Cleverly cutting costs in Cambodia

Prey Veng—A new and promising technology delighted farmers, machine operators, extension workers, manufacturers, local consultants, and government officials during a training and field demonstration on 31 January-4 February 2007. Now, they can reduce their losses and harvesting cost, and produce better-quality rice using a new small-scale combine harvester.

The new mini combine harvester can reduce harvesting cost and produce more and better-quality grain. (Photo by M. Pyseth)

This is good news as harvesting cost increased recently in many provinces in Cambodia and Lao PDR. Urbanization and attractive labor markets in neighboring countries such as Thailand are causing increasing labor shortage during the peak season. Farmers compete for the same few available laborers for all the different harvesting operations (cutting, threshing, cleaning, and hauling) until the rice grains are safe in farmers’ homes. They now easily pay US$65 per hectare in Prey Veng and up to $70 per hectare in Battambang Province.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has teamed up with Vietnam’s Nong Lam University (NLU) and the Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA) in Prey Veng, through a project of the Postproduction Work Group of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC), the Asian Development Bank, and the Japanese Fund for Poverty Reduction. They aim to transfer the technology to Cambodia and later to Lao PDR to help farmers minimize their rice harvest losses and cost.

Demonstrations were conducted in three areas and attracted more than 150 villagers and potential combine harvesting service providers. On the first day, Prey Veng Governor Ung Samy and officials from the Departments of Agricultural Engineering and Agricultural Extension were able to view the new technology up close. Field demonstrations and capacity-building measures for operators, extension workers, and local manufacturers were held. Combine specialists from NLU and from the manufacturer provided hands-on training on maintenance and using the machine, and assisted the local PDA team in demonstrating the combine to key farmers.

Harvesting expert Tran Van Khan of Nong Lam University, Vietnam, explains the combine to Ung Samy (in black shirt), governor of Prey Veng, Cambodia, and to staff of the Provincial Department of Agriculture. (Photo by M. Pyseth)

In Vietnam and the Philippines, countries facing similar problems, mini combine harvesters are gaining popularity among farmers. The harvester was developed by engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton and national research institutions from both countries, and was then transferred to local manufacturers. Costing less than $5,000, it can harvest 1–1.5 hectares per day, and consists of a cutter-bar for cutting the crop, a small axial-flow thresher, and a built-in cleaner that delivers threshed grains of high purity straight into a sack. This highly mobile harvester needs only three persons to operate, can harvest even in flooded fields, and can be serviced by local workshops.

“Farmers can benefit in two ways from the combine,” says Dr. Meas Pyseth, an IRRI consultant based in Cambodia. “First, they can get their crop harvested cheaper; second, they can sell more and better-quality grain because they can reduce the shattering of overmature grain and maintain good quality through timely harvesting. A first estimation showed that local operating costs are around $35 per hectare, leaving a good margin to provide profit to the operator and reduce the current high harvesting cost for farmers.”

“This activity is an example of the integrated approach of IRRI’s postharvest group to provide rice farmers with options to maximize their profits,” says Martin Gummert, IRRI postharvest development specialist. “We work with the relevant international and national stakeholders from the private and public sectors to introduce appropriate technologies. We then arrange technology options and capacity building for farmer intermediaries. We also encourage support to local small and medium enterprises that will ensure after-sales service to farmers. The result is a sustainable improvement in farmers’ income.”

Martin Gummert (m.gummert@cgiar.org)
 

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