HAND HELD MOTORIZED TRACTORS:THEIR POPULARITY, PERFORMANCE AND COST

Hand held motorized tractors have been touted as a solution for plowing small farms in Africa.

The low cost of these machines seems attractive to small scale farmers.

This is good news, as farmers in Africa and other developing nations have been using hoes or ox-driven plows for centuries.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the perceptions on the performance, practicability and cost of this machine.

RATIONALE FOR USING VARIOUS MACHINES TO PLOW

When farmer tills his land using a hoe, the maximum area he can plow in a day is an eighth of an acre when he is working alone and the soils are friable.

Where the soils are hard and clayey in nature, the area that a single farmer can plow using a hoe is less than an eighth an acre.

On the other hand, when an ox-driven plow is used, he can plow at-least half an acre per day, similarly when a tractor used, more than 6 acres can be plowed depending on the power of the tractor.

In an effort to address some of the challenges facing small farmers, engineers developed small hand held tractors commonly known as walking tractors.

This innovation has elicited great interest in the farming community and traders who want to promote their use as the equipment seem affordable, practicable, reliable and cost effective.

RESERVATIONS OF FARMERS INTERESTED IN HAND HELD TRACTORS

Farmers are interested in the experiences of those who are currently using the machines so that they can make an informed choice.

These experiences are on; the cost, performance, lifespan, maintenance cost, consumption of fuel per acre, and on the availability of spare parts of walking tractors.

However this information is not available as very few farmers are using the machine and they rarely share their experiences.

POPULARITY OF HAND HELD MOTORIZED TRACTORS

These machines are popular in countries like India, China, Korea and Turkey where they are used in plowing paddy fields.

Information does not exist indicating the first country to use this type of tractor, but their use is widespread in China, South Korea and Turkey.

However this technology is new to Africa, few farmers own them and have reported mixed experiences as they use them.

THE COST OF WALKING TRACTORS

There are a number of shops at river-road Street and industrial area in Nairobi that sell these machines. The prices range from 180,000-200,000 shillings.

The reason for the variance is the origin of the engine, its horsepower and the profit margin a particular vendor is targeting.

The models available in Kenya are imported from china and India with very few coming from turkey there are some that are assembled locally by Jomo Kenyatta University of agriculture and technology.

THE PERFORMANCE OF WALKING TRACTORS

No studies have been conducted in Kenya on the performance of various models under different soil conditions.

The available information is from the personal experiences of people who are using or have used such tractors.

It is therefore difficult to draw credible conclusions on the performance of the machines. For instance, it has been claimed that, it’s possible to plow 2 acres in a day using these tractors.

My personal experience is contrary to this claim, doing even ¼ of an acre is difficult and unhealthy.

Most of the models turned either left or right using levers during plowing. Turning the tractor either left or right is an energy sucking job that makings it impossible for one, two or three person to plow 2 acres in a day!

Secondly, the design of the tractor is such exhaust pipe of the engine is at top of the tractor. This means that if there some wind dangerous diesel fumes will be blown to your face which may cause health problems with extended use of the machine.

“I worked with a 35 HP walking tractor, handling the tractor was so difficult, the vibrations from the engine were powerful, I could feel the vibrations all the way to my spine” “I had to stop using for the sake of my health,” quips Eliud, a farmer in Busia County!

HOW TO STORE POTATO TUBERS

Farmers experience challenges when storing their potatoes after harvests because of their perishable nature.

Secondly,they are sensitive to sunlight; they turn green when exposed to it, thus become unsuitable for planting or consumption.

The exposure leads to the production of toxins known as solanin.

For the farmer to avoid loses when the potatoes turn green, or when they rot,  he should take extra care.

A step by step process of avoiding such losses has been discussed here.

Every potato farmer has two storage objectives.

1. To store part of his harvest as seed for the next season.
2. To store the excess harvest for the market prices to improve.

