Malawi Farmers Say New Pumps Are Killing Their Sex Lives

The Malawi government will investigate fears that labour-intensive manual irrigation pumps distributed to poor farmers are hurting their sexual performance.

The farmers say using the pump makes them too tired for sex and have voiced their anger to the government.

"The government is aware of the problem, the parliamentarian committee on irrigation is also concerned about it and we intend to start probing and finding out if the pumps are really to blame for the problem," says Adrina Mchiela, principal secretary in the Irrigation and Water Development Ministry.

The high-capacity treadle pump, touted as a major reason for improved food security in the southern African country, is designed to lift water from shallow wells and surface sources.

They say a farmer weighing 60-70 kg (132-154 lb) can draw 5,000 litres of water per hour and about 100,000 have been handed out to poor farmers over the past three years. However, the farmers say after using them they're too tired to do other things.

 � Copyright 2004-2015 The News Vault. All rights reserved.