Compiled by Emmanuel Nsamba
Content by Remmy Ssekitto
Overview: Small and medium scale farmers in Uganda face sets back pertaining to drying their agricultural produce such as coffee, cocoa, maize, beans and others. To enables farmers overcome these constraints, Bakugu Agricultural Technologies Limited invented the Coffee decker tool with a grant from GIZ. This tool permits faster, cleaner and convenient drying of agricultural products such as coffee, cocoa, and etc. Most importantly, the Coffee decker innovation will empower farmers to cost-effectively add value to their coffee, minimize loses and improve income.
How it works: The Coffee decker tool operates by the model of heat harvesting and heat retention technology. It is equipped with a heat canvas. The heat canvas absorbs the solar radiation from the sun and the heat energy will be conserved within the drying platforms. This mode of heat transfer consequently drives the moisture out of the coffee berries enabling coffee to dry faster and efficiently. Further, the tool houses a black body at its bottom called the ‘black canvas’. The canvas reflects heat absorbed within the tool and conserves it within the drying area to facilitate faster drying of coffee.
Structure: The tool is equipped with four drying platforms or levels arranged vertically from top to bottom. This arrangement enables the farmer to maximize vertical space and increase the surface area available. As a result, the farmer can cost-effectively dry as much as 400kg of coffee within just three days by having one single unit of the coffee decker tool. Additionally, the tool is furnished with the upper tunnel covered with a canvas to make it all- weather friendly. Henceforth, the farmer is permitted to engage in other productive activities without having to worry about weather interruptions during the drying process caused by intermittent rains associated with climate change. It is therefore impossible for the farmer’s products to be contaminated by rains and other external environmental features.
More benefits include:
- Flexibility. The tool is held by bolts and nuts allowing the farmer to easily and conveniently dismantle the entire unit and keep it away, for instance if the drying period is over. This increases the shelf-life of the tool and also ensures it safety from theft. The tool is also equipped with wheels, so the farmer can also conveniently localize the tool from place to place in and out of the farm at a lower cost.
- Suitability. Beyond coffee, coffee decker tool is adapted to drying other agricultural produce such as cocoa, and maize. Thus, farmers can effectively depend on this innovation to minimize post-harvest losses in other agricultural products.
