The Solar Dryer is a simple construction using wood and plastic sheet to increase the quality of cocoa and other products. Using this technology, the outcomes of the harvest will be better in quality and more in quantity (less loss due to rain, animals and other spoilage).
The main aim of the Solar Driers is to get the product off the ground and cover it from weather conditions.
This is achieved by building a table at about 100cm/1 meter of heights where the product to dry is spread out. A roof structure built of wood and plastic sheet covers the table. The sunlight can pass the sheet, heating up the air in the construction. This leads to more consistent temperatures, a faster drying process and a higher quality level which results in higher market prices.
Also it reduces losses due to spoilage (i.e. permanent rainfalls, animals, insects…).
It enables people to dry in the rainy season as well as in the dry season.
The idea behind the drier is to make it a community project, with shared responsibilities and small usage fees to keep up with maintenance work.
As the demand for chocolate and cocoa on the world market increases, the Ministry of Agriculture prioritizes the cocoa sector. EnDev supports the development of Solar dryers for cocoa beans. This dryer can also be used for cassava, moringa and other crops.
Liberian cocoa farmers harvest, ferment and dry most of their produce during the rainy season. Currently, most cocoa farmers dry the cocoa beans on the ground, covering the water sensitive beans when the rain falls. However, this method leads to contamination, losses and low quality. The use of solar dyers increases quality, as well as the harvest outcome up to 50%.
In the cocoa sector, GIZ/EnDev collaborates with local cooperatives and the private sector, promoting solar dryers, solar lamps and supporting mobile data collection as well as certification efforts.
Solar dryer models
Solar dyers are devices that use solar energy to dry crops. There are different models that range from artificial dryers with electric ventilation to natural models that use sunlight and natural ventilation.
The tabel model that GIZ/EnDev supported for Lofa is a locally produced wooden table covered with a transparent plastic foil that stores the heat of the sunlight. The dryer has openings on both ends, creating an air channel that further supports the drying process, by helping to remove humidity from the cocoa beans.
EnDev in cooperation with Africa Venture Liberia is testing 2 different models of solar dryers in order to compare and identify the most effective one. The EnDev model already test din Lofa will be compared to a “house model” type.
Activities in Lofa and Nimba
In Lofa county, EnDev has supported the construction of more than 270 cocoa dryers (“table model”) since 2013.
In Nimba County, collaboration with Africa Venture Liberia (AVL) and the local farmers’ cooperatives has started. In March 2016, people were trained to build the table model. EnDev provides greenhouse plastic and nails to build 20 dryers, 50 % table models, 50 % house models. The two dryer types will then be systematically compared.
EnDev will also contribute towards cocoa farmer certification efforts in Nimba and support data collection with its mobile data collection App.
All dryers are registered and can be viewed on an online map. EnDev started to assess farmers’ living conditions and the impact of certification efforts. The certification process planned to be initiated by AVL is supported financially.
Maintenance and management training
EnDev supports trainings in Lofa County. Goal of the trainings is to teach how to properly manage solar dryers to ensure long life, as well as how to maintain and repair them.
In December 2015, EnDev trained over 120 farmers in Lofa in maintenance and repair of dryers and set up a maintenance system.
