View source for Electric-groundnut-Peanut-shellers-for-small-scale-farmers

<div>
    <div class="title"><h3>8.59-Electric Groundnut (Peanut) Shellers for Small Scale Farmers</h3><br><h3 class="ch-owner">Finn Grace , University of Guelph, Canada </h3></div>
    <div class="hero-img-2">
        [[File:User 4.webp|300px]]
        <p>Suggested citation for this chapter.</p>
        <p> Grace,G. (2022) Electric Groundnut (Peanut) Shellers for Small Scale Farmers, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org</p>
        <h3 class="title-bg">How Does it Help Smallholder Farmers </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <P>Prior to consumption, the hard shell around groundnuts (peanuts) must be removed, but this is a burden for small scale farmers. Manual groundnut shelling is a “high kernel breakage” and “low shelling efficiency” process (Otieno, 2009). This causes smallholder farmers to lose significant profits due to the low income associated with broken groundnut kernels. Not only does manual shelling affect the yield of intact kernels, resulting in a loss of profit, but it is also a time-consuming, labor-intensive process (Otieno, 2009). Manual shelling  significantly impacts the physical health of smallholder farmers, particularly African women, who comprise around 46% of the agricultural labor force across different African nations (Due & Gladwin, 1991). These farmers suffer from extreme heat (Frimpong et al., 2016), pain in muscles and bones, and other chronic musculoskeletal pain (Naidoo et al., 2009). The electrical groundnut sheller is designed to make the time-consuming process of groundnut shelling more efficient and less laborious (Shukla, 2014). This is achieved by an electrically based machine with various parts working together to achieve the goal of adequately shelled groundnuts (Iqbal et al., 2019); different models of this machine are displayed in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. </p>
            <p><b>Step-by-step instructions on how to operate an electrical groundnut sheller </b></p>
            <p>Step 1. Preparation: Ensure the shelling machine is clean and working (KMEC, 2021).</p>
            <p>Step 2. Loading Groundnuts: Add groundnuts to the hopper (see Figure 1 for a description of a hopper) and distribute them evenly into the machine.</p>
            <p>Step 3. Start Machine: Locate the power switch and start up the machine.</p>
            <p>Step 4. Shelling Process and Monitoring: The machine will shell the groundnuts, separating the shell from the kernels. The unwanted shells will be blown from the machine, and the kernels will be left in a separate container.</p>
            <p>Step 5. Collecting: Collect shelled groundnuts from the container and dispose of groundnut shells (KMEC, 2021).</p>
            <p>[[File:User 3.webp]]</p>
            <p>Figure 1 . Components of a small-medium-sized electrical groundnut sheller (Source: Iqbal et al., 2019)..</p>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">Different Models and Costs of Electrical Groundnut Shellers and Where to Get Them  </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p>Groundnut shellers come in many different sizes and models; small-medium scale models are similar to those in Figure 2, and large-scale models like the sheller in Figure 3. The global Chinese supplier “Made-in-China” sells shelling models of different sizes and power, and ships them globally (Made-in-China, 2024). Made-in-China sells a “Mini family use peanut shell removing huller groundnut peeling machine” (See Figure 2) for between $900-$2000 USD (Made-in-China, 2024-A). This shelling machine has a shelling capacity of 200 kg/hour and a threshing rate (rate machine can separate groundnuts from their shell) of 98%. The website also sells larger-scale shelling machines, such as the “Automatic separating teaseeds groundnut sheller nut huller peanut shelling machine” (See Fgure 3) for $4800-5500 USD. This sheller has a 200-300 kg/hour capacity and a threshing rate above 98% (Made-in-China, 2024-B).</p>
            <p>[[File:User 4.webp]]</p>
            <p>Figure 2.  Electrical groundnut sheller (small-medium scale), sold by “Made-in-China” (Source: Made-in-China, 2024b). Visit the Made-in-China website to see in-depth breaks of prices, data, advantages, safety and operational manuals, etc.</p>
