiative is the company's safe drinking water programme which has built numerous wells in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi – each well serving communities of up to 200 people.

While Cargill has plans to drill more wells to provide safe, clean water supply, it also recognized that small scale cotton farmers still carry water in buckets from the water source to their cotton trees. By the time they have watered just 1 hectare of trees, these farmers have walked 40km carrying heavy buckets of water which is very strenuous and time consuming.