This document discusses the role of extension in promoting agricultural engineering in Nigeria. It outlines several labour-saving devices that have been developed by Nigerian research institutions to improve efficiency, but require adoption through extension efforts. The document provides a table listing various farm operations and the labour-saving equipment developed for each, along with their prime movers and capacities. It argues that extension can help train farmers on proper use of technologies and provide feedback to engineers. The goal is to increase productivity through mechanization while ensuring technologies are appropriate and sustainable.
Agricultural Mechanization: A Catalyst for Increased Production of Food, Ra...Adekanye Timothy
This seminar looks at the prospects of agriculturalmechanization as a good strategy to ensuring food security, raw materials for agro-allied industries and enhanced financial status of farmers in Nigeria.
The authors investigated the allocative and technical efficiencies of resources used in cocoyam production among small scale farmers in Central Agricultural Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: determine the allocative efficiency of resources used in cocoyam production in the area and determine also the technical efficiency of resources used in cocoyam production in the area. Primary data were used to conduct the study. Statistical tools employed were allocative efficiency index (AEI) and stochastic frontier production function (SFPF). Results of the allocative efficiency index showed that farm size (x1), fertilizer (x3) and herbicide (x5) were all found to be grossly underutilized since their allocative efficiency index were greater than one (1) and their marginal value product (MVP) were greater than their marginal factor cost (MFC). However, Labour (x2) alone was over-utilized. The following were recommended cocoyam farmers are advised to improve on their use of farm resources like land, fertilizer, herbicide and seeds as they were found to be under-utilized and labour should be controlled in such a way that it can be used in other farm enterprises.
Design and Development of Animal Drawn Ground Metered Axle Mechanism Boom Spr...IJERA Editor
A spraying technology was developed for use by rural farmers in Northern Nigeria. The farming systems in these areas are put into consideration and in keeping with appropriate technology initiative. The technology was designed to offer the farmers an equitable sprayer that shall be drawn by animal farm power and that is effective and affordable. The equipment was constructed using the parameters obtained from design and tested at a farmland within the University premises of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in Nigeria. The equipment consists of a boom with multiple Controlled Droplet Applicator (CDA) atomizer nozzles, a gear pump, a chemical tank, and chair for an operator; all attached to a framework bolted to a rear axle. It was observed that the Dynamic Wheel Load assuming even distribution of load was found to be 1575N and a net pull of 820N. The net pull offers convenient task and shall easily swallow energy requirement for spraying uphill terrains.
The role of agricultural engineering for sustaninable agriculture proceeding ...el sucahyo
The AESAP 2016 is organized by the Indonesian Society of Agricultural
Engineers (ISAE) Bogor Chapter, Department of Mechanical and Biosystem
Engineering Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) and Yanmar Agricultural
Research Institute – IPB (YARI- IPB). The grand theme of the Conference is:
“The Role of Agricultural Engineering for Sustainable Agricultural Production”
The two-days Conference which will be divided into 2 (two) sessions whereby
invited speakers and presenters present, elaborate and discuss the topics on
Postharvest and food engineering, Energy and agricultural machinery, Land
water resources engineering, Agricultural structures and environmental
engineering and System and management.
Appropriate mechanization of small farmsSandeep Pawar
Increasing food production to feed the growing population is a primary challenge of Indian
farming system. Indian agriculture is characterized by millions of small and marginal
farmers. About 100 million farm families with 250 million workers (50% of work force)
contribute not more than 14 % to GDP. One of the major reasons behind these figures is lack
of appropriate mechanization mainly in small farms in India. One of the main causes for low
agricultural productivity in most of the developing countries, including India, is the lack of
appropriate machineries that suit the requirements of small scale farms. Thus many farms are
deemed as unproductive and inefficient. Need of appropriate mechanization for Indian farms
is defined in the report. This study report attempts to throw a light on other countries
scenario in case of mechanization and possible learning so as to improve outcomes in
agriculture in India.