            <p>[[File:User 5.webp]]</p>
            <p>Figure 3. Electrical groundnut sheller (large-scale), sold by “Made-in-China” (Source: Made-in-China, 2024a). Visit the Made-in-China website to see in-depth breaks of prices, data, advantages, safety and operational manuals, etc. </p>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">The Positive Impacts of Electrical Groundnut Shellers on Small Holder Farmers </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p>Electrical groundnut shellers are believed to be a better option for farmers than manual machines (Raghtate et al., 2014) and compared to manual hand-shelling, which has “low shelling efficiencies” (Otieno, 2009). In Tanzania, groundnuts are a valuable oil, food, and income source for many African farmers (Ndossi et al., 2022). However, the crop is labor-intensive. A study found that introducing LST (labor-saving technologies) had an immediate positive impact on farmers' groundnut production, with farmers having 45.2% of time saved using shelling machines, 35.7% less labor cost, and 11.9% found work was made easier (Ndossi et al., 2022). </p>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">Electric sheller compared to manual shelling: Productivity/yield results and physical labor impacts </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p>The article “Design and Fabrication of Groundnut Sheller Machine” concluded that the electrical sheller is the best option for farmers compared to manual shelling techniques of groundnuts (Raghtate et al., 2014). The study first had workers try different manual shelling methods; this included hand shelling and using a rolling pin to crush shells in a cloth bag. These processes, especially hand shelling, were classified as “low-output, time-consuming processes” that had the workers in uncomfortable positions, hindering their physical well-being. Multiple tests of a newly fabricated shelling machine (see Figure 4) were done to analyze and assess the machine's efficiency and productivity (Raghtate et al., 2014). The final results of the tests conducted using the machine in Figure 4 showed that the shelling device demonstrated 81.2% shelling efficiency and 79.93% material efficiency compared to the other methods tested in this report, e.g., manual methods like hand shelling (Raghtate et al., 2014).</p>
            <p>[[File:User 7.webp]]</p>
            <p>Figure 5. African small-holder farmer posture when shelling groundnuts (Source: Ogega, 2023).</p>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">Cost-Benefit Analysis of Electrical Groundnut Sheller </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p>Electrical groundnut shellers have significant potential to increase usable yields (Raghtate et al., 2014), reduce labor time (Ndossi et al., 2022), and assist in preserving smallholder farmers' physical health (Shukla, 2014), especially the health of African women, who make up a substantial portion of the agriculture workforce across the continent (Due & Gladwin, 1991). As discussed above, the electric sheller's ability to increase shelling and material efficiency (Raghtate et al., 2014) and smallholder farmers' income via intact shelled kernels (these intact kernels are in high demand around the world) make it an advantageous LST (Labor Saving Technology) (Ndossi et al., 2022). That said, there are two significant constraints to adopting the electrical groundnut sheller that smallholder farmers need help overcoming. The cost of the electrical groundnut sheller is an obvious hurdle for low-income, low-resource farmers. Even small-medium shellers (see Figure 2) cost anywhere from $900 -$2000 USD, and large shellers cost around $4800-$5500 USD (Made-in-China, 2024a), both these model types being out of budget for many African smallholder farmers (Rapsomanikis, 2015). Another issue with the electrical groundnut sheller is the need for electricity. As of 2011, the electrical generation capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa averaged 37MW (Megawatts)/million people (Livingston et al., 2011). Since a small electrical sheller uses about 0.00075MW-0.0015MW per hour (Made-in-China, 2024a) (see Box 1 for how these numbers were calculated below), these shellers aren’t very sustainable for remote African smallholder farmers to use.</p>