Procedure of preparing potato seed for storage

The objective of seed storage is to have optimum development of sprouts prior to planting. This can only be achieved by the appropriate pre and post harvest treatment of the seed.

The first step harden potatoes, This is achieved by cutting off the stems at the base two weeks before harvest. This treatment reduces the loss moisture  from the potatoes after harvest.

After harvest sort out potatoes immediately; only egg sized potatoes are suitable for seed.

All bruised potatoes should be removed; they are easily affected by disease, rotting agents, tuber weevils and may infect the rest if stored together.

Potatoes meant for seed shouldn’t be washed as the water may be contaminated by bacteria or fungi.

After the aforesaid is done, put the potatoes in sisal bags and place them on  raised platforms or on a dry floor inside a rat proofed store.

Avoid synthetic bags to store potatoes; Sisal bags are better as they allow  circulation of air. Alternatively, store them in net bags that allow sunlight and ventilation.

Do not store potatoes in direct sunlight, they turn green and cannot be used as seed or even for consumption.

The store should face an East-West direction to reduce the amount of light getting into the stores.

If an ordinary store is used, the seed potatoes should be covered with grass to help them sprout and reduce the amount of light getting to potatoes.

Good seed potatoes should be well sprouted; they should have a uniform sprout in all eyes. Potato sprouts should be at least 2 cm in length before transplanting.

STORING POTATOES MEANT FOR CONSUMPTION/ware potatoes

Potatoes meant for consumption are also known as ware potatoes.

After tubers are dug out, they should be well dried [a process known as curing] while ensuring they aren’t exposed to the sun, rain or wind.

When two weeks are over, they’ll have thickened skins and any nicks will have healed.

Whether the potatoes are placed in bins, bags or boxes the main consideration is air circulation.

For this reason a slated box is the best. The atmosphere should have a high  relative humidity the preferably 90%, temperatures should be between 15-20 degrees to allow slow respiration of the tubers.

Exposing tubers to light hastens sprouting and produces a green color or sunburn hence potatoes should be covered or shaded from light.

As the storage season advances, potatoes should be examined from time to time, if sprouting is observed, remove the sprout and reject the damaged and diseased tubers.

USING SAWDUST DURING STORAGE OF POTATOES

Potatoes are sorted for storage by removing those that are bruised, those with tuber moth holes and rotting ones.

Farmers then spread a thick layer of sawdust across the clean floor on the store.

They then spread the potatoes on the sawdust to cover the potatoes. This method is able to extend shelf life for up to 5 months without any sign of damage.

Using this method may benefit farmers to store their surplus potatoes until the market prices are favorable.

BANANA: POPULARITY, PRODUCTION, HARVESTING RIPENING, USES, AND PROCESSING IN KENYA.

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How many times have you chosen to buy a banana during lunch hours that costs between 5 to 10 shillings instead of buying fries?

You are not alone-workers in most cities and towns in Kenya buy bananas at lunchtime to save on cost of buying fast foods or to avoid fast food for health reasons.

This peculiar habit of Kenyans has propelled banana to be the most popular fruit in the country and opened avenues for farmers to profit big.

A research conducted in 2008 indicated that 60 percent of stalls in fresh market centers, villages and towns selling fresh produce stock bananas.

We can conclude that farmers who venture into banana farming are likely to earn more compared to other fruit farming since banana production is year round.

KENYA’S PRODUCTIVITY OF BANANAS

It is estimated that the country produces over 1 million tones of the crop valued at 7 billion shillings.

Unfortunately, over 40% of production the countries production is lost due to poor harvesting and handling techniques, inadequate market banana market and due to fungal diseases like panama and pests like banana weevil.

These diseases and pests make the harvested crop to be of poor quality thus diminishing the returns to farmers.

Because of the aforesaid reasons, we country is losing its local market to imports from Uganda, a country that produces 10 million tones valued at 1.7 billion dollars of fruit making it the second largest producer of bananas in the world after India.

