IRRI Media Release: Wonder rice dryer

In the rural town of Bogale, Myanmar, 9 women and 16 men from the Myanmar Department of Agriculture, partner NGOs, and IRRI trained on how to operate and set up a newly designed dryer that could protect rice grains from sudden rain, pests and intense heat.

Called the solar bubble dryer, it was designed by a team of experts from the University of Hohenheim, GrainPro, Inc., and IRRI.

The name comes from the unique characteristics in its design: "solar" due to ambient conditions that provide heat from the air that flows inside the dryer and “bubble” for the dome-like shape of the cover or roof when it is set up.

“We tried several designs when we started, not one of them was the bubble design,” explained Engr. Ana Salvatierra, a researcher and postgraduate student from the University of Hohenheim, who works on the project.

“In the early designs, we included a chimney, but it was not very efficient to move air through the drying tunnel. And when there was a typhoon, the chimney fell. So, we reworked the design using small ventilators to move air. That’s when we also came up with the bubble concept,” she said.

The small ventilator inflates the bubble and circulates air. The airflow then removes water from inside the drying tunnel, where the grains are, and prevents overheating. To make sure that the grains dry evenly, they are stirred from time to time using a metal roller underneath the dryer.

“Based on our grain quality results in the lab, its drying performance is quite satisfactory,” said Engr. Salvatierra.

It can dry rice grains to a moisture content level of 10–13%, depending on whether the weather is dry or wet.

"For laboratory experiments that assess grain quality, our ideal moisture content is 14%," she said. "But, most of the time, the moisture content would depend on the milling facility, and if the grains will be used for consumption or for seed production.

"For example, if the grains will be used for seed production then it is advisable to dry to less than 12% to maintain good germination rates in storage over an extended period," she explained.

“The dryer is still a work-in-progress, but it has numerous advantages over a mechanical dryer for small farmers. It is affordable, easy to use, and is ideal for rural areas without a power grid or source of electricity,” explained Engr. Martin Gummert, head of the IRRI Postharvest Unit.

“Unlike most dryers that require higher amounts of paddy to dry, the solar bubble dryer has a capacity of 1 ton, which it can dry in 1-2 days depending if it’s sunny or rainy,” he added.

A typical recirculating batch dryer, for example, requires at least 10 tons of rice in just one drying operation. Because it needs electricity to run the dryer and fuel for the air heater at the same time, the investment and operating cost for such a dryer is higher. 

“An additional benefit of the solar bubble dryer comes from its photovoltaic solar panels that provide power to the battery of the ventilators,” said Engr. Gummert.

“For example, in Myanmar, many farming villages do not have access to electricity. The solar panels and the battery can also be used for other purposes, such as lighting the house when the dryer is not used,” he explained.

Currently, the solar bubble dryer is being tested in Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Africa.

“We need to test it in different countries to optimize its design, its management, adapt it to local conditions, and minimize investment cost,” said Engr. Gummert.

Super Bags to thwart rice wastage now available to Filipino farmers

An airtight, reusable plastic bag that protects stored rice from moisture, pests, and rats, and keeps rice seeds viable, is now available to Filipino farmers in selected retails stores.
IRRI Super Bags reduce losses incurred after harvest that usually stem from poor storage conditions – helping prevent physical postharvest losses that can be around 15%. On top of these losses, farmers also experience loss in quality.

Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.

Developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)’s postharvest experts in collaboration with GrainPro Inc., the IRRI Super Bag is meant for small-scale rice farmers to protect the viability and quality of rice stored in their homes.
The IRRI Super Bag is manufactured by GrainPro Inc. and is marketed as SuperGrainbag™. IRRI, through its national partnerships, has verified the benefits of the IRRI Super Bag with tens of thousands of farmers throughout Asia, but acknowledges it is a challenge to bring the bags to millions of farmers in a commercial way.

Philippine farmer Manuel Luzentales Jr. has always wondered how to deal with rats and weevils gnawing their way into his paddy (unmilled rice) stored in ordinary sacks in his house.
After attending a seminar in a nearby town introducing the IRRI Super Bags to farmers in the Philippine Bicol region, he decided to test them.

Mr. Manuel Luzentales shares his Superbag story

"Before, a 7-month storage caused my rice grains to break from moisture and pest infestations," Luzentales recalls. "I tested the IRRI Super Bags on my harvest for the second planting season of 2010. After keeping my harvest in the IRRI Super Bags for 10 months, the seeds were 100% viable, and none were wasted."
Engr. Martin Gummert, head of the IRRI postharvest unit, said that the rolling out of economically viable rice postharvest technologies in the Philippines and Southeast Asia involves partners in the public and private sectors. “The IRRI Super Bag is one of the technologies in the front line of this effort,” he explains.
For this purpose, IRRI has initiated and is facilitating national Postharvest Learning Alliances that embrace public and private stakeholders who have an interest in and mandate to establish local supply chains for technologies. Through this Postharvest Learning Alliance, IRRI is assisting in setting up and training local distributors for technologies such as the IRRI Super Bag.

Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.
Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.

“The rollout of the IRRI Super Bag would have been difficult without the help of the Philippines Postharvest Learning Alliance,” explains Engr. Gummert. “These alliances allow cross-sector actors to share information, foster learning, and better address a range of technical and market support needs.”
IRRI has established national Postharvest Learning Alliances in Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The IRRI Super Bag works by blocking the flow of both oxygen and water vapor from the outside to the grain. When the bag is properly sealed, farmers can safely store their seeds for 9–12 months without reducing germination rates. IRRI Super Bags also keep away insects and rats without using chemicals and improve the percentage of whole rice grains recovered after milling by around 10%.

Tom de Bruin, GrainPro’s president and CEO, said that a national retail network with close to 200 outlets will be involved to enable availability of the bags to farmers. “The SuperGrainbag™ is already selling widely used in three continents and is used for storage in an array of other commodities.”

In the Philippines, the key partners are Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)and other Postharvest Learning Alliance members,Catholic Relief Services with its local NGO partners, and the Department of Agriculture’s regional offices in Agusan, Bicol, and Bohol provinces. Other members are local government units in the three provinces, farmer cooperatives, and other NGO partners.

This work is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)-funded Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC).

The Super Bags can be bought in Pacifica Agrivet branches nationwide.

ADB-IRRI collaboration showcased in New Delhi conference

Efforts to address pre and postharvest challenges in the rice supply chain, through a collaboration between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), were showcased in a side session at the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Conference, “Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Health and Nutrition”, being held in the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, India last February 10-12, 2011.

The side session, titled “Pre and Postharvest Technologies: Keeping you healthy and rice bowls full”, featured the latest efforts and technologies on improving health and nutrition from the ADB-IRRI project titled, “Addressing the Pre and Postharvest Challenges in the Rice Supply Chain”.

 Dr. KL Heong and Engr. Martin Gummert, IRRI scientists and principal investigators of the project, mainstreamed the importance of improving rice pre-harvest and postharvest practices and management towards better nutrition and healthier life.

 The pre-harvest component of the project, spearheaded by Dr. KL Heong, promotes good management practices that maximize ecosystem services to prevent pest incidence growing into epidemic proportions, help reduce pesticide use and conserve biodiversity.

 Engr. Martin Gummert, lead investigator of the postharvest component, talked about good postharvest practices and technologies designed to minimize crop losses and increase grain quality.
The conference was attended by experts from renowned international organizations and advocates of agriculture, nutrition, and health to forge possible collaboration and linkages to enhance human well-being.