        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">Solutions</h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p><b>Cost Solution:</b></p>
            <p>Using the country of Kenya as an example, the average smallholder family earns around $2527 USD in gross yearly income (Rapsomanikis, 2015). Obviously, with the cost of shellers, even the cheapest models are only affordable for some African farmers. However, there are solutions. By introducing methods such as cost-sharing amongst farmer groups/cooperatives, farmers can pool resources together to strengthen their economic situation (Bolton, 2019), giving them more buying power to afford this machinery.  Coupling this with other methods, such as micro-finance loans (loans for low-economic individuals or groups that cannot get traditional loans from banks) (WebAdaptive.com, 2024), will allow smallholder farmers the chance to purchase more efficient, time-saving agricultural technologies.</p>

            <p><b>Electricity Solution:</b></p>
            <p>As discussed above, many smallholder African farmers have minimal access to electricity, making it challenging for machinery such as the electrical sheller to operate at its full potential. A solution to this is to adopt a similar machine in African regions that lack electricity accessibility, such as the petrol powered groundnut sheller; it does the same job as the electrical sheller; however, it solves the electricity issues. Models for purchase can be found on the website “Made-in-China,” with prices as low as $500$-$900 USD (Made-in-China, 2024c).</p>

            <p>Box 1 - Calculations: (kW) (Kilowatts) Converted to (MW)</p>
            <p>0.75kW=  0.00075 MW</p>
            <p>1.5kW= 0.0015 MW</p>
            <p>Calculations to get (kW) to (MW) Per Hour</p>
            <p>Energy Needed Per Hou r= 0.75 kW/h= 0.75/1000= 0.00075 MW/h</p>
            <p>Energy Needed Per Hour = 1.5 kW/h= 1.5/1000= 0.0015 MW/h</p>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">Further Reading </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p><i>Detailed YouTube tutorials on how to use electric groundnut shelling machines (Both small-medium scale and large-scale models):</i></p>

            <p>●	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BhNMHRh6mY (Small-Medium Scale Sheller Vidoe)
            <p>●	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr2Nq49hSSs (Large-Scale Sheller Video)
            <p>●	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRyQVDmK_8 (Good in-Depth Look at How a Sheller Works)

            <p><i>Links to global delivery companies to purchase electric ground nut sellers:</i></p>
            <p>●	https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/alababa.html
            <p>●	https://www.made-in-china.com/
            <p>●	https://www.indiamart.com/

            <p><i>Additional readings- SAK Books:</i></p>
            <p>●	http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/2.__sak_book_south_asia_jan2017_english_captions_compressed_copy.pdf</p>
            <p>●	http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/4.__sakbook_east_asia_jan_2017_english_captions_compressed.pdf</p>
            <p>●	http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/9._sakbook_latin_america_oct2016_english_version.pdf</p>
            <p>●	http://www.sakbooks.com/north-africa-and-middle-east-english-version.html</p>

            Electrical groundnut sheller manuals (Safety and Operational):</i></p>
            <p>●	https://www.peanutshellingmachine.com/operation-requirements-of-peanut-sheller.html</p>
            <p>●	http://www.peanut-shellers.org/pdf/Industry-Handbook_Safe-Shelling_Peanuts.pdf</p>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top: 30px;">
        <h3 class="title-bg">References </h3>
        <div class="cont-bg">
            <p>1.	APSA Committee on Regulatory Compliance (2020) Industry Handbook for the Safe Shelling of Peanuts http://www.peanut-shellers.org/pdf/Industry-Handbook_Safe-Shelling_Peanuts.pdf</p>

            <p>2.	Bolton, L. (2019). Economic impact of farming cooperatives in East Africa Question What is the evidence on the economic impact of cooperatives on farmers in East Africa? UK Department for International Development.  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c6bdcf2e5274a72b9333113/Farming.pdf</p>

            <p>3.	Due, J. M., & Gladwin, C. H. (1991). Impacts of Structural Adjustment Programs on African Women Farmers and Female‐Headed Households. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 73(5), 1431–1439. https://doi.org/10.2307/1242398</p>

            <p>4.	Frimpong, K., Van Etten E J, E., Oosthuzien, J., & Fannam Nunfam, V. (2016). Heat exposure on farmers in northeast Ghana. International Journal of Biometeorology, 61(3), 397–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1219-7</p>

            <p>5.	Iqbal, Z., G Jowowasito, Darmanto, Lutfi, M., Wardani, F. I., Lubis, R. A., Siahaan, L. B., & I Hidayah. (2019). Designing small-medium scale groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) shelling machine for local merchant in Tuban, East Java. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 230, 012013–012013. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/230/1/012013</p>

            <p>6.	KMEC. (2021). How to use the peanut shelling machine? - Peanut Machine. https://www.chinapeanutmachinery.com/news/how-to-use-the-peanut-shelling-machine-2.html</p>

