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

Project adoption

Technology integrated in the CREW project in Ethiopia

Programme reach: 500,000 smallholder households (≈2.3 million people)

Budget: USD 94.30 million

Implementation period: Oct 2023 – Dec 2028

Productivity & market impact: Yields 3.04→4.0 t/ha; surplus 30%→60%; income USD 1,680/year

See project details ›

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 program

Combine Harvesters for Wheat and Fleet Management Tool improves wheat harvesting efficiency by combining mechanized harvesting with digital fleet management to optimize machine performance and service delivery. The technology can be integrated into agricultural mechanization, wheat value chain development, and food security programs to reduce post-harvest losses, improve operational efficiency, increase productivity, and strengthen access to mechanization services. Its adoption contributes to SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To integrate this technology into your project, plan and budget for the following activities and prerequisites:

Assess wheat production areas, harvesting demand, mechanization needs, and the capacity required for efficient combine harvester deployment.
Establish partnerships with International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), agro-dealers, mechanization service providers, agricultural development institutes, and other wheat value chain stakeholders to support technology dissemination and scaling.
Facilitate access to combine harvesters, spare parts, maintenance services, and the fleet management platform, including equipment procurement, transportation, and installation where required.
Implement training and post-training support for machine operators, technicians, and service providers on combine harvester operation, maintenance, and fleet management.
Support extension and awareness activities to promote the adoption of mechanized harvesting and digital fleet management solutions.
Promote the participation of youth, women, and mechanization service providers in technology adoption and service delivery.
Implement monitoring, learning, and inclusion activities throughout the project lifecycle.
Track key indicators such as machine utilization, harvesting efficiency, post-harvest losses, area harvested, service delivery, and technology adoption.

56—63 USD

harvesting unit cost per Ha

IP

Unknown

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Ethiopia – Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development Project (CREW)

Project funder: African Development Fund (ADF), Government of the Netherlands, OCP Africa, Global Center for Adaptation (GCA), Government of Ethiopia
Planned Budget: USD 94.30 million (UA 69.85 million)
Location: Ethiopia – 78 Woredas across Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali Regional States
Planned duration: Oct 2023 – Dec 2028 (5 years)
Deployment means: Large-scale demonstrations of GAP, extension agent training, certified seed distribution, digital “e-extension” services, provision of equipment (e.g., solar water pumps)
Project main implementer: Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) of Ethiopia
Project Description: Focuses on climate-smart wheat productivity (seeds, soil health, irrigation, mechanization), market infrastructure (storage, finance), and project coordination
Objective: Increase wheat productivity and production, boost smallholder incomes, and help Ethiopia achieve national wheat self-sufficiency
Expected outcome: Wheat yield increase from 3.04 t/ha to 4.0 t/ha; national production to 8.2 million tons; average annual household income USD 1,680
Figures of adoption: 500,000 households reached; 23,092 ha irrigation rehabilitated; 1,000,000 ha soil mapped; 4,000 MT breeder/pre-basic seeds produced; 106 warehouses constructed
Profiles of adopters: Rural smallholder farmers; 50% women (75,000 female-headed households); youth involved in mechanization centers
Lessons learnt:

Success factors: TAAT program synergy, high political commitment
Constraints: Security threats, climate vulnerability (drought/flood), gender gaps in resource access
Insights: Digital tools (GIS soil mapping, e-extension) are critical for scaling climate-smart solutions

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 3 July 2026