Combine Harvesters for Wheat and Fleet Management tool

Efficient Harvesting, Smarter Fleet Management

The combine harvester is a modern agricultural machinery designed to perform multiple harvesting operations as threshing, gathering, and winnowing, all in a single process. Available in various sizes, its suitable for crops like wheat, maize, rice, soybean, barley, sunflower, and more.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Under 18: Positive high

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Carbon footprint: More carbon released

Problem

Traditional manual harvesting is time-consuming and demands significant labor.
Conventional threshing methods are slow and risk potential grain loss.
Manual separation of grain from chaff is inefficient, leading to impurities.
Older methods may have limited capacity, resulting in slower operations.

Solution

Combine harvesters automates the harvesting process, reducing the need for manual labor.
Its offers threshing mechanisms, minimizing grain loss during harvesting.
Its incorporate separation technologies, ensuring effective grain separation and reducing impurities.
Help to increases harvesting capacity.

Key points to design your project

Combine harvesters and fleet management are transformative solutions addressing key challenges in traditional grain harvesting methods. They not only boost agricultural income but also align with global sustainability objectives, reducing yield losses and creating a pathway for a resilient and equitable future in grain farming.

To integrate this technology into your project and outline the necessary activities and requirements, follow these steps:

Evaluate the size and number of units needed for your project, keeping in mind that investment costs vary depending on the size of the technology. Small units with no grain tank and a cutting width of 1.1 meters start at 12,000 USD, while large units with a cutting width of 10 meters and a 5,000-liter grain tank cost between 300,000 USD and 500,000 USD.
Consider where the technology is sourced (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and include the cost of delivery to the project site, taking into account any import duties and taxes.

A team of trainers could provide training and support during project installation. Include the cost for training and post-training support for using the technology.

Communication support for the technology should be developed (flyers, videos, radio broadcasts, etc.)

To implement the technology in your country, you could collaborate with agricultural development institutes and agro-dealers.

For a better optimization of fleet management, you should associate Hello Tractor technology, a digital tool for service contracting and performance tracking that can be used anywhere, thanks to its ability to roam different telecom networks and achieve a GPS accuracy of up to 2 meters.

Cost: $$$ 12,000—500,000 USD

Unit of combine harvesters

35 %

Reduced harvest losses

56—63 USD

harvesting unit cost per Ha

IP

Unknown

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

To operate a combine harvester:

1. Ensure the operator is trained in combine harvester operation, including electronic control panels and mechanical components, to ensure proper usage and prevent breakdowns.

2. Survey the field in consultation with farmers to determine the best approach, considering factors like crop height, land slope, and field features. This assessment aims to prevent grain losses, excessive fuel consumption, poor maneuverability, and damage to irrigation furrows.

3. Combine harvester owners can provide services directly to farmers or collaborate with booking agents who aggregate demand within the community, or use a combination of both approaches.

4. Farmers seeking contract mechanization services should request, schedule, and prepay for these services through SMS messaging or mobile applications, connecting them with equipment owners or booking agents.

5. Once the job is completed, the balance of payment is settled through the digital system, ensuring a transparent and efficient transaction process.

6. Equipment owners and investors receive detailed reports on user and cost-effectiveness, enabling them to refine their business models and access financing for acquiring new equipment.

Last updated on 19 August 2024