Abstract:
Fuel management is a very important aspect as far as agricultural mechanization is concerned. It refers to the organized and 'systematic monitoring and accounting of fuel through proper record keeping and issuing out the required amount of fuel sufficient for a tractor to perform a given farm operation. Many farms in the developing countries have failed to achieve their profit target and others have not benefited from their farms due to poor fuel management methods.
SCOUL plantations use ordinary ways of data recording and keeping. Where-by they write in the books entering the amount given out. This has been challenging in a way that sometimes they forget to record and these books are subjected to getting lost hence making the method un reliable. The tractor drivers are selling off a lot of fuel after doing the work because they are given more than required and fuel personnel at the stores during issuing out. Fuel management needs a continuous tracking and monitoring to give a better accountability after even a long time.
This has caused plantations to lack fuel some days leading to delay in carrying out the farm
operations Therefore proper fuel management cannot be achieved without a well-designed fuel management system.
Therefore, this study was intended to design a computerized fuel management system that will be able to determine the required amount of fuel required by the tractor to perform a give farm operation using different farm implements, and also store the fuel records for the fuel used on each day in the database. This project focused on the fuel used in the plantation section since this is where most fuel losses occur.
The system was designed, tested and debagged and it was found out that, the data could be saved in the three databases that is; personnel, in-charge and auditor. Approximately 30 minutes is saved every day of work and fuel available in the tank at the section can be known just by the click of a button. Hence making fuel accountability and auditing much easier in the plantations due to reliable data.
