There are many links in the grain postharvest chain, including threshing, cleaning, drying, storage, transportation, and processing. Grain drying is one of the key links in terms of minimizing postharvest losses, since it directly affects safe storage, transportation, and processing quality, as well as distribution.
Great losses to stored grain occur every year around the world. For instance, moulding during storage and transportation, deterioration in quality and an increase in brokens and cracked kernels can be attributed to delayed or improper drying.
Poor drying due to overreliance on heat from the sun has been cited as a major cause of Aflatoxin contamination in the country, which is estimated to claim up to 30 per cent of harvests every season.
“This is a new technology which has been introduced to help farmers avoid issues related to food poisoning as a result of improper moisture extraction from grains,”
REWA GRAINS is in the process of acquiring a mobile 12 tons capacity drier to access the remote areas and will be at the farm gate and market centres to dry grains. This will help farmers to dry grain promptly to maintain quality and avoid such problems as aflatoxin and also to avoid related unnecessary costs.
