FtF-USAID AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECT SIL-ADVANCE-ATT SOYBEAN THRESHER DESIGN AND FABRICATION TRAINING REPORT OF WORK COMPLETED; August 25, 2016 Kerry Clark, Soybean Innovation Lab; [email protected] 209 Mumford Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211; 1-660-351-4696 http://soybeaninnovationlab.illinois.edu/

The objective of this workshop was to teach business development and design and fabrication of crop threshers appropriate for smallholder use and financial means to 12 community-oriented blacksmiths from Upper West, Upper East and Northern Ghana (three from each region plus three from Tamale Implement Factory). The rationale for the training was that locally fabricated threshers can be produced more inexpensively than imports and local fabrication expertise will provide a knowledgeable work force for thresher maintenance and repair. There is currently very little local production of timesaving equipment such as threshers in Ghana. More widespread availability and lower costs will allow more smallholder farmers to access thresher technology, reducing workload and harvest drudgery, and allowing for easier scale-up of production agriculture. Details of the training are listed in following sections, but I first want to communicate the essence of the training. I believe that this was one of the best workshops that I have ever participated in during my 27 year career working in agriculture. The trainers were excellent and hit on incredibly important topics, the venue was well suited for the event, and the participants were extremely receptive and appreciative of the lessons. I believe that the subject matter was incredibly appropriate and the timing of the training was essential for the blossoming of a new industry in Ghana at a time when the country is poised for new technology that can lead to increased production and improved agricultural sustainability. The cell phone revolution has opened the door to information and communication that will have a cascading effect throughout this society. Without this improved communication, we could not even have contacted many of these people and had all invitees show up at the right place and time. At the close of the training, several participants made long heartfelt speeches about how excited and happy they were to have been included in the training, which will allow them to get in on the bottom floor of what can become an important new industry in Ghana. My greatest reward was their participation and hard work. This was topped off with a wonderful Facebook message a week after the end of the training that included photos (right) of one participant making his first thresher immediately after his return home. Not only is he providing a service to local farmers, but I see in the photos that he is already teaching five other people the fabrication techniques he has just gained from the USAID-funded training.

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Date and Location of Training August 1-8, 2016 at the Tamale Implement Factory in Tamale, Ghana. Instructors The thresher designer and lead fabrication instructor was Gabriel Ayichim Zulkarini Abdulai, an engineer from SARI and the secondary instructor was Baba Issahaku, a welder from SARI. Both were present and working all eight days of the workshop. Philip Atim from CRS facilitated the workshop and selected the participants. Kerry Clark from SIL also facilitated and helped educate participants in thresher utilization. Bernard Alando, a data manager from UDS and a consultant from Innovative Trends Ghana conducted the business training on day seven. Tamale Implement Factory (TIF) Muhammed Mutawakil, the chief administrator of TIF, participated in the training. Theodore Ahiafor, the TIF shop manager, both participated in the training and served as a technical advisor to participants. The TIF provided workspace, arc welders, small hand tools, an electric grinder, metal benders and rollers, and a drill press. Final Agenda Day 1- Classroom curriculum by Gabriel Abdulai and Baba Issahaku on basic thresher components, reading and interpreting written designs, measurement calculations, general welding techniques and welding and shop safety. Day 2- 6- Fabrication of threshers with instruction from Gabriel Abdulai and Baba Isshaku. Day 7- Business training with Bernard Alando; building a thresher business, keeping records, accessing customers, and customer service. Continued fabrication. Day 8- Wrap-up of thresher fabrication and painting threshers. Workshop wrap-up. Participants Upper West participants were identified by MEDA, Upper East and Northern participants were identified by CRS and MOFA extension agents. Three welders from the Tamale Implement factory were also included. Participants worked in groups based on their region of origin with one TIF welder joining each regional group. Name Age Town Phone Region Akolgo Samson Nyaaba 35 Bolga 200333669 Upper East Holy Nyaaba 32 Bawku 246622678 Upper East Naba Patrick Asaliya 45 Bolga 203191312 Upper East Yakubu Issahaku 65 Nyankpala-Tolon 246168906 Northern Rashid Fuseini 22 Saboba 505185770 Northern Akara Koboumbo 35 Chereponi 540568616 Northern Edward Akwetey 35 Nandom 208811339 Upper West Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Karim 32 Wa 207881206 Upper West Imoro Donmuah Sufiyanu 37 Gbolo-Sissala 205353888 Upper West Alhassan Eliyasu Tamale 242855961 Tamale Implement Factory Gideon Azure Tamale 246935391 Tamale Implement Factory Mohammed Fuseini Tamale 246566888 Tamale Implement Factory

