Abstract:
Finger millet (Eleusine coracona) is a cereal crop plant that belongs to the grass family which is
grown in many countries of Africa and Asia. The millet is rich in polyphenols and particularly in
calcium (Kidoido et al., 2002). The crop is also processed into value added products like cookies
or beer by the farmers themselves, or by processors at the local or national levels (Oduori 2005).
Production of finger millet in Uganda is carried out on a small scale with farmers mainly
growing traditional varieties (Mgonja, et al (2007)) and for subsistence purposes though it is
second to maize as a major cereal crop and one of those whose demand is outstripping its supply
hence calling for more production. Due to this fact, there is increase in labour demand especially
during harvesting and on addition to that; the largest contribution comes from women (about
75% of the labour force according to FAO, 2000). The crop is harvested by hand, using locally
fabricated blunt edged metal strips which results into drudgery, more time being spent in
carrying out the operation and the operation coinciding with rains which leads to deterioration of
the quality of the grains.
This project undertook the development of a small scale engine powered millet harvester with
the aim of reducing on the drudgery and increasing timeliness of the harvesting operations. The
main objective of the project was to design and construct a small scale engine powered millet
harvester that meets the farmers’ harvesting requirements. To achieve the above objective, basic
engineering principles and the physical properties of millet were considered in the design of the
various components of the harvester. Appropriate engineering drawings were produced using
solid edge and AutoCAD and then the designed harvester was constructed at the Busitema
University Work shop using the locally available materials (mainly mild steel) and common
production technologies, including cutting, bending, welding, etc.
The field performance of the constructed harvester was determined by the field capacity, field
efficiency and cutting efficiency. It was found out that the harvester has efficiency and actual
capacity of up to 50.6% and 0.041ha/hr respectively. Thus the use of the harvester demonstrated
to have a very big role in reducing drudgery and making farming attractive; thereby improving
crop production and mitigating the labor shortages experienced during harvesting which finally
increases the annual saving of the small scale millet farmers in Uganda.
