Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Indonesia: Seminar on rice postharvest technologies and fan-testing held in South Sumatra



The Post-Production Work Group of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium held a two-day seminar-orientation on rice postharvest technologies, in collaboration with the Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian (BPTP) in Palembang, South Sumatra.


Thirty farmer leaders, manufacturers, and local government officials attended the event. The attendees were introduced to the stripper harvester technology that will compliment more than 300 flatbed dryers adapted in the area. A video on the stripper harvester was shown, in which the relevance of the technology to flatbed dryers were presented as well as the scarcity of manual labor in the area.

Farmers raised some of the problems encountered with the flatbed dryer during the seminar, including low drying air temperature and long drying time.

Pat Borlagdan of IRRI discussed the requirements for a good flatbed dryer and briefed the farmers on fan-testing and how it can ensure the proper functioning of flatbed dryers. A demonstration on the use of an actual fan test rig assembly was held.

Professors from Sriwijaya University also spoke on the process of technology adaption and the critical role of manufacturers.

The IRRC-PPWG is managed by Martin Gummert, IRRI postharvest specialist.

The event was was graced by Andy Mulyana, director of the Suboptimal Land Research Center in Sriwijaya University; Rudy Soehendi, director of BPTP Palembang; and Benjamin Lakitan, deputy director for research at Jakarta Central Office. 


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