Dryers for post-harvest grain
GOVERNMENT has put in place mechanisms to avail dryers to farmers countrywide to ensure the delivery of grain with required moisture content to the Grain marketing Board (GMB).
The national grain buyer last season turned away many farmers for delivering grain with high moisture content - above 12,5 percent.
The grain moisture content issue also triggered underhand deals where some GMB officials connived with bogus buyers to purchase the turned-away grain which at times had dried to the expected levels.
Due to shortage of driers last year, farmers delivered over 34 000 tonnes of high moisture grain which went bad and had to be channelled towards stock feed production.
Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement minister Air Chief Marshal (Retired) Perrance Shiri said Government was is in the process of purchasing 20 mobile driers for on-farm drying and accessible to all farmers at a charge.
Refurbishment is also on-course for more than 100 driers which have been ‘lying idle’ on farms country-wide.
Minister Shiri said plans were on the cards to purchase 12 huge driers to be installed at GMB Depots by year end.
“Grain dryers are an important element of the entire grain value chain,” he said.
“The post-production losses that are incurred when grains are not timeously harvested and the demand to make early land preparations for the next crop calls for the maximum utilisation of driers.
“Government has put in place short to medium term strategies to address the need for drying capacity of the Country,” he said.
Government has since flighted a tender for the purchase of 20 mobile dryers with a capacity to process 15 tonnes of grain per hour.
Minister Shiri said Government would ensure drying of grain will not pose a challenge to farmers in future. “The intention is to make sure that each year there has to be a certain number of driers procured,” he said.
“However, Government is in the process of mobilising resources to finance research on the manufacturing of driers locally,” he said.