Evaluation of Paddy Losses in Highland Madagascar

Transcription

1 Evaluation of Paddy Losses in Highland Madagascar Suismono 1 and Kabaki Nobuyuki 2 1 Indonesian Center for Agricultural Postharvest Research and Development (ICAPRD) Indonesian Agricultural Agency for Research and Development (IAARD) Jl. Tentara Pelajar 12, Bogor 16114, Indonesia 2 Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), Madagascar suismono@yahoo.com (corresponding author) Key word: Paddy, losses, postharvest technology, Madagascar. Abstract Rice is the staple food of the people of Madagascar. One attempt to support the rice production in highland Madagascar is through reducing paddy losses during the postharvest handling. Diversity of the postharvest treatments phase in the farmer levels and unavailability of paddy losses data in Madagascar were the reason to initiate the study to evaluate the paddy losses and strategy implementation of rice postharvest technologies to reduce the losses. Experiment results showed that existing postharvest technology practiced by farmers accounted for paddy losses of about 14,80% while recommended technology package led paddy losses to about 7,27% so it can suppressed losses as much as 7,53%. Recommended technology package to reduce losses of rice can be carried out by: (a) Regularly harvesting manually with sickle, (b) Threshing conducted directly in the fields (without delays and displacement), (c) Drying with plastic sheeting, and (d) Using a milling system with a double-pass configuration process CHSPP (Paddy Cleaner-Husker-Separator-Polisher-Polisher). INTRODUCTION The island of Madagascar is home to nearly 20 million people (2006), 80% of which live in rural areas. A total of 1,7 million farmers are involved in the production of rice in Madagascar. Rice is the staple food of the Madagascar. The importance of rice production in Madagascar was also indicated by national demand which amounts to 2.2 million tons per year, and domestic production of about 2 million tons which was insufficient even in years with normal rainfall regime. About 200,000 tons was annually imported, and more than 47% of the national territory arable lands were allocated for rice production (Republika Malagasy, 1987). Postharvest losses of rice affected rice production and food security in Madagascar. There was no data and methods of measuring losses of rice found and documented in Madagascar (Takashi Kimijima, 2009). Farmers do not think and feel that any postharvest loss have been happening, because not knowing the factors that cause losses of rice, as well as research on losses of rice in Madagascar have not been developed. Objective of research resulted the postharvest technology improvements to reduce loss during rice post-harvest study was to evaluate the paddy losses and recommend strategy implementation of rice postharvest technologies to reduce the losses. METHODOLOGY Location of the research was five regions in Madagascar's Central Highland areas (Vakinankaratra, Bongolava, Alaotra Mangoro, Itasy and Analamanga). 321

2 Measurement of post-harvest losses of rice from each stage of harvesting, transporting, threshing, drying, milling, and storage to find out data and information of rice postharvest losses in small harvest season (October December 2012) and big harvest season (March June 2013) in the central highland areas of Madagascar. Take samples of rice to determine the paddy losses (Anonymous, 2011) on each respondent and each region. Measurement Method Losses of Harvesting Harvest Losses starting from the time of harvest/cutting rice to temporary piling-up. Prepare equipments (elbow, meter, 9 boards, 5 fruit growers sickle, hanging scales max. 10kg, weigher max.100kg, moisture tester, plastic bag 10 pieces, plastic bags 5 kg (1 pack), marker maker, base plastic sheeting. 8x8 m, rope and pedestal. Select the fields ready to harvest (no pain, no fall and sunny weather) Harvest in the mornings at 9:00 to 10:00 am. Tiles field size of 5 m x 5 m, and place the board nine randomly Select 3-5 farmers to harvest according to their method, each given a plastic bag to put the yield of cut rice.. Take all boards 9, calculate the amount of grain that fell on board 9 and calculate the conversion of heavy cuts losses on conversion table (B) Collect paddy cutting results along with its base to the threshing area. Take out rice for threshed and weighed (A), rice left on base were then weighed (C). Calculation : (in hectar) B + C Losses of harvesting = A + B + C Losses of Transportation Losses occurred due to the reduction in the transport of grain/rice during the transport process. Unfavorable transport of conveyance and packaging resulting in grain/rice scattering during the trip. Calculation of shrinkage transporting grain/rice is measured by measuring the weight of grain/rice before (A) and after (B) transportation. Calculation : A - B Losses transport = A Losses of Delay Losses occurred due to the reduction in the delay of grain/rice during the delay process. Calculation of grain delay losses is measured by measuring the weight of grain/rice before delay (A) and the weight of scattered grain (B) during delay. B Losses of delay = A + B Losses of Threshing Three kind of the paddy threshing are used i.e. manual, pedal or power thresher system. 322