Agricultural Mechanization: A Catalyst for Increased Production of Food, Ra...Adekanye Timothy
This seminar looks at the prospects of agriculturalmechanization as a good strategy to ensuring food security, raw materials for agro-allied industries and enhanced financial status of farmers in Nigeria.
The authors investigated the allocative and technical efficiencies of resources used in cocoyam production among small scale farmers in Central Agricultural Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: determine the allocative efficiency of resources used in cocoyam production in the area and determine also the technical efficiency of resources used in cocoyam production in the area. Primary data were used to conduct the study. Statistical tools employed were allocative efficiency index (AEI) and stochastic frontier production function (SFPF). Results of the allocative efficiency index showed that farm size (x1), fertilizer (x3) and herbicide (x5) were all found to be grossly underutilized since their allocative efficiency index were greater than one (1) and their marginal value product (MVP) were greater than their marginal factor cost (MFC). However, Labour (x2) alone was over-utilized. The following were recommended cocoyam farmers are advised to improve on their use of farm resources like land, fertilizer, herbicide and seeds as they were found to be under-utilized and labour should be controlled in such a way that it can be used in other farm enterprises.
Design and Development of Animal Drawn Ground Metered Axle Mechanism Boom Spr...IJERA Editor
A spraying technology was developed for use by rural farmers in Northern Nigeria. The farming systems in these areas are put into consideration and in keeping with appropriate technology initiative. The technology was designed to offer the farmers an equitable sprayer that shall be drawn by animal farm power and that is effective and affordable. The equipment was constructed using the parameters obtained from design and tested at a farmland within the University premises of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in Nigeria. The equipment consists of a boom with multiple Controlled Droplet Applicator (CDA) atomizer nozzles, a gear pump, a chemical tank, and chair for an operator; all attached to a framework bolted to a rear axle. It was observed that the Dynamic Wheel Load assuming even distribution of load was found to be 1575N and a net pull of 820N. The net pull offers convenient task and shall easily swallow energy requirement for spraying uphill terrains.
The role of agricultural engineering for sustaninable agriculture proceeding ...el sucahyo
The AESAP 2016 is organized by the Indonesian Society of Agricultural
Engineers (ISAE) Bogor Chapter, Department of Mechanical and Biosystem
Engineering Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) and Yanmar Agricultural
Research Institute – IPB (YARI- IPB). The grand theme of the Conference is:
“The Role of Agricultural Engineering for Sustainable Agricultural Production”
The two-days Conference which will be divided into 2 (two) sessions whereby
invited speakers and presenters present, elaborate and discuss the topics on
Postharvest and food engineering, Energy and agricultural machinery, Land
water resources engineering, Agricultural structures and environmental
engineering and System and management.
Appropriate mechanization of small farmsSandeep Pawar
Increasing food production to feed the growing population is a primary challenge of Indian
farming system. Indian agriculture is characterized by millions of small and marginal
farmers. About 100 million farm families with 250 million workers (50% of work force)
contribute not more than 14 % to GDP. One of the major reasons behind these figures is lack
of appropriate mechanization mainly in small farms in India. One of the main causes for low
agricultural productivity in most of the developing countries, including India, is the lack of
appropriate machineries that suit the requirements of small scale farms. Thus many farms are
deemed as unproductive and inefficient. Need of appropriate mechanization for Indian farms
is defined in the report. This study report attempts to throw a light on other countries
scenario in case of mechanization and possible learning so as to improve outcomes in
agriculture in India.
Transforming Agrarian Economy through Innovative Science and Technologydewaliroy
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian Economy. In spite of having Higher Production Still Our agriculture system is technology deficit which is stopping us to attain a sustainable Agriculture System with Higher Productivity. Adopting Innovative Technology and linking it with the Agrarian Society will help us to bring the Transformation In Indian Agriculture.