The average yield per hectare of banana in Kenya has been established to be 15 tones.

AREAS IN KENYA WHERE BANANAS ARE GROWN

The Abagusii community found in Kisii County are famed producers of the crop. It’s often joked that they can eat ugali with [a meal made from maize flour] ripe bananas instead of vegetables.

Bananas are also produced in Meru, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, and Maragua, Mbooni under irrigation.

The average weight of one bunch of bananas is 15-20 kg which fetches 200-300 shillings at the farm gate.

TYPE BANANAS PREFERRED BY CUSTOMERS

There are many banana varieties, that can classified in two distinct groups according to the way they are consumed: those suitable for cooking and those suitable for ripening.

Ripened bananas are more popular of the two; a fact attributed to the hectic Kenyan life, their affordability and the fact that a ripe banana is ready to eat.

Customers look for uniformly ripened bananas that are yellow in color and do not have black patches caused by rough handling during harvesting.

In most fast food outlets the cost of one plate of chips is between 60 to 200 shillings on the other hand, a single banana will cost between 5 to 10 shillings and 3 of them are sufficient to cool hunger pangs.

Ripened bananas are preferred because they give the body immediate energy supply because they have sufficient amounts of sugar and glucose.

 

OTHER USES OF BANANA PLANT

Besides yielding of banana fruit, pseudo stems of the banana plant are used in the production of fiber and as a reliable source of forage feed for many livestock farmers.

Banana beer is brewed in Rwanda is called Rugwanda it is served warm and tastes as if it’s sprinkled with charcoal. Guys there actually have it for lunch.

 

PESTS AFFECTING BANANA PLANT

Nematodes are the most damaging pest causing over 70% loss of the crop. Control is by nematicides e.g. carbofuran but it is becoming infective at the recommended lethal doses.

Treating the soil with farmyard manure, poultry manure and extracts from tagetes minuta have the same capabilities of controlling nematodes like carbofuran. They are thus preferred since Nematicides damage the environment

 

WHERE TO FIND SUITABLE DISEASE FREE SUCKERS

Tissue culture banana seedlings are available at Jomo Kenyatta University of agriculture and technology in Juja and at the National Horticulture Research Centre, Thika or the nearest Kari research centre.

 WHY GROWING BANANAS IN A GREENHOUSE IS NOT PRACTICAL

The cost of constructing One hectare of greenhouse is estimated to be $100,000-$200,000 meaning only high value crops are suitable for greenhouse production.

When we consider the production and value of one hectare of bananas; one hectare yields 14-20 tones of bananas valued at $ 3,220 to $ 4600 after waiting for 2-3 years!

Secondly the surface area occupied by one stool of banana plant that consists of the mother [the crop bearing bunch] the daughter and the child is about 4M².

This limits the number of plants that can be grown bin the greenhouse thus lowers the number of bunches that can be harvested.

This is disadvantageous for those who sell to the market in form of bunches.

Finally a banana plant can grow to a height of 8 meters. This means if several of them are grown in a greenhouse they can outgrow the greenhouse and probably destroy it.

 

RIPENING BANANAS

There are three ways to do so

1. Natural ripening

Unripe, green, fully mature bananas are placed together with avocadoes or ripening passion fruit in an air tight paper bag.

During ripening there is the production and accumulation of ethylene gas that hastens ripening.

2. Ethylene generators

Artificial ethylene generators produce ethylene that induces the ripening of bananas for industrial scale bananas.

Disadvantage of artificially ripened bananas is they lack the characteristic flavor and aroma of naturally ripened fruit.

3. Dipping bananas in water containing carbide

It has been said that when bananas are dipped in water containing carbide their ripening is enhanced.

However it said that industrial grade carbide may contain traces of arsenic and phosphorus hence the use of calcium carbide in most countries is illegal.

