Survey on the current situation of drying post-harvest agricultural products and using biogas of farmers in Binh Dinh and Gia Lai
In order to obtain the objectives of sub-project 2 on “the application of nanomaterials and new technical solutions to improve the efficiency of the solar drying system and biogas production system”, the team of Sub-project 2 has organized a three-day field trip, from July 27th to June 30th, 2022 to six agricultural cooperatives and various households in three areas: Tuy Phuoc and Tay Son (Binh Dinh Province); Dak Doa (Gia Lai Province). The main purpose of this trip is to get an overview on the actual situation of households’ drying systems for post-harvest agricultural products, and livestock waste treatment systems. Below are the detailed activities that the team conducted each day:
Day 1: The team worked with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuy Phuoc District to collect data and get an overview of the rice drying in the district. The team also visited some agricultural cooperatives and households in the district to investigate and evaluate their current drying practice.
Fig. 1. Some activities of the team on day 1
Day 2: The team worked with Tay Son District People’s Committee and the representatives from ten cooperatives regarding the usage of biogas produced from livestock waste. Although some communes in the district have been supported in constructing the biogas plants from previous projects, most of the systems have now degraded and the situation of exhaust odor is burdensome.
Fig. 2. Some activities of the team on day 2
Day 3: The team worked with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Doa District, Gia Lai Province and many households there. The whole district has a bulk production of coffee, pepper, and macadamia; however post-harvest drying process is still spontaneous and completely depends on on nature. Besides, biological emission from livestock wastes is also a severe problem that lacks effective solutions.
Fig. 3. Some activities of the team on day 3
At the end of the field trip, all the team members could get an overview of the current post-harvest drying situation of agricultural products, as well as the problems facing the local people regarding livestock waste treatment.
- The current state of drying agricultural products: Farmers mainly dry their products naturally on the street or in the Some cooperatives are equipped with drying systems which are rudimentary, mainly using fuels such as coal and firewood.
- The current state of using biogas produced from livestock waste: The local households have built a system of biogas storage tanks rather than discharging waste directly to the land, which significantly reduces the environmental pollution. However, as the system does not work efficiently, it still gives off smelly biological emission which not only ruins the locals’ property but also pollutes the environment and negatively affects people’s health.
