Abstract

The utilization of mechanical dehulling equipment in the rural areas of Malawi is expected to contribute to the amelioration of home labour bottlenecks for women, and to national food security. Farmer adoption of higher yielding, improved maize and sorghum has been slow, mainly because these new varieties have less favourable dehulling properties when processed the traditional, manual way. Phase I of this project initiated and monitored four pilot dry abrasive dehulling installations. One large and one medium size dehuller were located in a maize growing area, and another set in a sorghum and pearl millet growing area. Customer response has been positive, and initial results on economic viability of the installations show promise. Phase II will improve the rural processing of maize and sorghum. The impact of the four pilot installations of the first phase will be more closely examined; the experimental introduction of dehullers will be extended to the northern regions; the techniques of introduction will be refined and improved; and a plan for a sustained wider diffusion of the dehulling technology will be developed.

Post-Project Summary

Phase I was supported under project 85-0223. Phase II provided evidence that the abrasive dehuller is more efficient than the Engleberg dehuller in current use, and causes far less breakage of hybrid seed than does the traditional mortar and pestle. The results also showed, however, that the abrasive dehuller results in a higher rate of grain breakage when used with local varieties of maize. Since smallholders currently plant over 90% of their holdings in traditional varieties, the prevailing dehulling system is unlikely to change quickly. Moreover, since broken grains are more vulnerable to insect damage during storage, farmers would probably consider food security more important than easing the labour burden. Affordability was also an issue. According to the evaluator, at the going rate for dehulling services, the yearly cash outlay for dehulling would take up a minimum of 20% of the average smallholder's annual household income. Only an estimated 10%-20% of farmers could afford it.

Other outputs included suggested modifications to improve all dehullers used in Malawi, dehuller demonstrations, and papers presented at national and regional meetings, including the Agricultural Engineering Conference in Arusha in 1996. The project leader took a one-year course at the master's level in the United Kingdom. Farm Machinery Unit officers attended a 3-week course in the management aspects of abrasive dehullers in Botswana and Zimbabwe. The team identified a local company with the capacity to manufacture dehullers, but did not follow up on the possibility.

The evaluator concluded that the project did provide some useful insight into existing and potential cereal processing - mainly maize - in Malawi. However, the project was largely technology-driven and suffered for want of a social scientist and an agribusiness specialist on the team. A social scientist might have identified the factors motivating farmer decisions early on, and helped orient the project according to their needs. An agribusiness specialist could have provided costing and market information with a view to formulating a national implementation plan.

Recipient Institution(s)