2.4 Handling and Processing
Handling and processing condition often result in a very poor quality of the products. In addition to the high labour intensity and drudgery, the conditions during processing are generally unsanitary and unwholesome. During processing by held men in rural areas, losses of some mineral and vitamin value do occur (FOA, 1994).
This can be avoided with better-designed equipment (Kolawole et al. 2007). Agricultural improvements via technology and marketing can make a big difference in less developed countries.
2.5 Need for Technology Innovation
Technological capacity or know-how has always in existence in any human society (Bamiro, 2006). What varies is the level and intensity of its transformation of materials into goods and services most especially on a scientific basis. Engineering capability and integrations is a critical component. This has come about because engineering is a generic activity designed to solve technological problems. Engineering is the package of action we take to put technology to work in the production of goods and services. Engineering provides the final vehicle for producing development out of the knowledge provide by technology and, by extension, science. Engineering capability comes into play in the translation of new technologies or processes into plants and processing machinery.
Forage processors usually have neither capital nor access to capital to enable them to afford forage processing equipment. Most operators in traditional and small-scale forage processing also have limited managerial capabilities and training due to little formal education and this militate against the successful management of the forage processing enterprise. Mechanize forage processors helps to increase the quality of life of the rural through increase transfer of technical and financial resources to develop basic and sustainable village level infrastructure. Also, it is expected to have a significant impart on poverty alleviation and food security for the livestock by increasing the level of income of small hold through higher productivity and employment as well as lowering food cost through improvement in marketing efficiency.
2.6 Technologies for Forage Handling
Farmers use simple hand tools in handling forage. Forage transportation is largely done by head-load vehicles or wheel barrows are rarely used. A sickle and to a loser extent a cutlass (panga) are used in harvesting/gathering grass. Sometimes long handles are used in both the sickle and cutlass to allow cutting of banana leaves which cannot be researched by a normal sickle o cutlass. The cutlass is the main tools used to cut/chop forage before feeding to the livestock. These tools make forage handling tedious and leads to high losses, with the improved breed technology, a labour saving technology for forage handling is necessary.
2.7 Introduction of Forage Chopper
Forage chopper is used to cut/chop forage as a replacement of a cutlass (Panga). The first manually operated labour saving device was developed in Uganda by the National Agricultural Research organization (NARO), in 1999 (Liesa, 2000), to make the task of animal feed production less arduous. The chopper is manual driven using a chain and handle. Lack of cash and using forage chopper, for this reason a credit scheme and training workshops were designed. The evaluation workshop results showed acceptance of the forage chopper technology in the study area.
Farmer evaluated the forage chopper positively in terms of utilization, labour requirement, and women’s workload. They indicated that by using the forage chopper, forage utilization improved by about 75%, labour requirement for forage gathering is reduces by more than 50% and women’s workload is reduced by significantly. Compared to the use of cutlass (panga) the forage chopper made it possible to cut/chop forage into very small prices that could easily be eaten by livestock. This process reduced forage losses through trampling by about 750%. As a result of this less forage was gathered. This implied reduced labour in terms of energy, time, and cost for those using hired labour.
In the lowlands where much of maize stover is used during dry season, farmers reverted to collecting maize stover that were discarded and spread in coffee fields to be chopper (by the forage chopper) and fed to cattle. This technology was of particular advantage to women because of their responsibility for livestock feeding. By having the forage chopper women spent less time in forage gathering and cutting/chopping. The introduction of forage chopper encouraged men and children to assist in forage chopping.