            <p>7.	Machines  (2018, October 24). Peanut Shell Machine, Good Peanut Shelling Equipment for Investment. Reliable Food Processing Machine Supplier. https://www.tondefoodmachine.com/nut-processing-machine/peanut-sheller-machine.html</p>

            <p>8.	Made-in-China, 2024a.  [Hot Item] Automatic separating teaseeds groundnut sheller nut huller peanut shelling machine. (n.d.). Made-In-China.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024, from https://vicmachinery.en.made-in-china.com/product/QXjmzfavshRl/China-Automatic-separating-teaseeds-groundnut-sheller-nut-huller-peanut-shelling-machine.html</p>

            <p>9.	Made-in-China, 2024b. [Hot Item] Mini family use peanut shell removing huller groundnut peeling machine. (n.d.). Made-In-China.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024, from https://vicmachinery.en.made-in-china.com/product/sKZxhEVJatrI/China-Mini-family-use-peanut-shell-removing-huller-groundnut-peeling-machine.html</p>

            <p>10.	Made-in-China, 2024c. [Hot Item] Peanut Thresher Groundnuts Sheller Machine Peanut Sheller. (n.d.). Made-In-China.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from https://china-shuliymachine.en.made-in-china.com/product/sOUtmnxHvakX/China-Peanut-Thresher-Groundnuts-Sheller-Machine-Peanut-Sheller.html</p>

            <p>11.	Made-in-China.com (n.d.). - Manufacturers, Suppliers & Products in China. Www.made-In-China.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from https://www.made-in-china.com/?acc=2332877264-lxy&cpn=15407637972-&tgt=&net=x&dev=c-&gid=EAIaIQobChMI4vuy8bDyhAMVlFRHAR3mww_QEAAYASAAEgL35vD_BwE&kwd=&mtp=&loc=9001010-&gad_source=5&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4vuy8bDyhAMVlFRHAR3mww_QEAAYASAAEgL35vD_BwE</p>

            <p>12.	Naidoo, S., Kromhout, H., London, L., Naidoo, R. N., & Burdorf, A. (2009). Musculoskeletal pain in women working in small-scale agriculture in South Africa. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 52(3), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20662</p>

            <p>13.	Ndossi, J., Mwalongo, S., Akpo, E., Alex, G., Nzunda, J., Okori, P., & Ojiewo, C. (2022, December 6). Farmer perceptions on labor-saving technologies in groundnut production systems in Tanzania. ICRISAT. https://oar.icrisat.org/12025/</p>

            <p>14.	Ogega, K. (2023). How to grow and earn cash from groundnuts. The Saturday Standard, Kenya. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/crop/article/2001454435/how-to-grow-and-earn-cash-from-groundnuts</p>

            <p>15.	Otieno, P. M. (2009). Optimizing the performance of a manually operated groundnut (arachis hypogaea) decorticator. Erepository.uonbi.ac.ke. http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/5260</p>


            <p>16.	Raghtate, A., Handa, C., Student Professor, P., & Head, amp; (2014). Design and Fabrication of Groundnut Sheller Machine. IJIRST -International Journal for Innovative Research in Science & Technology|, 1(7), 008.  https://www.ijirst.org/articles/IJIRSTV1I7020.pdf</p>

            <p>17.	Rapsomanikis, G. (2015). The economic lives of smallholder farmers: An analysis based on household data from nine countries.  Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/3/i5251e/i5251e.pdf</p>

            <p>18.	Shukla, J. P. (2014). Technologies for Sustainable Rural Development: Having Potential of Socio-Economic Upliftment (TSRD–2014). Allied Publishers. https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pZayCQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=drudgery+of+groundnut+shelling&ots=A4Nuk_UL8L&sig=_VE1aEINFd8eRSPf-pY05NXHFNA#v=onepage&q=drudgery%20of%20groundnut%20shelling&f=false</p>

            <p>19.	WebAdaptive.com. (2024). Microfinance. FINCA Canada. https://finca.org/en-ca/our-work/microfinance</p>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>