Tamil Nadu, Agricultural Engineering Department,Agricultural Engineering Training Centre, Tiruchirapalli, Training on Newly developed Agricultural Machinery and Equipments, Past and present,1, Minor Irrigation Schemes.
"Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa: Sharing Development Experiences: Pakistan", presented by S. G. Abbas, at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
"Indian Agriculture and Mechanization" presented by Gajendra Singh, at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
"The Prospect for Introducing Mechanical Threshing Technology in Smallholder Agriculture: The Case of Ethiopia", presented by Girma Moges and Dawit Alemu at at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
Agro Buzz - Farm Mechanization in IndiaGodrejAgrovet
Mechanized agriculture has not been given its due in our country. While government efforts are in place, they are not significant in terms of crop productivity, farm incomes and the well-being of farmers in general.
"Agricultural Mechanization Development in Thailand", presented by Viboon Thepent at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
Transforming Agrarian Economy through Innovative Science and Technologydewaliroy
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian Economy. In spite of having Higher Production Still Our agriculture system is technology deficit which is stopping us to attain a sustainable Agriculture System with Higher Productivity. Adopting Innovative Technology and linking it with the Agrarian Society will help us to bring the Transformation In Indian Agriculture.
Tamil Nadu, Agricultural Engineering Department,Agricultural Engineering Training Centre, Tiruchirapalli, Training on Newly developed Agricultural Machinery and Equipments, Past and present,1, Minor Irrigation Schemes.
"Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa: Sharing Development Experiences: Pakistan", presented by S. G. Abbas, at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
"Indian Agriculture and Mechanization" presented by Gajendra Singh, at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
"The Prospect for Introducing Mechanical Threshing Technology in Smallholder Agriculture: The Case of Ethiopia", presented by Girma Moges and Dawit Alemu at at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
Agro Buzz - Farm Mechanization in IndiaGodrejAgrovet
Mechanized agriculture has not been given its due in our country. While government efforts are in place, they are not significant in terms of crop productivity, farm incomes and the well-being of farmers in general.
"Agricultural Mechanization Development in Thailand", presented by Viboon Thepent at NSD/IFPRI workshop on "Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Asia and Africa", June 18-19, 2014, Beijing, China
At Bridal Secrets, we offer dresses that combine superb fitting with contour finishing. Inspired by the latest wedding fashion trends, all of them are designed to suit today's brides, who want to look bold and confident. Each piece of bridal wear that we have in our showroom is made of luxurious fabric and is elegantly crafted by some of the multi-award winning designers of the world.
PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE CHARACTERIZATION OF OIL FROM NURSE TETRA (Brycinus n...Oyeniyi Samuel
Fish is an important source of protein providing essential amino acids. Imported fish oil are expensive, scarce and sometimes unavailable. However, extraction of oil from indigenous fish species will provide cheap, abundant and readily available product. This study therefore, aimed at the extraction of fish oil from Brycinus nurse. A total of 1368g of B. nurse was procured from Lake Alau, Borno State. The fish were divided into four samples A, B, C and D respectively. Sample A was oven dried for a period of 60 minutes, at maximum temperature of 70oC, sample B for 90 minutes at a maximum temperature of 96oC, sample C for 60 minutes at maximum of 96oC, and sample D for 90 minutes at a maximum temperature of 70oC. After oven drying, the samples were immediately transferred to mechanical workshop for oil extraction using hydraulic press. The characterization and the quality of fish oil were measured using the acid value, saponification value and relative density. Results showed that the fish oil from samples A, B, C, and D had acid value of 3.57mg/KOH, 3.59mgKOH, 2.9mg/KOH, and 2.75mg/KOH respectively, the saponification value of 82.8mg/KOH/g, 94.42mg/KOH/g, 82.8mg/KOH/g, and 70mg/KOH/g respectively while the relative density was found to be 0.04305 for sample A, 0.04301 for sample B, sample C 0.0433 and sample D 0.04307. It can be concluded that the fish oil values falls within the acceptable standard value which are suitable for application in pharmaceutical and food industries. Therefore, Brycinus nurse has the potential of producing fish oil for domestic and industrial use.
