Introducing Drying Methods for Maize, Bringing Marketing Season Immediately After Harvest
Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba Wrote;
At a mass rally held in Petauke district, Tonse-Pamodzi leaders Hon. Brian Mundubile and Hon.Makebi Zulu used the opportunity to speak to farmers in the country.
They proposed extensive innovations, pledged to remove bureaucratic bottle-necks, and offered to grant more seeds and fertiliser bags for farming more hectarage.
Mundubile promised to scale up mechanisation and irrigation, pledging to bring tractors to agriculture cooperatives and small-holder farmers at their farm gate.
One innovation made by Mundubile was to crop farmers; he offered industrial or commercial drying methods for their maize to reduce mositure content.
He stated that farmers usually wait a long time to sell their maize and get their money from the once-a-year seasonal labour and hardwork.
He proposed to significantly shorten the marketing season, pledging that it would start immediately after harvest instead of the traditional July/August as industrial and commercial drying methods will be introduced such as industrial dryers.
This innovative proposal has received ridicule from the UPND.
This is shocking! A display of utter ignorance on their side.
Maize must be dried to below 13% moisture content for safe, long-term storage and to prevent spoilage.
When harvested, maize typically contains 18% to 35% moisture. Because it is a living organism at harvest, high moisture levels increase respiration, which creates heat and allows destructive molds, mildews, and lethal toxins like aflatoxins to ruin the crops.
There are many methods of reducing mositure content.
In Zambia we use sun, field or natural air drying methods hence the marketing season starting after 3-4 months after the harvest.
This is extremely costly to the farmer.
Methods of Drying Maize or Other Crops
1. Heated Air Dryers: Commercial or large-farm operations typically use propane or natural gas dryers to blow heated air through the grain.
Industrial and commercial maize drying relies on heavy-duty mechanical systems to rapidly lower kernel moisture content from harvest levels (20% to 30%) down to safe storage levels (12% to 15%).
This process prevents mold growth, stops aflatoxin contamination, and extends the storage life of the grain for months.
2. Large-Scale & Commercial Drying Methods
Commercial agricultural operations utilize mechanized set-ups to handle massive capacities quickly:
a) In-Bin Drying: Loading grain into large storage bins equipped with perforated floors, high-pressure fans, and low-temperature heaters to gently sweep moisture upward through top exhaust vents.
b) Continuous-Flow Dryers: Utilizing specialized columns that constantly pull wet maize through a high-heat section powered by propane or natural gas, cooling it down rapidly as it exits 24/7.
c) Combination Drying: Utilizing a high-temperature dryer to quickly knock the initial moisture down to about 20%, then transferring the grain to a standard storage bin using natural air to finish the process.
3. Field Drying: Leaving the maize on the stalks to dry naturally in the sun and wind before harvesting.
4. Husk Tying: Pulling back the husks, stripping the silks, and tying the husks together into knots to hang upside down in a well-ventilated barn or rafters.
5. Rack Hanging: Constructing simple wooden hanging frames or driving bent nails into structures to impale and hold wet cobs separately to maximize ambient airflow.
6. Tarpaulin Sun Drying: Spreading shelled kernels onto clean canvas sheets or tarps in the sun. You must never dry maize directly on the bare ground, as it absorbs soil moisture and significantly increases toxic aflatoxin risks.
So instead of showing ignorance or displaying utter ignorance, I expected the UPND, whose leader is a renowned rancher and has diversified to crop farming to know these details.
Mundubile is onto something.