KUNGULA, an improved maize threshing machine

Uganda

Kungula is a maize threshing machine that incorporates winnowing to eliminate chaff, dust, and broken cobs from maize, substantially reducing its quality and leading to spoilage and losses. It works by feeding maize into the thresher via a hopper, where the cobs are separated from the grains. The machine uses a centrifugal winnowing fan to separate dust and chaff from the maize grain. It can thresh 1000 kgs of maize per hour on one liter of fuel, removing 99% of the maize from the cob with 97.4% whole grains.

Project Stage

Scaling

Implementation time

1 - 6 months

Total Cost

$42,300.00

Last update: October 05, 2023

Overview Contributors

Challenge

The current maize threshing processes lead to poor quality maize due to the presence of chaff, dust, and broken cobs, resulting in spoilage and losses.

Description

Kungula, designed using the Human Centered Design approach, efficiently winnows threshed grain, offering higher quality and quantity output quickly and cost-effectively, thus outperforming other threshers.

SDGs

Outcomes

Piloted in Nakasongola district, Uganda, the machine is currently under market penetration preparation. During pilot testing, the machine successfully threshed 80 metric tons of maize, meeting beneficiary expectations.