A low-cost Portable Grain Moisture Tester to be launched in Africa
AgraTronix™ will be producing Good Grain GG-10 Portable Grain Moisture Tester, a low-cost grain moisture assessment device that aims to help grain traders and smallholder farmers in low-resource settings maximize their incomes by accurately measuring the moisture content of their grains and legumes and prevent over- or under-drying of their harvest that leads to losses throughout the value chain.
– “We are thrilled to help smallholder farmers take the challenge of world hunger head-on,” said Deidra Roberts, President of Agratronix. “This grain testing device represents a new, cost-effective solution for farmers in developing markets.
Agratronix collaborated with invention company Global Good to identify the needs among smallholder farmer value chains, with field work in Africa and southeast Asia, and then modify an already-existing device within the Agratronix portfolio to make it practically affordable and user friendly. Global Good also helped tailor the user display to accommodate understandable symbols for key crops found in the region.
– “The goal is to improve a farmer’s ability to get the best possible price at market for crops. Grains that are too wet risk rejection because of the spoilage and food safety risk, and grains that are too dry fetch a lower price per unit volume,” said Marie Connett, Director of the Global Development Technologies portfolio at Global Good. – “With immediate access to accurate grain moisture data, small scale producers can sell their grains at the optimal moisture levels and maximize their income.”
– “A farmer simply loads the device – about the size of a large coffee mug – with grain that’s ready to go to market,” said Roberts. – “Within minutes the device provides a visual indication to the farmer whether the crop has reached the right level of dryness.”
Agratronix intends to launch the device in Uganda in Q3, 2020.
