Gusarura no kwanika Ibigori - Maize harvesting and drying

This video is in Kinyarwanda. It showcases maize harvesting and drying. The video was produced as part of a collaboration between Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze and Feed the Future Developing Local Extension Capacity. For more information and related videos visit us on www.digitalgreen.org/

[@aquatic_encounters]

hello. Good work. The sides of the drier are open. How do you avoid rain and rain splashes from destroying the maize? How long do you think the maize can keep in the drying shelter before separating the grains from the cobs?

[@EtienneNiyigaba]

Hello! In the construction of the drying hangar, technicians makes sure that the rain will not be able to enter the facility. This will probably depend on your area and how the wind drive rainfall. It will require you to make more calculations on this.
For the period maize are kept in the hangar will depend upon the weather condition which will fasten the drying period. But mostly importantly you will separate grains (shell) from the cobs when the moisture content of the grains reach around 18%. Note that after shelling you will need to again dry them on a plastic sheeting to reach a moisture content of about 13% which is the moisture preferred by most buyers.