“Once upon a time, my friend invited me to visit his family in countryside around Gojjam in Amhara state. We have passed together for about a week there, and I got the chance to see mass production of maize. However, I saw that they suffer a lot in removing grains of corn from its comb, they use with their hand or they use to drub it with heavy stick, by putting it in a bag, which I found the whole process time-taking and tedious. Since that day, I was thinking how I can bring some solution to this.”
This is Habtamu Teka, who innovate manual as well as electronic maize grain remover, by using locally available materials, in order to make the refining process easy for farmers. He has made machine that can operate manually, for all farmers including that have no access to electricity. According to his observation in order to remove maize grain from a single comb in usual way with hand, it will take them one minute for fast and experienced man.
However with his finding farmers can remove grain from ten combs within a minute. This decreases work of an hour to six minutes only. Central Gondar Zone Agriculture Bureau, Seed Duplication Expert Berihun Melkamu, said that; “His innovation is highly liked by farmers and now we are helping him to provide for all of farmers in our five woredas. Until now, we have addressed more than ten thousand farmers and there is increasing demand.”
He further noted that, Habtamu’s innovation is very much helpful for farmers in that it highly saves their time, avoids injury of hands, which is common when they use to remove with their hands and also it is very cheap in that it is provided with only 150 ET Birr. The manual machine is also very much durable and predicted it can serve more than ten years, without any problem.
As of Berihun, University of Gondar, have certified quality certificate after testing this innovation, by distributing for more than 800 farmers surrounding. He also said that, almost all areas of Ethiopia’s farmers are widely engage in maize production. However, still such kinds of work simplifying innovations are not experienced in observable manner.
Farmers, especially who farm maize at large plot are forced to kill ten to twenty days, even by employing the whole family and neighbors, in order to remove grains from combs, to get quintals of maize.
However with such innovation their time, money, manpower and many other things could be saved, he added. Moreover Habtamu said that; “I have also made this machine, enabling it to work by electric power, and this one is very much advanced, in time saving, it takes quintals of maize with combs and remove grain and gives quintals within minutes.” However he said that, even though he has renovate the machine to work with lite power generator, farmers still prefer the manual one, due to its lower cost.
The good news is now, in order to address this manual, problem solving, easy and cheap instrument, to all Amhara region maize farming farmers, Amhara credit association is took the responsibility to provide 20 machines per household, in a loan form, as of Berihun and Habtamu.
In addition, cooperative unions like Tsehay, also are buying in mass to distribute for their member farmers. However Habtamu said that; “The demand is only rising right now, even I have received about 20,000 orders this week, but yet I has only sold about 15000 product.” Habtamu’s innovation is also appreciated for it saving grains from break.
In the traditional way, especially when farmers use to hit it with heavy stick or when they use animal foot to remove grain from comb, substantial grains face breakdown, which can’t serve for seed then after. But with this improved manual, they could get fine grains, Berihun stressed.
Habtamu who is only 27, further said that; “I have a shortage of capital and some machineries and raw materials as well as workshop space. Beyond this I have more than 30 innovation idea that can simplify life, solve problem and save money. My dream is also to create job opportunity for many youths which I believe it is possible.”
The Ethiopian Herald April 9, 2019
BY YOSEF KETEMA
