Bosco Hitimana

KIGALI, RWANDA - A locally made rice thresher is expected to boost Rwanda's rice industry by saving farmers' time spent processing rice, leading to more efficient farm operations and increased productivity.



The machine demonstrated recently at the Rwanda Institute of Agricultural Research (ISAR)'s experimental field in the area surrounding Gikonko rice scheme, Southern Province, is a brain child of Jean Claude Ndagano, a Rwandan agricultural engineer working with the Rwanda Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).



Prior to inventing the machine, Ndagano and another Rwandan had last year completed a nine-month course entitled 'Development Farm Machinery for Small Scale Farmers' conducted in Japan with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The course included a complete set of planning for agricultural mechanisation in developing countries.



Ndagano's machine comprises of a threshing drum, support frame, a bicycle sprocket, chain and a pedal. "I found a similar machine in Japan, which uses gears, and I decided to use the bicycle sprocket and chain to minimise the cost of the machine," says Ndagano.



At a price of Rwf200, 000(US$351.216), the manually operated machine is 60% cheaper than a similar machine, farmers used to import from China at Rwf500, 000($878.040) before 1994. Due to the nature of some rice varieties grown in Rwanda like short grain or Japonica, farmers experience hard times during rice processing.



Ndagano explains that farmers have to hit rice trees on stones several times to separate the grain from the panicle which is less efficient leading to 30% grain loss and low productivity. He says that his machine saves farmers' time and reduces grain loss significantly by 99.9% during threshing process leading to rise in productivity.



"We decided to manufacture the thresher to minimise grain loss and time farmers spend processing rice," he explains.

The machine, operated by one person, is also vital in minimising farmers' operating costs by reducing the number of labourers required to finish threshing. The lightweight, easy to operate blue machine suitable for small-scale farmers, can process 140 Kilograms of rice per hour.



This is more efficient and cost effective compared to hiring 140 labourers to thresh a similar capacity in a number of days.

Ndagano, who has so far made one machine, plans to make 10 more machines and distribute them across rice schemes in the Southern Province.



"I think it is now easy for me to make the machines and distribute them across the country."



He is also keen to passing on the skills to fellow Rwandans especially agricultural engineers. For instance, when he was making the machine, he trained five other technicians on how to make thresher.



He says most Rwandan agricultural engineers have the capacity to make several machines but they lack technical specifications. He states that he will be sharing with secrets in determining technical specifications for them to make useful machines.



Despite the fact that the new machine has received a warm welcome from the farmers, it has not yet reached them, according to the President of Rice Farmers' Federation, Mr. Esdras Nzabamwita.



Nzabamwita, however, notes that the machine will boost rice industry by saving farmers' time leading to good quality.



JICA Rwanda Office, which sponsored Ndagano, the rice thresher can be replicated as a way of making it available to most rice farms. On the government side, Ndagano said that through RADA, discussions to facilitate farmers to access the machine are going on.



Rwanda's fast growing rice Industry Rice is the staple diet for more than half of the world's population. The crop has been grown in Africa for some 3,500 years.



In 2008, rice industry, accounted for 35 % of sub-Saharan Africa's GDP and 75% of Africa's employment, according to the Africa Rice Centre (WARDA), an intergovernmental association of 23 rice-producing African countries based in Lomé, Togo. Rice was introduced to Rwanda in the 1950's and since then, it offers numerous advantages to the Rwandan people over the existing staple foods, which currently include bananas, sorghum, cassava, maize and potatoes.



More than four rice varieties are grown in the country on 12,000 hectares of land with a potential of reaching 66,000 hectares.