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Final Budget ADVANCE FUNDING Unit Cost Quantity Frequency Total (GHS) Total (USD) Hotel 75 9 8 5,400 1,406 Meals 46 12 8 4,416 1,150 Transport (RT Wa -Tamale) 120 3 1 360 94 Transport (RT Chereponi - Tamale) 60 3 1 180 47 Transport ( RT Bolga -Tamale) 60 3 1 180 47 Use of Tamale Implement Factory 200 8 1,600 416 Engineer/ Teacher Salary 400 1 8 6,400 1,664 Business Development Specialist 400 1 1 400 104 Welder/ Teacher Salary 100 1 6 600 156 ADVANCE Total 19,536 5,084 ATT FUNDING Unit Cost Quantity Frequency Total (GHS) Total (USD) Gas Powered with Robin motor 3,268 1 3,268 851 Gas Powered with Honda motor 2,068 1 2,068 539 Pedal Powered 1,294 1 1,294 363 ATT Total 6,630 1,753 SIL FUNDING Unit Cost Quantity Frequency Total (GHS) Total (USD) Safety gear for participants (welding gloves, helmets) 106.80 12 1,282 334 Extra tools for training (4 saws, 3 hammers, 9 chisels, 12 tape measures) 236 62 Two training manuals 25.20 12 302 79 Extra meals for trainers/TIF staff 23.50 12 8 2,260 589 Shirts and certificates 42 15 630 164 Payments to Tamale Implement Factory Parts to make equip. functional 1,345 350 Power/electricity 750 195 Salaries for 3 TIF welders 1,200 313 75% cost share for participants next thresher 1,200 10 12,000 3,125 SIL Total 20,005 5,211

Labor The costs of the threshers listed in the budget above include only the material costs. Labor for each thresher required approximately 150 man hours. As expertise and experience increase, required man hours should decrease by approximately 10%. Improved access to fabrication equipment and tools can also lead to decreased production time.

Deliverables  Business Training Manual, Bernard Alando- bound copy given to ADVANCE 08/08/2016  Design and Fabrication Training Manual, Gabriel Abdulai and Babba Issahaku- bound copy given to ADVANCE 08/08/2016; this is being updated with final designs and a new copy will be emailed to ATT and ADVANCE upon completion.

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 Thresher operation and maintenance manual- currently being developed by Gabriel Abdulai, will be given out with three threshers fabricated during training and will be made available to fabricators for subsequent thresher sales.  Powerpoint on Business Training- will be emailed to ADVANCE and ATT  Powerpoint on Design and Fabrication- this is being updated with final designs and will be emailed to ATT and ADVANCE upon completion.  A press release and photos have been sent to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale.  A documentary on the thresher training and thresher use in the targeted rural communities is being completed by Catholic Relief Services and will become available in approximately November 2016  A training video based on work done in this workshop will be completed by Kerry Clark (SIL) and will become available by December 2016.  A training powerpoint for thresher end-users is being completed by Kerry Clark and will be utilized by CRS during thresher distribution. This presentation will demonstrate best management practices of threshing on site to retain plant residue and organic matter in the field where the plants were grown.  Three threshers built at this workshop will be going to SIL research villages in the Northern Region. Follow-up surveys by SIL social scientists assessing the impact of threshers on soybean production will be done in 2018. The research villages are:  Gbalo, Chereponi District- receiving thresher with a Robin engine  Kpalsagu, Tolon District- receiving thresher with a Honday engine  Decheeni, Saboba District- receiving a pedal-powered thresher

Tamale Implement Factory Support Kerry Clark, from SIL, is working with the TIF to build a website featuring their products and their ability to host training events. We will seek to place the website on a free server so that its continuing existence does not require cash infusion from the Factory. Additionally, Gabriel Abdulai and SIL will assist the TIF with implementing new products or reworking existing designs. Muhammed Mutawakil from TIF is preparing a list of agricultural NGOs in Ghana and West Africa that we will contact with information about TIF and its capabilities as both a training and production facility.

Participant Resources Each workshop participant was interviewed at the onset of the training to determine current product focus, size of operation, relative experience, and equipment, tools and materials availability. All participants reported that they had access to electricity and an arc welder. Five reported that they did not own a drill, an essential tool for thresher fabrication, but that they could hire out the thresher piece (the concave) that needs to be drilled. Four of the nine also do not have a metal grinder. One participant, Abdul-Hakeem, had designed and built threshers previously. Hakeem was actually the inspiration for this training because on a visit to his shop, SIL saw that the capability and desire to make threshers existed in Ghana but that there needed to 4 be training on improved designs and fabrication methods to make a more durable and cost- effective product. Two participants had previously built corn shellers, five had some experience with agricultural products and two had never worked in agriculture prior to the training. All but two reported that they could easily find appropriate materials in their areas of Ghana to construct threshers. All but one believed that they could find people in their areas willing to purchase the thresher design that the training focused on. Only the welder from Chereponi stated that he did not think women would be interested in threshers and that they would continue to thresh using sticks.