Design and Prototype Development of Hybrid Ploughing, Seeding and Fertilizing...ijceronline
This research work mainly focuses on design and prototype development of hybrid ploughing, seeding and fertilizing machine for typical Ethiopian farmers. In Ethiopia, the major tasks of farming include; ploughing, seeding and fertilizing. Since thousands of years until now the farming is dependent on oxen drawn plough plow. But, this system is labor intensive, time consuming and its depth of ploughing is shallow. These draw backs of existing agricultural system result in insufficient productivity. Now a day’s modern agricultural machines are being imported into the country. But they are used by few organizations, small agriculture investors and few rich farmers. In collaboration with the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, relevant data was collected on the gap of existing trial mechanisms and the need of farmers. To analyze the collected data and arrive at final output, methodology procedures followed by the researchers were; organizing the special design needs of end user, analyzing six alternative design concepts, selection of one optimal concept, detail dimensional design of selected concept, force analysis using the mechanics, dynamics and kinematics, preparing 2D and 3D drawings using Auto CAD and CATIA then finally prototype development. For the case of its economical applicability for poor Ethiopian farmers, the researchers assured that, it is low cost by conducting cost analysis. Unique features of this new design include; simultaneous ploughing, seeding, and fertilizing of multi lines, its mechanism for seeding variable size grains and for specifying their spacing, its control system relationship with the wheel rotation, its easiness to operate and maintain, its minimal damage to the seed during the process, its high level of operational reliability and its suitableness for modification based on capacity of the user. Therefore, using this machine will result in considerable improvements in productivity of the majority of Ethiopian farmers at lower cost.
CIMMYT smallholder’s mechanization strategy for sustainable intensification a...africa-rising
Presented by Rabé Yahaya, Walter Mupangwa, Ephrem Tadesse and Frédéric Baudron (CIMMYT) at the SAIRLA Second National Learning Alliance Workshop, ILRI, Addis Ababa, 23 November 2017
The challenges of agricultural engineering education in nigeria newJeremiah Tokurah
AEE is essential as a suitable vehicle towards sustainable development of the socio-economic infrastructures necessary for the growth of the agricultural sector. Undoubtedly, the quest for sustainable development in agriculture depends on the extent to which Agricultural Engineering Education is revamped and transformed to compete globally.
The challenges of agricultural engineering education in nigeria newJeremiah Tokurah
Agricultural Engineering Education is essential as a suitable vehicle towards sustainable development of the socio-economic infrastructures necessary for the growth of the agricultural sector. Undoubtedly, the quest for sustainable development in agriculture depends on the extent to which Agricultural Engineering Education is revamped and transformed to compete globally.
Lecturers’ Perception on Agriculture Mechanization in Rivers State, NigeriaAI Publications
The study investigated lecturers’ perception on agricultural mechanization in Rivers state, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted, four research questions which sought the information regarding benefits, awareness, challenges and solutions guided the study. Population of the study comprises 360 lecturers from three tertiary institutions in Rivers state. Data collection was achieved using a questionnaire comprising 32 items and rated on a five point likert scale. Mean was used for data analysis. For results, regarding benefits, the respondents agreed that agricultural mechanization boosts food production but disagree that it boosts employment of labour. For awareness, lecturers were generally aware of mechanization in agriculture. For challenges, they perceived lack of skills to use mechanized farm equipment as one challenge to mechanization. They perceived that favourable government policies could enhance agricultural mechanization. The study recommend that awareness on agricultural mechanization should be created and government set up agricultural machinery industries for developing and hiring out mechanized farm tools at subsidized rates to farmers.