BANANA PROCESSING COMPANIES IN KENYA

Stawi foods and Fruits Company enters into contracts with organized farmer groups where they buy bananas from them. They process them into banana flour and package them ready for the market.

Processed banana is packaged as Stawi Natural Banana Flour and is commonly used to make baby food pasta, food fortification and pizza base.

Banana plant can yield up to 14 tones per hectare.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF BANANAS

They contain potassium, an electrolyte that helps to maintain the body’s fluid balance, keep muscles from cramping and prevent high blood pressure.

One banana is enough to replace what is lost during one or two hours of hard exercise.

One banana contains approximately 9 grams of fiber which is a third of our daily requirement.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INFLORESCENCE INTO A BANANA BUNCH

A banana plant takes one to two years to attain maturity.

The maturity stage is characterized by the production of an inflorescence that later develops into a banana bunch containing several fingers that grow into bananas.

The size of the inflorescence determines the final size of a banana bunch and bananas.

For banana plants to produce bigger inflorescences the soil should be supplied with sufficient manure, be well draining and

The plant should be should be free of pests like banana weevil, thrips and diseases.

For instance the above plant will produce a small banana bunch and small bananas when fully mature because the inflorescence is small that is 40 cm long.

For the plant to develop a big bunch the inflorescence should be about 60-70 cm long. Once the inflorescence is produced, bananas will be formed in 3 to 5 months.

 

PRUNING AND CANOPY MANAGEMENT OF AVOCADO TREES

Pruning of avocado fruit trees is one of the most undervalued farm operations among small-scale African farmers. Pruning is essential as it makes a difference in the value of the fruits produced by the farmer hence more income.

Well maintained and pruned trees produce fruits with higher amounts of avocado oil; trees are less susceptible to diseases and produce healthy fruits.

When you don't prune avocado fruit trees, they grow very tall thus ruling out spraying pesticides and fungicides on them using cheap and simple equipment for example knapsack sprayers.

During pruning, we create an excellent avocado tree architecture that enhances a proper spray distribution and penetration; the maintain the avocado tree at a maximum height of 5.5 meters.

4 Reasons Why We Prune Avocado Trees

1. To get better light penetration into the tree

Pruning of avocado trees allows us to expose a large percentage of the tree's foliage to sunlight thus making the leaves more efficient in the production of food for the development of fruits.

If branches crowd together, humidity within the canopy of the tree increases--a condition that diseases.

High humidity around the flowers provides suitable conditions for fungal spores to penetrate developing fruits; thus pruning serves to reduce the moisture while increasing light inside the tree canopy. 

2. Control size and vigor

Avocado trees become tall and dangerous if structural pruning is not carried out.

Varieties such as Fuerte can reach a height of 10 meters which makes harvesting hard and hazardous. Pruning, therefore, helps to make the tree of a manageable height.

3. Maintain yield and quality

The market prefers bigger fruits, but when a tree bears an unusually high number of developing fruits, they tend to be smaller.

To discourage the production of many small avocado fruits, we remove some of the developing fruits (thinning out)--a practice will tend to produce heavier avocadoes.

4. Bring neglected Avocado trees back into condition

Pruning stimulates the growth of new shoots and rejuvenates old trees.

TYPES OF PRUNING

1. Training provides the basic framework of the tree as it grows from a seedling to a mature tree.

2. When the tree is fruiting, we carry out Renewal pruning. Its purpose is to remove weak or dead material and control or encourage vigor.

If the tree is growing too tall, the strong vertical growth is cut or headed back.

3. Thinning out is involves the removal of excess fruits when the tree has very many of them. Thining out discourages biennial bearing which is a tendency for some trees to produce bumper harvests one year and poor ones the next.

WHEN TO PRUNE AN AVOCADO TREE

1. During transplanting the first pruning takes place at this stage. We trim any broken or very long roots so that they can fit into the planting hole.

2. At the close of harvest and before flowering For mature plants, pruning is typically carried out at this stage. Excess branches are removed to open up the tree to air and light.

