MOBILE DRYER: MANY SOLUTIONS AT A TIME
PASP main objective is to reduce post harvest losses in various commodities mostly in grains where significant challenges have been addressed at the post harvest level.
Among the sustainable solutions brought by PASP through business plan, is mobile dryers which came not only to reduce losses but also preventing eventual toxins that may occur in grains. This is recorded as an innovative success story aligned with climate smart technologies.
One of the greatest challenges grains are aflatoxins, highly carcinogenic toxins formed by fungi present in many agricultural crops. These toxins can contaminate maize and other grains in the field, as well as at the post Harvest level; however, it is in the subsequent processing and storage phase that the aflatoxin level increases rapidly.
With a mobile dryer, the quality of cereal preservation will be increased, the grain will become stronger to infestation, losses due to birds or rodents, the drying time will be cut to few hours instead of several days of sun drying. The whole drying process becomes safer, faster and less labour intensive.
Kayonza, Gatsibo and Nyagatare Districts are among the highly yielded areas in maize where these facilities are needed the most. Introducing mobile driers comes as a solution to farmers whose produce is at the risk to be rejected on the market due to improper post harvest treatment.
In this fiscal year, 3 mobile dryers installed and are expected to be located in Nyagatare (2), and Kayonza (1) Districts and 1 Fixed dryer to be located in Kayonza District.
Whether you grow corn, soybeans or small grains, Mobile Dryers allow
you to start harvesting your grain earlier at higher moisture levels, increasing yields and improving profits. You’ll shorten wait time during drying, minimize weather risks, and reduce dry matter and head shatter loss.
IT IS A RECOMMENDABLE TECHNOLOGY
The efficiency of the mobile dryer resides in the fact that it can serve several small holder farmers in a very short part of time, and can move from a farm to another with a tractor powered train back.
Mobile dryers stand as a recently introduced success story to tell to Rwandan small holder farmers in line with PASP,s Objective wich has come to complement other infrastructure that have been supported by the project all along its period of intervention.