Home Funded Projects A pedal-operated seed cleaner to cut post-harvest drudgery
Transforming Agriculture
A pedal-operated seed cleaner to cut post-harvest drudgery
A human-powered seed cleaner that cuts the hours women and children spend cleaning grain by hand.
Cleaning grain by hand is slow, dusty work that keeps children out of school. This low-cost machine does it with a bicycle pedal.
The challenge
Sub-Saharan Africa loses 40–50% of its food after harvest — much of it because seed is poorly cleaned. Imported cleaning machines are costly to own and run, so most smallholders resort to hand-winnowing.
That is slow, labour-intensive and unhealthy from dust — and it is often done by children, who lose study time to it.
The approach
The team built a Pedal-Operated Seed Cleaner: a bicycle-style pedal drives a fan and a set of adjustable sieves that separate seed from chaff and broken grain — light matter blown off, larger and smaller impurities sieved out.
It needs no electricity or fuel, and the sieve meshes adjust to suit different crops.
Five machines were piloted; at least 450 farmers have used them.
Results & impact
Five machines were piloted in farming communities, and at least 450 farmers have used them — some hauling grain 3–4 km to reach one, which speaks to the demand.
The cleaner cuts labour and time, frees children's study time, and improves grain quality and safety.
This research was funded by the Government of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund — one of a growing directory of projects turning national investment into real-world results.
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