Pulses de-husking mill for smallholders: A case study of commercialization of machinery for small entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Haque, M.E., Bell, R.W.ORCID: 0000-0002-7756-3755, Abdul Karim, and Neogi, M.G. (2014) Pulses de-husking mill for smallholders: A case study of commercialization of machinery for small entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of the conference on conservation agriculture for smallholders in Asia and Africa, 7 - 11 December, Mymensingh, Bangladesh pp. 91-92.

Abstract

Pulse crops such as lentil, mungbean, blackgram and lathyrus are important in the traditional diet of Bangladesh. However, the production of pulses has been declining over the last two decades. The bulk of the pulse grains are consumed as dal and therefore need to be de-husked. Currently farm households de-husk pulses by locally-fabricated rudimentary devices, known as jata or daki, resulting in a high percentage of crushed (~35% dust), broken or split grain (>90%). Such dal receives a lower price than properly milled de-husked full grain. Thus, farmers sell unhusked pulses grain in the local market and ultimately that goes to a large mill for de-husking. The large pulse de-husking mills are mostly located in the bigger cities of Rajshahi and Dhaka division of Bangladesh which are remote from small pulse growers. There is a significant price gap between unhusked pulses at the farm gate and de-husked dal at the final point of sale. On the other hand, mechanized de-husking mills where farmers can de-husk pulses and produce quality dal for family consumption or to sell at higher price are not commonly available in small towns. The lack of mills to de-husk small quantities of pulses (~5 kg) has also discouraged farmers from growing pulses. These factors are contributing to decline in pulse production by small and marginal farmers. To overcome the problem, the pulse de-husking mill (Mini Mill) was developed in 2009 and commercialized in Bangladesh. The present paper is a case study of a development and commercialisation process for mechanisation of farm operations for smallholders in Bangladesh. In this short paper we describe the Mini Mill, its uses, initial experiences with its promotion and marketing.

Item Type:	Conference Paper
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/26151

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