To assist women farmers in the Atebubu region of Ghana during the dry season, a local rural development organisation introduced a small-scale pitcher irrigation scheme, which could be used for plots of land up to one acre in size.

A local potter was approached and asked to produce a clay pitcher made of porous materials to allow seepage of water through the pot over a period of three days. To promote the idea of pitcher irrigation in the region and to assure the potter immediate returns on her efforts, each farmer received 10 pitchers. Other farmers in the surrounding area realized that this irrigation scheme would not only save time and labour, but would also enable them to produce larger quantities and increase their incomes. After 18 months, the pitcher irrigation scheme was used in 15 villages of the district. Seeds were procured free of charge resulting in a wide diversity of crops. Women farmers now had a wider range of foodstuffs to sell and an assured food supply during the periods of scarcity.