Grafted avocado plants sometimes produce suckers.  Removing these suckers is a part of pruning. Suckers are those shoots that emerge from the rootstalk that have the potential to grow into new plants.

When suckers are left to grow, they will compete with the tree for nutrients and eventually reduce the yields of the main tree.

3. When the tree has produces very many fruits we remove some of them to encourage the remaining ones to grow bigger.

This process of removing some fruits is known as thinning out; a process that discourages biennial bearing.

A guide is correct tree height is to prune, so that canopy height becomes 70% of row width with triangular shape for the best light interception.

Precautions During Pruning of Avocado Trees

Any damaged or broken growth must be removed using a setaceous, a sharp panga or pruning saw.

To prevent the transfer of viral diseases from tree to tree, you once you finish pruning one tree, you must sterilize the pruning tools before you move to the next tree.

Sterilization of pruning tools is easy. All you have to do is It means dip the pruning-devices in a disinfectant of 20% household bleach solution between trees to prevent spreading of any sap–borne diseases such as viral infections or fungal problems like Phytophthora from an infected plant to healthy ones.

Related: Avocado seasons
Avocado Hass seedlings for sale 

PRACTICES DURING HARVEST AND COOLING LEADING TO CONTAMINATION OF FARM PRODUCE

Contamination of fresh produce by Microbes can occur easily during harvesting.

Contamination is commonly caused by field workers or by the physical environment of the produce.

Environmental sources of contaminants include soil, water, air, hands, containers, etc.

Preventing contamination of produce with pathogens is critical, since their presence increases the risk of illness for consumers and lowers food safety.

Contamination of agricultural produce during harvest

Some products like grapes and strawberries; are manually harvested, never cooled nor washed at harvest and packed in the field immediately after harvest.

Packing in the field generates a condition where contamination can occur easily from soil, other solid contaminants and disease causing microbes from the hands of the packer.

Since manual harvesting (the use of hands during harvest) is involved, there is a great deal of handling and contamination of the product is likely.

Some farmers use water taken directly from rivers or holding ponds for washing produce whose safety is doubtful.

When fruits and vegetables are immersed in such water containing pathogens, they can become contaminated.

Others do not clean machines for use in harvesting and handling produce before and after use, a practice that allows residues from the previous harvest to contaminate the new harvest.

Others handle containers and packing materials carelessly, allowing them to be full of dirt and other contaminants.

How produce is contaminated during cooling

Cooling methods using water and ice as the cooling media have the greatest potential for contamination of fruits and vegetables.

It is crucial that ice used in cooling is produced from chlorinated, potable water and stored in a hygienic manner.

Water and ice used for cooling systems should be free of bacterial contamination.

Practices that minimize contamination of agricultural produce

Add an approved disinfectant  to keep  water free from micro-organisms.

These include disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite or liquid chlorine.

Good hygienic practices should be followed in handling containers and packing materials to prevent product contamination.

It is important to place a water settling and filtration device in the cooling-water treatment system to remove organic material.

Cooling water should be replaced regularly (at least once a day, depending on the amount used and condition of the produce).

Sick people should not be allowed to work in the farm especially during harvest as some diseases like typhoid among others are spread though contact.

Handling agricultural produce correctly will make you have an edge in agribusiness

If you visit Wakulima, Korokocho or any other market in Kenya, you will see Lorries loaded with hundreds if not, thousands of fruits or vegetables.

If not, hardworking women-trying to eke a living will be seated in the hot sun; their produce placed on gunny-bags lined on the ground, just next to them is slurry from yesterdays’ rain.

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As the fruits or vegetables are piled on each other in the Lorries cabins, they bruise each other, those at the bottom squashed.

To crown it all, two or more brokers are sitting on them as they haggle with customers.

By the end of a single day, 10% of the produce will go bad. If it takes 3 days to sell all the produce, over 30% of the produce is destroyed.

