Egypt has designed a truck that it is hoping will help minimise harvest shrinkage during the transport of wheat from fields to storage silos.
According to the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trading, the wheat lost during transfer amounts to one-sixth of the local harvest. The country loses 15% of the grain destined for its silos, costing the government an estimated US$1.1 million.
As reported by SciDev.Net, the truck was developed by a team from the Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, under the leadership of Mohamed Al-Kholy, the organisation’s vice-chairman for research. He explains that the design features a pneumatic system, which uses compressed air to pull the grain inside the vehicle. This ensures that the crop is transported without any damage or losses.
The truck was evaluated last December and will be tested during the next harvest season in June.