Agriculture in Indian Economy and Contribution of Science and Technology IIJSRJournal
One of the oldest occupations in history, agriculture has benefited much from innovation throughout the years. Since then, science has played a significant role in agricultural innovation and quality assurance. We have listed a few of the factors that were mentioned in the introduction section if you'd want to understand more about the significance of science and technology in agriculture. Encouraging the use of science and technology is the cornerstone for improving agriculture's productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness, which also contributes to the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, ensures food security, social security, and increases the income of agricultural producers and traders.
The paper focused on the role of extension service providers in ensuring that
mechanization is adopted at the grassroot level among farmers. Information
dissemination, farmers’ education and awareness creation in motivating the
smallholder farmers to utilizing these farm machineries optimally plats a major role
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT – a Perspectivejaisingh277
This presentation deals with the agricultural technology management meaning, objectives, aims and methodologies for the benefit of students, faculty, extension specialists, agri – entrepreneurs and agri – policy makers.
Understanding Inductive Bias in Machine LearningSUTEJAS
This presentation explores the concept of inductive bias in machine learning. It explains how algorithms come with built-in assumptions and preferences that guide the learning process. You'll learn about the different types of inductive bias and how they can impact the performance and generalizability of machine learning models.
The presentation also covers the positive and negative aspects of inductive bias, along with strategies for mitigating potential drawbacks. We'll explore examples of how bias manifests in algorithms like neural networks and decision trees.
By understanding inductive bias, you can gain valuable insights into how machine learning models work and make informed decisions when building and deploying them.
NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN CONDENSING HEAT EXCHANGERS...ssuser7dcef0
Power plants release a large amount of water vapor into the
atmosphere through the stack. The flue gas can be a potential
source for obtaining much needed cooling water for a power
plant. If a power plant could recover and reuse a portion of this
moisture, it could reduce its total cooling water intake
requirement. One of the most practical way to recover water
from flue gas is to use a condensing heat exchanger. The power
plant could also recover latent heat due to condensation as well
as sensible heat due to lowering the flue gas exit temperature.
Additionally, harmful acids released from the stack can be
reduced in a condensing heat exchanger by acid condensation. reduced in a condensing heat exchanger by acid condensation.
Condensation of vapors in flue gas is a complicated
phenomenon since heat and mass transfer of water vapor and
various acids simultaneously occur in the presence of noncondensable
gases such as nitrogen and oxygen. Design of a
condenser depends on the knowledge and understanding of the
heat and mass transfer processes. A computer program for
numerical simulations of water (H2O) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
condensation in a flue gas condensing heat exchanger was
developed using MATLAB. Governing equations based on
mass and energy balances for the system were derived to
predict variables such as flue gas exit temperature, cooling
water outlet temperature, mole fraction and condensation rates
of water and sulfuric acid vapors. The equations were solved
using an iterative solution technique with calculations of heat
and mass transfer coefficients and physical properties.
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Saudi Arabia stands as a titan in the global energy landscape, renowned for its abundant oil and gas resources. It's the largest exporter of petroleum and holds some of the world's most significant reserves. Let's delve into the top 10 oil and gas projects shaping Saudi Arabia's energy future in 2024.
Harnessing WebAssembly for Real-time Stateless Streaming PipelinesChristina Lin
Traditionally, dealing with real-time data pipelines has involved significant overhead, even for straightforward tasks like data transformation or masking. However, in this talk, we’ll venture into the dynamic realm of WebAssembly (WASM) and discover how it can revolutionize the creation of stateless streaming pipelines within a Kafka (Redpanda) broker. These pipelines are adept at managing low-latency, high-data-volume scenarios.
Sachpazis:Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Estimation in simple terms with Calculati...Dr.Costas Sachpazis
Terzaghi's soil bearing capacity theory, developed by Karl Terzaghi, is a fundamental principle in geotechnical engineering used to determine the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. This theory provides a method to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity of soil, which is the maximum load per unit area that the soil can support without undergoing shear failure. The Calculation HTML Code included.