Let’s get back to the women. If some of the produce they were selling remained at the end of the day, can’t be sold the following day as the sun will have wilted it.

It has been observed; over 40% of agricultural produce is destroyed at the post harvest stage.

This loss would have led to higher incomes and changed the fortunes of farmers and those product supply chain.

At times a total loss can occur if the produce is highly perishable; for example vegetables and fruits.

We must understand that seeds, vegetable or fruits are living commodities that continue to respire long after they have been detached from the mother plant.

Seeds respire slowly therefore can handle rough treatment and still be viable years later.

This is not the case for vegetables and fruits for they respire and deteriorate very fast after suffering wounds from rough treatment.

Who is the loser at the end of the day? – The farmer. The broker would have made their cut, the city council theirs- the farmer crying all the way to his wife!

When Kenyans are selling produce to the international markets, it is well packaged, handled and inspected by our best graduates who work for KEPHIS [Kenya plant health inspectorate service]

What happens when we want to sell produce locally? Nobody cares! - The produce is loaded and ferried in a dirty pickup that probably ferried a corpse the other day.

When the produce gets to the market who handles it? Your guess is right- it is that ‘fella’ who is water phobic.

The last time he had a shower was when he was rained on as he was caring a 100 kilo sack of potatoes.

The logic behind this article is- you can earn more if you mind how you handle produce as you will reduce wastes due to rotting.

Have a careful day! Will you?

LiveJournal Tags: Conditions in Horticultural markets in Kenya

Cooling of agricultural produce.

LiveJournal Tags: Cooling of agricultural produce,Effect of storage temperature on agricultural produce,Post harvest technology

During harvest time, the temperature of harvested produce is almost the same as ambient temperature.
Sometimes it can be high as 40⁰ degrees depending on the surrounding environment.
If temperatures are high, the respiration rate of the produce increases consequently increasing the evolution of ethylene, a gas responsible for ripening and senescence.
The objective cooling of produce is to slow down the rate of respiration thus prolong its shelf life.
PRE-COOLING
Pre-cooling is the rapid lowering of the field heat from freshly harvested produce before a comprehensive cooling regime is undertaken so as to maintain its quality.
Methods of pre-cooling vary from plant produce to produce. For example when cut flowers like roses are harvested, they are dipped in a bucket containing water mixed with a fungicide before being taken to a cold room.
Conversely tea is kept under a shed or in a cool place after harvest as the application of water to it, will reduce its storage life and encourage rotting.
Other produce like grapes should not be immersed in water as this will remove the natural wax layer on the fruit.
The natural wax is important in enhancing long storage life; furthermore it is a quality requirement of the market.
For most crops, storing them where cool air is circulating, under a shed, is sufficient to remove field heat.
Precautions to consider during cooling agricultural produce
Inappropriate cooling temperatures or methods may subject produce to abnormal ripening or chilling injury.
Abnormal ripening is mostly observed in fruits. They either ripen very fast or fail to do so when exposed to room temperature.
During cooling, a high relative humidity is maintained to prevent an excessive loss of water.
Such loss may result to wilting, shriveling, flaccidness or loss of nutritional value of produce.
Ethylene is an important gas produced naturally in fruits and vegetables as it promotes ripening.
However, during storage it should be absent or present in minute amounts; ripening is desired after the produce has reached the customer.
To prevent its production during storage, cooling must be done rapidly.
High ethylene producing commodities like fruits should not be stored together with low ethylene producing commodities like vegetables.
The produce must also be cooled at temperature which is above freezing point for temperate commodities or chilling point for tropical and subtropical commodities.
Chilling or freezing of produce affects the flavor of fruits its quality in terms of or will result to chilling injuries.
Unfortunately, these methods are not used by small scale farmers because they are at times at far flung areas away from power lines and the cost involved.
The quicker the temperature of the produce is lowered after harvest, the longer the storage life.