Workshop Evaluation All participants were interviewed at the end of the training to determine the effectiveness of the workshop and to evaluate the usefulness of the resources provided. All were very emphatic that the training was extremely valuable. They were so happy to have been included that one actually shed tears when talking about what it meant to him to receive a possible new source of business. Some positive aspects of the training listed were:  Helpful attitude of the instructors  Having the TIF equipment available to them  The high quality of the materials bought for the threshers  Having food brought to them for snack and lunch. They all stated that this helped provide much-needed energy during the construction process  Gave them a chance to upgrade their skills  Gave them knowledge on written designs  Practical experience building a thresher gives them confidence to do one on their own  The business training provided valuable new insight on how to grow a business and to price products for business sustainability The only negative aspect of the training that any of them could think of was that the Implement Factory lacked some necessary tools such as saws, compasses and scribes that would have made the construction process easier. We also discussed the quality of the design, which all thought was excellent. We did have one glitch in one design – the blower on the pedal powered machine does not turn fast enough- but that is being addressed in the final design book that will be distributed to all welders by CRS as soon as the engineer has completed it.

When I inquired if they would have attended if there had been a fee charged or if their expenses had not been covered by USAID, they all stated that they would not have been able to attend because the problem of lost wages added to the expense of the workshop would have been too great. Before attending, they did not realize how valuable the training would be so that unknown would also have been an impediment to paying their own way.

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Thresher Placement Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and SIL are teaming with RING to place two of the threshers into rural communities where RING has ongoing projects. Sensitization and placement will occur prior to the 2016 harvest. RING’s development model does not require cost share on inputs, so that model will be followed for the threshers going to Decheeni and Kpalsagu. CRS and RING will work together on community sensitization and identification of appropriate beneficiaries. Placement will be through RING-organized Village Savings and Loan Associations. The third thresher, going to Gbalo, will be placed in accordance with the CRS development model, which is to require cost share or buy-in from the beneficiary. The exact methodology is still being determined by CRS. This thresher will also be placed prior to harvest, 2016. At the time of placement, the blacksmith-trainees in these three districts will accompany CRS and deliver training to end-users on operation and maintenance and beneficiaries will also receive an operations and maintenance manual. Additionally, CRS will deliver training on best management practices for in-field threshing to retain plant residues and organic matter.

Thresher Research Project SIL scientists are currently designing a research project that will include fabricator and end-user follow-up from this training as well as introduce new research questions on the need for formalized training vs informal information and design sharing, equipment utilization, dissemination strategies, long-range effects of technical training and localized production, and gender impacts of both the introduced technology and the methods by which the technology is introduced/disseminated. Evaluation of this training will continue at six months intervals for two years. Evaluation will include identification of beneficiaries, how the technology reached them and how they benefited from the technology/information. Benchmarks to be measured include: number of machines produced and sold, changes in employment in the soybean value chain as a result of the technology, changes in agricultural investment, public-private partnerships formed, and number of agricultural firms operating more profitably. Within the SIL research villages, monitoring and evaluation will include hectares of crops serviced, time savings or costs compared to manual threshing, costs incurred or saved with thresher use and changes in farming practices influenced by threshers. Additionally, post-harvest interviews with beneficiary groups will determine the affordability of the technology, the durability and functionality of the design, and the access that organizations and individuals had to the technology. WEAI and Soybean Uptake Network Surveys in SIL Villages planned for 2016-2018 will help determine experimental factors that were most important in increasing household soybean production and utilization.

Social Media and Collaboration The people involved with the Thresher Training Workshop formed a Whatsapp group that allows us to trade photos, design ideas and progress reports. One participant went out on the

6 final day and bought a smart phone so he could connect with the others in the group. Those with Facebook have also formed new digital friendships and have been sharing experiences. Teaming participants by region worked well and many new friendships and collaborations were formed as a result of the training. Information on material sourcing and equipment availability was being exchanged and offers of assistance and partnerships were common by the end of training.

Future Training/Workshops This workshop served as a practice and prototype for trainings that SIL would like to scale up and present throughout Africa. This opportunity helped us determine a reasonable budget and feasibility of our timeline and educational methods. Our thresher designs were fine- tuned during the training and will be further field tested this harvest season. In a country of 25 million people and a continent of 1.1 billion, we have reached just 12 welders with this training. Although we believe that good information and designs will make their way to interested parties via many informal paths, there is still a huge need to bring improved agricultural technology and supporting information to both fabricators and end-users. To achieve this, we will continue to seek funding support for an ongoing program to localize agricultural technology manufacturing in Ghana and other interested nations. We also plan to branch out into design and fabrication training for planters and other implements made with appropriate technologies that will support increased soybean and other crop production in Africa.

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Photos

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Gabriel Abdulai, Designer and Instructor 14