Farmer comparing uncleaned and cleaned seed (Udo Rudiger)
In Tunisia and Algeria, the agricultural system is characterized by low levels of mechanization, particularly among small and medium-sized farmers who cannot afford expensive imported machines. As a result, a substantial amount of manual labour is required to carry out various agricultural operations, such as seed cleaning, which is traditionally done by women and children. While seed production is often done by large suppliers, this does not always satisfy the demand. Therefore, many smallholder farmers in Tunisia prefer to use their own seeds, despite the time-consuming manual cleaning process and the risk of lower quality.
To address these issues, the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) collaborated with national partners to develop a mobile seed cleaning machine for small-scale farmers. The prototype, designed and tested with input from a local manufacturer, is suitable for the primary field crops (such as wheat, barley, vetch, and faba beans) in Tunisia. The machine sort out damaged or small seeds and rock or pebbles, while treating the remaining seeds by removing contamination or weeds, to ensuring quality and longer shelf-life.
The mobile seed cleaning machine, with a capacity of approximately 800 kilograms per hour depending on the seed type, was distributed to four farmer cooperatives, serving a total of 1,000 small-scale farmers. In order to promote ownership, the farmers contributed to a portion of the costs and received training on how to operate the machine effectively.
When using the mobile seed cleaning machine, farmers have the option to choose between two methods: solely cleaning the seeds or cleaning and treating them. The cost for cleaning alone is around 2 Tunisian Dinar per 100 kilograms, while the cost for both cleaning and treating, which includes the application of a fungicide, is 8 Tunisian Dinar per 100 kilograms. Life time is estimated between 5 and 10 years and worn out parts can easily be replaced.
The introduction of the mobile seed cleaning machine has several advantages, including a decrease in workload for women and children, improved production and quality of crops, higher productivity of the land, reduced dependence on imported seeds and machinery, and the promotion of local value chains and social cohesion through cooperative ownership and utilization of the machines.
However, there are still some challenges to overcome. For example, the initial prototype required heavy bags of seeds to be lifted to a height of two meters, leading to additional labour requirements and reduced efficiency. This challenge was addressed by equipping the machine with a conveyor screw, which can double its capacity at an additional cost. Additionally, the cost of purchasing the machine can be a significant investment for farmers, but this can be overcome through collective buying and organizing themselves in cooperatives.
In conclusion, the mobile seed cleaning machine represents an innovative solution that improves the (local) value chain and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Tunisia by reducing workload and costs, particularly for women and children. This technology has the potential to be scaled up and benefit other regions and cooperatives.
ICARDA’s work on Small-Scale Seed Cleaning Unit is supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock, the IFAD-Funded CLCA Project, the GIZ SWC@Scale project as part of the ProSol global program, and the CGIAR initiative on Agroecology in Collaboration with National Partners in Tunisia and Algeria (OEP-Tunisia, IRESA-Tunisia, INRAT Tunisia, ITGC-Algeria, GIZ Tunisie, DGACTA-Tunisie)
ສະຖານທີ່: ຕູນິເຊຍ
ຈໍານວນ ພື້ນທີ່ ທີ່ໃຊ້ ເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ ທີ່ໄດ້ວິເຄາະ: 2-10 ພຶ້ນທີ່
ການແຜ່ກະຈາຍຂອງເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ: ນໍາໃຊ້ໃນຈຸດສະເພາະ / ແນໃສ່ນໍາໃຊ້ໃນພື້ນທີ່ຂະໜາດນ້ອຍ
ຢູ່ໃນເຂດປ່າສະຫງວນທີ່ບໍ?: ບໍ່ແມ່ນ
ວັນທີຂອງການປະຕິບັດ: 2019
ປະເພດຂອງການນໍາສະເໜີ
| ສາຍພັນ | Count |
| ແກະ | n.a. |
| ແບ້ | n.a. |
| ລະບຸ ປັດໃຈ ນໍາເຂົ້າ ໃນການຜະລີດ | ຫົວໜ່ວຍ | ປະລິມານ | ຕົ້ນທຶນ ຕໍ່ຫົວໜ່ວຍ (Tunisian Dinar) | ຕົ້ນທຶນທັງໝົດ ຂອງປັດໃຈຂາເຂົ້າ ໃນການຜະລິດ (Tunisian Dinar) | % ຂອງຕົ້ນທຶນທັງໝົດ ທີ່ຜູ້ນໍາໃຊ້ທີ່ດິນ ໃຊ້ຈ່າຍເອງ |
| ອຸປະກອນ | |||||
| Seed cleaning machine with conveyor screw | 1.0 | 12500.0 | 12500.0 | ||
| ຕົ້ນທຶນທັງໝົດ ໃນການຈັດຕັ້ງປະຕິບັດ ເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ | 12'500.0 | ||||
| ຄ່າໃຊ້ຈ່າຍທັງໝົດ ສຳລັບການສ້າງຕັ້ງເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ ເປັນສະກຸນເງີນໂດລາ | 4'166.67 | ||||
| ລະບຸ ປັດໃຈ ນໍາເຂົ້າ ໃນການຜະລີດ | ຫົວໜ່ວຍ | ປະລິມານ | ຕົ້ນທຶນ ຕໍ່ຫົວໜ່ວຍ (Tunisian Dinar) | ຕົ້ນທຶນທັງໝົດ ຂອງປັດໃຈຂາເຂົ້າ ໃນການຜະລິດ (Tunisian Dinar) | % ຂອງຕົ້ນທຶນທັງໝົດ ທີ່ຜູ້ນໍາໃຊ້ທີ່ດິນ ໃຊ້ຈ່າຍເອງ |
| ແຮງງານ | |||||
| Operating | person-hour | 0.1 | 10.0 | 1.0 | |
| ອຸປະກອນ | |||||
| Electricity | kWh | 3.0 | 0.066 | 0.2 | |
| ວັດສະດຸໃນການປູກ | |||||
| Uncleaned seed | kilogram | 100.0 | |||
| ຝຸ່ນ ແລະ ຢາຊີວະພາບ | |||||
| Fungicide (for treating) | litre | 0.2 | 30.0 | 6.0 | |
| ຕົ້ນທຶນທັງໝົດ ທີ່ໃຊ້ໃນການບໍາລຸງຮັກສາ ເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ | 7.2 | ||||
| ຄ່າໃຊ້ຈ່າຍທັງໝົດ ສຳລັບການບົວລະບັດຮກສາເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ ເປັນສະກຸນເງີນໂດລາ | 2.4 | ||||
Is improved due to better yields and no/less costs on purchased seeds
Cleaned seeds could be sold
Mechanically cleaning substituted the manual cleaning (often done by women and children)