We have compiled the most important slides from each speaker's presentation. This year’s compilation, available for free, captures the key insights and contributions shared during the DfMAy 2024 conference.
6th International Conference on Machine Learning & Applications (CMLA 2024)ClaraZara1
6th International Conference on Machine Learning & Applications (CMLA 2024) will provide an excellent international forum for sharing knowledge and results in theory, methodology and applications of on Machine Learning & Applications.
CW RADAR, FMCW RADAR, FMCW ALTIMETER, AND THEIR PARAMETERSveerababupersonal22
It consists of cw radar and fmcw radar ,range measurement,if amplifier and fmcw altimeterThe CW radar operates using continuous wave transmission, while the FMCW radar employs frequency-modulated continuous wave technology. Range measurement is a crucial aspect of radar systems, providing information about the distance to a target. The IF amplifier plays a key role in signal processing, amplifying intermediate frequency signals for further analysis. The FMCW altimeter utilizes frequency-modulated continuous wave technology to accurately measure altitude above a reference point.
Welcome to WIPAC Monthly the magazine brought to you by the LinkedIn Group Water Industry Process Automation & Control.
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A look back on an article on smart wastewater networks in order to see how the industry has measured up in the interim around the adoption of Digital Transformation in the Water Industry.
Industrial Training at Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited (SFCL)MdTanvirMahtab2
This presentation is about the working procedure of Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited (SFCL). A Govt. owned Company of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation under Ministry of Industries.
2. Ahmad: The role of extension in the development of Agricultural Engineering profession in Nigeria.
AZOJETE, 8: 47-52, 2012
48
local blacksmiths/artisans to reproduce the improved implements will complement the rate of
adoption.
As at the year 2009 there were over twenty seven thousand corporate engineers, of different
disciplines (including agricultural engineers) registered with the Nigeria Society of Engineers
(NSE),with only one thousand four hundred (1,400) corporate Agricultural Engineers
registered with the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers (NIAE). With the Nigerian
economy still being considered agrarian (42% of GDP from Agriculture), more engineers with
specialization in agricultural sector are required.
The aim of this work is to review some of the established challenges facing agricultural
engineering professionals and show the need of extension in providing solutions to the
enunciated problems.
2. Developed labour saving devices requiring adoption through extension
The thrust or objective in technologies for labour saving in the maximization of work output
from limited and/or costly energy resource. The ultimate energy saving in performing any
operation lies with the operator. However, designers of agricultural tools, equipment and
processes are always striving to design unit with minimum input energy requirements and
taking care of gender variations to match different tasks with appropriate subjects. It has been
suggested that farm tools designed for women should not be excessively energy demanding.
In a study of a foot operated maize shelter women’s output was half that of men as the drive
proved hard. Similarly, the tool or process should not include induced health hazards to
women and children (Kaul, 1994).
Energy saving concepts consists of two broad strategies, making efficient tools available to
farmers and ensuring that the operators of the tools are properly trained on how to handle
them without getting exhausted. Through extension services the second strategy can be
ensured. Trained subjects matter specialist can give solution to any problem concerning how
to operate and make necessary adjustments in the field during operation. Also problems
associated with the equipment as identified by the users can be documented and channelled as
feedback. By so doing, the engineers in the field of agriculture will be under constant
challenge to produce more improved devices.
Table 1 shows some of the on-going researches that developed labour saving devices in
various research institutes and private organizations, with human, animals, internal
combustion engines (ICE) and electric motors as prime movers. It is worthy to note that all
the tools and equipment in Table 1 are presently in use at various locations in Nigeria and
some other developing countries.
3. Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment. August, 2012; Vol. 8, 47-52
49
Table 1: Some of the on-going development labour devices available for adoption
S/N Farm
operation
Labour saving equipment Prime
mover
Capacity or
efficiency
Developed by
1 Tillage/
fertilization
Animal traction equipment
package (Emcot/Unibar/Arara,
multipurpose toolbars plough,
ridger, cultivators, groundnut
lifter, weeder, fertilizer
attachment and cart), manure
spreader
Animals (ox,
horse,donkey
, camel)
Donkey
tillage
devices (14-
30 hrs/ha)
IAR/ABU, John
Holt and Local
Blacksmiths,
FUT-Minna
(on-going)
2 Planting Animal-drawn single row
planter, jab planter pre-
germinated drum seeder
(rice/wheat), potato planter-
cum fertilizer applicator,
manually operated electrostatic
planter, tri-cycled pulled
broadcaster
Animals,
manual
IAR/ABU (on-
going)
3 Weeding Knapsack sprayer, weeding
hoes, cocoa plantation weeder
Animals,
manual
IAR/ABU,
NCAM (on-
going)
4 Harvesting Serated sickle, animal-drawn
groundnut lifter, motorized
reaper, animal-drawn/engine –
operated reaper
Animals,
manual and
I.C.E.
IAR/ABU (on-
going)
5 Processing Vortex rice fan thresher, cone
and turn wheel sheller, plate
and hammer mill, treadle-
operated rice/wheat thresher
(rice, wheat, cowpea,
soyabean) g/nut oil extraction
machine, milk churner, butter
cocoanut grater, butter leaf
processing machine, bicycle-
pedal operated grain mill,
sugarcane crusher
Milk churner
(75%),
donkey
power
crusher
(204kg/hr)
UNIMAID,
ATBU-Bauchi,
IITA,
NAERLS/ABU/
MCC/ITDG,
Local artisans
6 spraying Shrouded-disc herbicide
applicator
Manual,
animals
Manual
(0.64ha/hr)
Animal-
drawn
(1.89ha/hr)
ABU (on-
going)
7 Transport Bicycle trailer 200 litres of
water
ABU, ITDG
4. Ahmad: The role of extension in the development of Agricultural Engineering profession in Nigeria.
AZOJETE, 8: 47-52, 2012
50
As a mark of achievement the milk churner developed at the institute of Agricultural Research
(I.A.R) Zaria was able to extract butter in one-fourth of the time needed by traditional method
and even yielded about 9% more butter (Ali and Kaul, 1993). The Ground metered shrouded-
dice herbicide sprayer eliminates the occurrence of over or under-dosage commonly
associated with spinning-dice sprayers (Suleiman and Ahmad, 1987). Also a bicycle trailer
constructed in Bangladesh is capable of carrying a drum of water.
The history of man is filled with evidences of his effort, both successful and unsuccessful, to
create tools and equipment that satisfactorily serve his purposes and to control more
adequately the environment within which he lives and works. During most of the centuries of
man’s history, the development of tools and equipment depended largely on the process of
evaluation, the trial and error. Through the use of a particular device, it is possible to identify
its deficiencies and to modify it accordingly, so that the next “Generation” of the device
would better serve its purpose.
2.1 Agricultural Engineering by 2020
Agricultural science and engineering has the potential to produce innovative approaches to
problems that include:
Knowledge-based competitive machinery and process technology
Food production with documented quality
Production processes that are fully compatible with environment
Technology for production and utilization of renewable resources and efficient use of
by-products
Efficient machines to operate in optimized production systems, for example more
automated tractors and harvesters, equipped with plug-and-play electronically controlled
implements, networked or autonomous and guided via telematic links with a control station.
2.2 Technical feasibility
Computer simulation and modelling has now reduced the wastage of resources involved with
trial and error. It is now possible to analyse various options before a working prototype is
constructed. After testing the prototype some minor modifications may be effected to obtain
the final working design.
