Machinery

: 05 March 2019; Hits: 5094

Nigerian agro-tech firm to support Kenyan smallholder farmers access tractor services through IoT

Hello Tractor connects tractor owners to farmers through IoT-enabled digital solution that bridges the gap between manual and mechanised farming. Photo courtesy.

Hello Tractor, a Nigerian agro-tech firm has partnered with Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU to expand its services across Nigeria and Kenya and connect 5,000 smallholder farmers to mechanisation services and booking agents via Internet-of-Things (IoT).

Despite the benefits of tractor mechanisation, cost and access have been key impediments to its widespread adoption, farmers across sub-Saharan Africa face some of the lowest rates of mechanization.

Hello Tractor connects tractor owners to farmers through IoT-enabled digital solution that bridges the gap between manual and mechanised farming.

The service enables farmers to request affordable tractor services, while providing enhanced security to tractor owners through remote asset tracking and virtual monitoring.

RELATED ARTICLE: New app connects farmers to tractors

Through technology, the company is creating sustainable business opportunities for compact tractor owners, while ensuring smallholder farmers have affordable and convenient access to mechanisation services.

“We are delighted to partner with Hello Tractor in expanding its innovative digital platform to reach a large number of users that will contribute not only to modernising smallholder agriculture and increasing productivity but also to attracting young people to agribusiness in Africa,” said Michael Hailu, Director of CTA.

“We are excited to work with CTA to improve the delivery of mechanisation services to smallholder farmers. Through this collaboration, we will identify, train, and grow the number of youth serving as booking agents on serving farmers.

This partnership will grow demand for tractor services through targeted digital initiatives aimed at better coordinating the market," said Jehiel Oliver, founder and CEO of Hello Tractor.

Hello Tractor was awarded a grant following a CTA call for proposals for ICT-enabled mechanisation in Africa. The call for proposals was issued to explore and implement initiatives to support the effective use of digital technologies for agricultural transformation in Africa.

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: 26 February 2019; Hits: 7277

Blueberry demand results in unique technology support

blueberry sizer installed by MED Automation for Gossamer

The very first blueberry sizer, installed by MED Automation for Gossamer. Photo courtesy.

Growth in the production volumes of blueberries in South Africa has been significant, with some reports indicating a 30 per cent increase per annum since 2008.

Blueberries are a labour-intensive crop. To meet specified export standards, each berry has to be sorted individually according to size and defects, if any. In some export markets, blueberries are often grown in open fields and are therefore more susceptible to the elements, including insects and birds. These berries are even machine picked, resulting in mechanical damage.

In South Africa, producers grow blueberries in tunnels where the best berries can be selected and handpicked to ensure the best possible quality. This has the advantage that the quality of the blueberries are more consistent, requiring less sorting for defects and blemishes, after harvest.

RELATED ARTICLE: Fact sheet on blueberry farming

To address the challenge of handling higher volumes effectively, MED Automation, situated in the Paarl, developed the first unique mechanical blueberry sizer. The system involves multiple spool-type sizers to separate the berries into the required sizes. The much needed high volumes and high speed requirements are met with this invention, also resulting in lower overall costs.

The berries are tipped from orchard lugs after which the sizer removes undersize berries before being graded by hand on a sorting table. After this initial quality sorting, the berries are sized in series, into size groups as indicated by the client.

"The first sizer was introduced late in 2018. The first season went well with the client confirming that sizing was very accurate. Capacity is estimated at between 3 and 5 tons per hour, depending on the berry size.

Gossamer's new PF-400 punnet filler was incorporated into the design from the onset. For Gossamer we incorporated their multi-head weigher which places berries in smaller containers", says MED Automation's founder, Gerhard Visagie.

In South Africa, blueberries are still a rapidly growing market, even in neighbouring countries such as Namibia and Zambia. The inclusion of the upgraded mechanical sizer will certainly aid farmers to meet the increasing export volumes, while simultaneously ensuring they don't fall behind in the picking window.

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: 22 February 2019; Hits: 7319

Research institute develops fish smoking kiln to help farmers reduce wastage and improve income

Fish smoking kiln. Photo courtesy.

Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) has developed a smoking kiln to help improve income and transform lives of West Africans farmers and fishermen who have be incurring losses due to fish spoilage by relying on traditional methods of preserving fish.

According to a 2015 study on Overview of Traditional Fish Smoking in Africa by Olusola Oyewole and S. A. O. Adeyeye, due to inadequate post-harvest processing and preservation of fish losses reach up to 40 per cent of the total catch by weight as farmers rely on traditional methods to preserve their produce.

The smoking kiln is comprised of a smoking chamber, a fan to distribute heat, a thermometer to control temperature, and a chimney to filter air. This make it reduce cooking and smoking time from four days to just four hours.

The fish smoking kiln eliminates many challenges West African fisheries typically encounter with traditional smoking methods which include lack of control over the drying process, exposure to dirt and dust, insect infestation, exposure to contaminants, and low capacity.

“We looked at the old ways of doing their smoking, and we were able to identify that there were clearly a lot of challenges,” says Dr. Oludare Adeogun, Research and Development Scientist at NIOMR and Coordinator of the National Center of Specialization on Aquaculture.

Soon after farmers and producers begin to use the kiln to mitigate these challenges, “they can see the impact of the smoking kiln, and they love it so much,” says Adeogun.

“When you smoke your fish very well, you can make more money than when you sell it fresh,” explains Adeogun.

Not only is smoked fish more valuable, but it also lasts longer increasing the sales duration.

According to NIOMR, using the fish smoking kiln can reduce post-harvest losses by 70 percent and rapidly increase incomes for the five percent of people depending entirely on the fisheries sector for their livelihoods in West Africa.

FoodTank, a food security advocacy in the region, reports that currently, fish producers in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal use the technology.

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