3 Preparation (threshing site should be flat, dry land, threshed immediately after rice is cut. Use freshly harvested rice/not delayed). The tool is placed alongside a pedestal thresher. The exit of the grain must follow the direction of the wind. Prepare harvested rice kg (manual) or 400 kg (power threshers) Place plastic pedestal control (8 mx 8 m) above base of farmers. Threshing done according to farmers method, taking into account the wind direction. The net threshed grain (A), straw (B) and dirt (C). weighed. Measure the moisture content of clean grain with a Moisture Tester (5 replicates) Collect and weigh farmers grain thrown out of base (A1) Separate and weigh grains that are still attached to the straw (A2). Calculate (A2), tske samples of 1 kg straw after threshing, then remove grain that is still attached to the rice panicle, collect and weighed (X). Separate and weigh pithy grains that carried over into dirt (A3). Calculating (A3), take dirt 1 kg, separate pithy grains that carried over into dirty, and weighed (Y). Losses of Drying Weigh 500 kg harvest dried grains (for sun drying) or kg (for mechanical dryer) (X), measure water content before drying (m1) Weigh grain after drying (Y) and measure water content after drying (m2) Drying loss was calculated based on dry basis weight. Calculation : A - B Losses of drying = A A = m m2 x X B = x Y Losses of Milling Losses of milling is difference between recovery of control (RC) and recovery of field (RL) The recovery of milled rice is a ratio used to express the weight percentage of milled rice yield (B) to the weight of the milled grain (A). The yield is the amount of rice obtained in the process of milling in the field (RL) Yield control is the amount earned in rice milling process that all processes can be controlled (RC) Uniform loss calculations performed on the degree of polished milling rice 100% (100% DS) in which all aleurone layer/bran are washed away. The degree of polished (DS) is the percentage of released aleurone layer/bran on rice during the polishing process. (in 80%, 90% and 100%). Calculation : B The recovery of rice = A A = Weight of paddy grain, B = Weight of milled rice 323

4 Losses of milling = recovery of control recovery of field (RC) (RL) Losses of Paddy Grain Storage Losses occur during storage. Retention period set 4-6 months. Losses storage of grain/rice measured by the weight of grain/rice before (A) and after storage (B). Water levels measured at early and late storage. Calculation: A - B Losses of storage = A RESULTS AND DISCUSION Evaluation of paddy losses Rice yield loss in the 5 regions in the central highland areas of Madagascar were still high i.e % (Figure 1 and Table 1). Average yield loss from harvest to storage on each phase/stage of postharvest was about 2%, except at the phase of harvesting i.e. loss of 0.49% and 1.73% during drying stage (both were considered as the lowest losses) while the highest yield loss was during the storage phase (2.44%) and transportation phase (2.95%). Harvesting. Harvest losses of rice at this stage was low (0.49%) (Table 1) due to (a) harvesting system with wages paid per day and yield losses can be reduced, (b) rice harvest was mostly done manually using a sickle, except in Alaotra region, some farmers use rice cutting machine (stripper) due to a large harvest area, (c) the number of labor was limited by the owner of paddy power harvester i.e people per hectar and harvest area are generally not too large, so there was a lot of losses when cutting. Harvesting losses can occur due to the time when cutting, laying and collecting stover cut, and (d) the use of loss resistant new varieties No.2025, mostly in Bongolava region. Transportation. Farmers need hay to feed livestock, so threshing was done at home and there was transportation losses (3,02%). With various types of transportation such as manually transported, with Sarety, car or boat, there would increased crop yield loss. Transport was manually carried out when the location was close to the rice farmer owner. Harvest was delayed in Alaotra-Mangoro region and Analamanga region during dry season. Delay. Harvest delay in Alaotra was conducted in rice fields near his farm (called "Tonta"), while the harvest delay in Analamanga was conducted at home. Delays was caused by extensive rice harvested areas and the limited thresher. Threshing. Threshing paddy in Madagascar is generally conducted manually using stone, drums, wood, while in some places i.e Bongolava and Itasy regions, they use pedal thresher. Yield loss was very high (5.5%) when using wood compared to using drums and stone. The lowest losses of rice occured when using a pedal thresher (1.5%). Power thresher was not used because fuel was still expensive except in the region of Alaotra where rice farmers used tractors or oxen animal depending on the size of area. That was the habitual situation because of the vast paddy fields and limited farmers having threshing equipmemts, and that was the reason why delays occured in the fields. This delay was overcome by making piles of paddy that has dried first and then farmers wait for threshing process, called "Tonta". Threshing was mostly conducted directly on the ground or on the cement floor. When the threshing was done in the field, farmers were using plastic sheet to collect the grains. 324

