Machinery

: 09 October 2018; Hits: 8564

Farmers to thresh three bags of sorghum per hour with new JKUAT machine

Small scale farmers can thresh three bags of sorghum per hour with the new Jomo Kenyatta University cereal thresher with a petrol engine.

“Some farmers in western Kenya are facing challenges in threshing sorghum for sale to the East African Breweries which has contracted more than 50,000 farmers to supply them with the produce,” said Simon Kariuki, an engineer at JKUAT who invented the machine two years ago.

The machine costs Sh160,000 and will help farmers reduce the threshing time of sorghum and other cereal grains such as maize and wheat fourfold.

While large scale farmers use combined harvesters to reap, thresh, winnow and pack wheat into sacks at the farm, smallholders use rods to strike the grains before drying and storing.

The small-holders also require more labour than the large-scale holders since they have to manually thresh the sorghum heads with the rods, winnow, dry and package the produce for marketing or storage.

KBL to distribute grain threshing machines to entice Nyanza farmers into sorghum farming

Meru farmer earns Sh250,000 from sorghum farming

sorghum threshing machine

Farmers threshing sorghum with the machine. FarmBiz Africa

To use the machine ignite it then put the heads of the sorghum into the hood. Whipping will then start and only clear grains will be collected through a sieve to be collected at the far end.

Sorghum stalk leftovers will be ejected through an outlet and discarded as thrash.

“This machine guarantees 75 per cent grain removal from sorghum heads and ensures that farmers produce grains free from soil or stones or any other unwanted materials,” said Kariuki.

The only maintenance required is the oiling of the moving parts to reduce rusting and friction.

Over the last decade, the sorghum value chain has become vibrant, in direct response to the guaranteed market EABL presents to farmers. The company has continuously reached out to farmers, encouraging them to grow quality sorghum for commercial consumption.

According to the 2018 Economic Survey Report, Kenya produced 144,000 metric tonnes of sorghum in 2017 and imported 133,000 metric tonnes to curb the deficit.

Interested farmers can reach Kariuki on +254 726 860 820.

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: 02 October 2018; Hits: 6985

UoN launches a project to help Isiolo livestock farmers preserve meat using solar driers

Solar tunnel dryer 1

Solar Tunnel Dryer made from Corrugated SheetIiron and Steel Profiles. Photo courtesy.

The University of Nairobi (UoN) in partnership with the Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority (ENNDA) has launched a reload project that will see Isiolo livestock farmers preserve surplus meat for up to one year using a solar tunnel dryer hence reducing losses.

The targeted product is traditional meat known as ‘nyiriri’ among the Somali community or ‘koche’ among the Borana.

According to Dr. Catherine Kunyanga, UoN food scientist, the technology will enable farmers preserve meat for up to a year and still commercialise it.

“Reload means reducing losses and adding value. And this being our pilot programme in the county, we expect that the community, whose main source of livelihood is pastoralism, will embrace it to make more returns,” said Kunyanga.

RELATED ARTICLE: Solar and wind hybrid drier saves food

According to the Institute for Agricultural Technology in the Tropics and Subtropics at the University of Hohenheim where the technology was developed many years ago, solar tunnel dryer is employed for the hygienic preservation of foods. And the method is substantially superior to traditional drying.

It is where seasonal agricultural surplus, deficient transport capabilities for fresh products and insufficient preservability of undried products are overcome.

Currently the technology is used in over 75 countries worldwide.

Kunyanga says unlike other solar dryers, there is no forced convention with solar tunnel dryer, whereby you force warm air over the product. All the produce dries at the same time, making it an effective technology.

“For maize farmers, it is also a good way of drying their produce since it corrects moisture content, hence farmers can store the produce for long and reduce aflatoxins,” she said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Markets open up to food solar drying project

The technology can also be used to dry vegetables, most fruits and herbs. The cost of importing the solar tunnel dryer from Germany is Sh1.5m, whereas locally fabrication dryer costs about Sh600,000.

“However, it is important to note that no products should be mixed when drying. If you are drying meat today, then let it just be meat.”

For farmers in a cold region, such as Meru, and there is no much sunlight, you can connect power to this system and it will still dry your produce. This means that as a farmer, you are able to dry your produce throughout the year,” she said.

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: 01 October 2018; Hits: 5326

Government to build a Sh100m dairy embryo-transplant facility to boost production

calve detector calving

Calving detector, new dairy technological method to monitor calving in cows. The government is set to put up a dairy embryo-transplant plant to help farmers up their milk production. Photo courtesy.

The government through the Ministry of Agriculture is set to put up a dairy embryo-transplant plant worth Sh100m to help farmers increase milk production in the country.

The Liquid Nitrogen Plant which will be built at Marimba livestock farm in Imenti South will see the production of quality dairy cattle semen and embryo transplants.

“We target to increase milk production and ultimately formal milk intake by an average of 100 million litres per annum for the next four years,” said Mwangi Kiunjuri, Agriculture and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary during the fifth Annual Meru Dairy Farmers Field Day last week.

According to the CS, currently the dairy sector is thriving with an estimated 4.2 million dairy cattle producing approximately 3.9 billion liters of milk per year.

“This contributes an estimated Sh300 billion per year to the national GDP and is source of livelihood to an estimated 1.8 million smallholder farmers and provides employment to an estimated 750,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs."

RELATED ARTICLE: Calving detector, new way to manage calving

Meru Central Dairy Cooperative Union, CEO Kenneth Gitonga asked the government to check on the quality of feeds and the farm inputs manufactured in the country.

All these comes at a time when Kenyan farming economy expands at fastest pace in two years.

According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics report released last week on Friday, agricultural output climbed 5.6 per cent after expanding 5.2 per cent in the first quarter.

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