Crowdfunding for Post-Harvest Losses

Every year, millions of tons of food are lost to pest damage during the post-harvest stage, and this also amounts to millions of lost revenue for farmers.In the Philippines alone, 3 MILLION TONS OF RICE is lost every year due to pest damage.

But, the situation is about to change for the better!

An Engineering Team from The University of the Philippines Diliman, in cooperation with Engineers and other agricultural professionals from the University of the Philippines, Los Banos, have come up with a solution dubbed the Mechanical Pest Removal System. It is a mechanical machine that will not only help reduce post-harvest damage and losses in staple crops such as grains, corns, seeds, and pulses but also contribute towards increased yield and  increased produce value without the use of expensive fuels and chemicals.

How does it Work?

It works as a simple "sieving" mechanism: the produce is loaded into the main compartment, and when the machine is powered, it will help remove the pests and their eggs from the produce by physically separating the pests from the produce, leaving behind only cleaned grains.

The MPReS operates on the M.O.M. principle as thus;

Mechanical- The machine will be powered by gears, and will not have expensive circuitry inside, making it CHEAPER to produce and EASIER to maintain.

Organic - The machine will use gravity and physics to remove and kill the pests, ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR CHEMICAL CONTROL.

Manual- The machine will be powered by a foot pedal, WITHOUT THE USE OF ELECTRICITY OR FUELS. And it will be as strenuous as riding a bike.

The Challenge

During the GCARD3 conference, the team received an initial grant of $5000 USD from the Agropolis Fondation based in France. However, this is only enough to cover the costs of patenting the machine, as well as purchasing the raw materials for the research and development phase.   The team is in the process of developing and testing the machine and has fallen short of funding for this phase to complete the research and development phase.

Where You Come In

The project target is raising a mere $5,000 USD through crowdfunding on the GoGetFunded . Ideally, if 500 people donate $10 each, they will be well on their way to building this machine, and making a difference in the lives of farmers everywhere.

Currently, the project is at a 17% funding with only 12 days left to the close of the campaign. Kindly visit the campaign page and click the DONATE NOW Button to show your support for the farmers in the Philippines!