5 Drying. Paddy grains was sundried in several ways such as on plastic sheeting floor, woven bamboo, drying on the ground or on the side of the road. The lowest losses were by using plastic sheeting drying floor (1.6%) and the highest when dried on the road side (2.02%). Grains dried on the ground still contain other foreign objects. Therefore, to clear foreign objects, winower tool or cleaner machine were required during rice milling process. Losses during drying on the cement floor was still high because thickness of grains layer on the floor drying is more than 5 cm (about cm). Milling Rice milling units (RMU) in Madagascar mostly found (1) in the central highland areas of Madagascar, located only along national roadside (2) mostly small-scale rice milling system (Engelberg and one pass system). While the double pass rice mill type are located only on Itasy and Analamanga Region, and partly Alaotra region. Double pass types on commercial scale have varies configuration process. Such conditions lead to low quality of rice. (3) Traders sell rice from the Engelberg one pass rice milling type so low quality was found in rice market and (4) Consumer did not pay attention to the quality/grade of rice, they were more concerned with quantity. Therefore necessary learning which has to be noted was preferences consumer acceptance of quality rice. Rice milling losses on average was 1.83%. Losses of one-pass milling system (1.93%) was higher than the double-pass system (1.60%). This was because that one-pass system is not equipped with a sieve, so the grains from husker then processed directly at polisher, consequently broken rice increased. The use of double-pass RMU was necessary to reduce loss of 0.33 to 1.0% compared to one-pass RMU. Central Highland areas of Madagascar have two rice harvests seasons : small-scale rice harvest season in October-December (small harvest/sh), while large-scale paddy season in April-June (big harvest/bh). Results of evaluation losses during the rice harvest in 5 regions in the central highland areas of Madagascar are shown in Table 2. Harvest losses of rice at SH (11.84%) was higher than the harvest season BH (8.09%) (Table 3) because the SH was during winter monsoon time with so much water at harvest therefore harvesting was more difficult than in the BH season with rarely rains. Highest rice losses (14.18%) in the region are in Analamanga because farmers were conducting threshing at home, resulting in losses and transportation delays. Losses in Vakinankaratra and Alaotra regions were about 9% because some farmers were threshing paddy at home and in the fields. The lowest losses were in Bongolava region (7%) (Table 3) because most of the farmers were working in the fields, so there was no transport losses and delays. Distance between the rice fields and farmhouses were long enough hence the farmers were forced to finish all works in the field. Technology Package to Reduce Paddy Losses Based on the evaluation of paddy losses in the field, a package of post-harvest technologies can be recommended to reduce paddy losses in the central highland areas of Madagascar. Paddy losses caused by practising the traditional farmer s postharvest technology were about 14.80% while paddy losses by practising recommended technology package was about 7,27%. Therefore recommended technology can reduce up to 7,53% paddy losses (Table 2). Recommended technology package to reduce losses of rice can be done by: Regularly harvesting with sickle Threshing was conducted in the field/fields (do not allow delays and transportation) Sundrying by using plastic sheeting floor/mats 325

6 Using a milling system with a double-pass configuration process called CHSPP (Paddy Cleaner-Husker-Separator-Polisher-Polisher) (Suismono, 2013). CONCLUSION Based on the evaluation of paddy losses in the field, a package of post-harvest technologies can be recommended to reduce paddy losses in the central highland areas of Madagascar. Paddy losses due to practising the farmer s postharvest technology were about 14.80% and paddy losses due to practising recommended postharvest technology package was about 7,27% so reducing paddy losses 7,53%. Recommended technology package to reduce losses of paddy/rice were: Regularly harvesting manually with sickle Threshing conducted in the field/fields (do not allow delays and transportation) Drying with using plastic sheeting floor/mats Using a milling system with a double-pass configuration process called CHSPP (Paddy (Cleaner-Husker-Separator-Polisher-Polisher) Literature Cited Anonymous, General Guidelines for Measuring Rice Post-harvest Losses. Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (AARD). Ministry of Agriculture. Republic of Indonesia. Jakarta. Republika Malagasy Enquete sur les pertes de paddy apres recolte. Ministere de la production agricole et de la reforme agraire. Pp 17 + tables In Hodges RJ. Postharvest weight loss estimates for cereal supply calculations in East and Southern Africa. Natural Resources Institute University of Greenwich Chatham Maritime. Kent ME4 4TB, UK. Suismono, Project for Productivity Improvement in Central Highland in The republic of Madagascar. Final report of Third Country Expert/TCE JICA. Madagascar. Takashi Kimijima, The Result of the Baseline survey for the Project for Rice Productivity Improvement in Central Highland in Madagascar. Report on Japan International Coorperation Agency (JICA), Madagascar. 326

7 Tables Table 1. Convertion of paddy losses with Tile method Table 2. Postharvest losses of rice due to practising farmer s technology in highland Madagascar. 327

8 Table 3. Table 2. Postharvest technology to decrease paddy losses in the central highland areas of Madagascar. 328

9 Figures 329

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