Conventional farm products from the field are routinely mixed into a single sample before
being sent to a laboratory for analysis. Typically, the seeding rate and chemical application
rates are held constant over an entire field. These conventional practices have been used even
though agronomists and farmers have known for years that soil productivity varies within
fields. However, economic and environmental concerns are providing strong motivation for
adopting SSCM (or precision farming) at the same time that technological advances are
bringing it into the realm of technical feasibility. The recent satellite launch for Nigeria in
conjunction with global positioning system (GPS) techniques of soil investigation will
facilitate rapid agricultural engineering development. Electronics, automation and robotics are
widely used. Wireless communication technologies offer access to broadly spread farming
5. Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment. August, 2012; Vol. 8, 47-52
51
facilities and link them to decentralized web-based processing and information sources.
Sophisticated up-to-date software packages, expert systems and fixed, mobile farm
technology are provided for the farmer
Erosion and pesticide use are environmental issues of increasing community concern that
cannot be ignored. Although herbicides have assisted the economic viability of farming and
helped reduce the risk of soil erosion, however, their use may be seen as a potential ecological
hazard. Minimum tillage and no-tillage have been shown to reduce erosion, but farmers are
reluctant to adopt these practices because costs may increase or profits reduce. Detect spray
offers a solution to the above problems. It is both cost effective and environmentally friendly,
and has the potential to increase adoption of minimum tillage practices. Detect spray is a
reflectance-based system that automatically controls the nozzles on spray boom to apply
pesticide only to green vegetation. Each nozzle is fitted with a solenoid valve that opens
briefly to apply the spray when the nozzle passes over green plants. Each nozzle has a sensor
located ahead of it that has a “field view” matching the spray pattern of that nozzle to the
spectral characteristics of green vegetation.
Agricultural engineering and extension could be developed alongside the commercialization
of the farm equipment manufacturing industry for greater food production. China has become
the World number one market with India occupying the second place. The common factor of
these two countries is large population. It is envisaged that Nigeria as the most populous
country in Africa can aim for the third market position.
3. Agricultural extension in engineering
In this age of information technology (IT) and less than ten years to 2020 there is need for
feed back from farmers about their experience with existing equipment to enable designers of
such tools to keep on improving them. Database could be established whereby all major
equipment can be monitored and their operational data made available to other professionals.
This can be achieved through extension efforts. Extension and commercial agriculture are
now seeking a relationship more appropriate to the changing social, environmental and
technological context of agriculture (Bloome, 1992).
The issues are no longer just production efficiencies, rather there is an increasingly complex
matrix often referred to as sustainability. This matrix includes expectations that agriculture
will be environmentally sound, humanly safe, bureaucratically regulated, politically
controlled (export quotas) and strongly influenced by world markets.
When farmers are conversant with a new technology they will find a local fabricator to
reproduce it. Through this local artisans will challenged to improve their skills on modern
fabrication techniques. Thus the extension exercise will close the loop in the chain between
designers-farmers-fabricators. More engineers with interest in agriculture will thus evolve and
the necessary market for farm equipment design/manufacturing established. This will record
more enrolments into agricultural engineering courses to meet the ever-increasing food/fibre
demand.
6. Ahmad: The role of extension in the development of Agricultural Engineering profession in Nigeria.
AZOJETE, 8: 47-52, 2012
52
4. Conclusion
Equipment development is a continuous process whereby both designers and users must be in
constant touch with one another. The need for extension methods for the adoption and
diffusion of proven engineering technologies cannot be over-emphasized. While extension
can assist the small-to medium-scale farmers achieve production efficiencies, sustainability is
the main problem needing attention in large-scale organized enterprises. Through extension,
operators can be trained to handle improved equipment with minimum time/energy wastage.
A lot of the equipment developed need to be extensively tried by farmers, thus assessing their
relative merits and possibly demerits for further improvement. This is urgently needed for the
continued application of latest knowledge on machines. Agricultural equipment
manufacturing industry can develop through the establishment of sustainable large-scale
agricultural production zones.
Nigeria needs agricultural engineers in order for the agricultural sector to meet up with the
nation’s food demand and industrialization.
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Felton, WL. and KR. McCloy (1992). Sport Spraying Agricultural Engineering. Technology
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