Solar tunnel drier that preserves meat for a year

Techncians prepare the drier during the launch in Isiolo. [Sylvia Wakhisi, Standard]

One of the key challenges for many farmers is how to dry their produce well to avoid running into losses before selling it off.

In a drive to preserve surplus produce, the University of Nairobi in partnership with the Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority (ENNDA) has started a reload project in Isiolo County that seeks to preserve a traditional meat product using a solar tunnel dryer.

With this dryer, livestock farmers can now dry their meat produce, to make high-value meat products hence increased value addition and reduced losses.

According to Dr Catherine Kunyanga, a food scientist at the University of Nairobi, with the use of this technology, one can preservemeat for a year.

“Reload means reducing losses and adding value and this being our pilot programme in Isiolo, we hope the community whose main source of livelihood is pastoralism will embrace it,” says Kunyanga.

Kunyanga says the solar tunnel dryer is an effective way of drying foodstuffs as it driers food faster within a short period.It is much better than sun drying.

The benefits

With the solar tunnel dryer unlike other solar dryers, there is no forced convention where you force warm air over the product. All the produce dries at the same time evenly.

“For maize farmers, it has added benefits since it dries the grains to the correct moisture content reducing aflatoxin contamination,” she says.

The technology can also dry vegetables, most fruits and herbs.

The cost of importing the solar tunnel dryer from Germany is Sh1.5 million whereas a local fabrication costs about Sh600, 000.

For those interested, Dr Kunyanga has a word of caution: “However, it is important to note that no products should be mixed when drying. If you are drying meat today, then let it just be meat. When you are in a cold region such as Meru and there is no sunlight, you can connect power to this system and it will still dry your produce. This means that as a farmer, you are able to dry your produce throughout the year.”

Amina Hassan from the Tawakal Farmers Cooperative Society which deals with ‘nyiriri’ (dry) meat and a beneficiary of the project says they used to dry their meat in the sun but it had its fare share of challenges.

Driers 3 tonnes per day

“We used to dry the meat in the sun before taking it to Eastleigh for sale. We would produce 40 kilos of meat per day and sell one kilo at Sh1, 200. But with the use of this panel, we can produce 80 or 90 kilos per day since it will speed up our work,” says Hassan.

“Once you buy the meat from the supermarket or shops where it is sold, you don’t have to cook it. You can just add a little spices, salt and other food grade additives to maintain the colour of the product so that once it is dry, you just eat it since it’s already cooked,” says Dr Kunyanga.

With this single dryer, you can dry up to three tonnes of a product in a day.

Omar Sheikh, the Managing Director of the Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority says the project has come at the right time since pastoralism is the major economic activity for communities living in the region.

“There are about 1 million camels in the country and 80 per cent are in the arid and semi arid regions hence many farmers will reap from this project. Using this technology will ensure they dry meat without burning trees for charcoal and firewood hence conserve the environment,” says Sheikh.

The team behind the project hopes it will be replicated in other ASAL areas such as Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, Samburu and Marsabit.

Sheikh points out that due to the effects of climate change, the region experiences both flood cycles and drought cycles hence before farmers lose their livestock due to the harsh weather conditions, they can sort them out and dry the meat using this technology. This will promote destocking.

“My organisation will support research and extension along this project. During the launching phase, we hope to train livestock officers and agricultural officers about this project so that the uptake can increase,” he adds.

Grace Werike, a beneficiary of the reload project and a post-graduate student from the University of Nairobi in the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Technology says she has been carrying out a research project in Isiolo and Eastleigh along the market potential of the nyiriri meat product.

As part of her findings, she discovered that the market potential for dry meat is large and unexploited.