MoA: Developing Machine to turn Locusts into Animal Feed
NATION BUILDING
https://shabait.com/2021/06/30/moa-deve ... imal-feed/
Jun 30, 2021
Eritrea is one of the frontline countries for migratory pests in general and desert locust breeding, in particular. Over the years, Eritrea has followed a preventive strategy that focuses on controlling locusts before they mature or start flying.
The strategy has been reinforced by extensive surveillance in breeding areas and establishing a number of duty or surveillance stations, as well as utilizing vehicles and scouts. Annually, surveillance is carried out across roughly 500,000 hectares of potential breeding areas.
Mr. Tedros Sium
According to Mr.
Tedros Sium, head of the Migratory Pests Control Unit, desert locust infestations have occurred in 18 different years since independence. In the years 1995, 2006/2007, 2013/2014, and 2020, serious infestations and invasions covering areas ranging from 51,000 – 101,000 hectares of land occurred.
Recently, desert locust control operations have been reinforced through the participation of the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), local administrations and communities. As part of the control operations, over 1,200 experts, along with over 200,000 community members and EDF members have participated in practical training programs and workshops. These initiatives have focused on prevention, desert locust management and information about safe use of pesticides.
Mr. Tedros noted that, the adopted method of desert locust control in the country is a chemical- based control method. This method has been practiced for a long time, in all the countries that are prone to desert locust breeding and infestations. A major problem of this method is the harmful effects of the chemical to humans, animals and the environment as well as the economic costs it requires. For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has been looking for alternative solutions to minimize chemical use. Bio-pesticides and the harvest of locusts are considered viable options. An assignment was given to a group of engineers at the MoA to develop a new method of controlling locust invasions that could bring about positive economic, environmental and health effects.
As part of the efforts to control damages caused by the invasion of desert locust swarms, a group of engineers and plant protection experts from the MoA came up with an innovative pilot project of
engine-operated desert locust [deleted]. The [deleted] uses a suction force, which is developed by an open impeller to [deleted] the locusts while they are either on the plant or on the ground. The “
Desert- Locust [deleted]” is mounted at the back of the operator and can be used on locusts that are at different stages of their growth. The engine rotates the impeller to develop a suction force to [deleted] the locusts along with the soil, and on the other side it blows air to remove the soil through the small openings of the collection bag.
After prototype of the machine, the group conducted a trial on the breeding area of locusts and came up with a concrete idea about the final design of the machine.
Engineer Abraham Habtemichael
Engineer
Abraham Habtemichael and Engineer
Simon Kefela, members of the research and development team of the Desert Locust [deleted] project, said that at present chemicals such as
Emulsified Concentrate (EC) and
Ultra Low Volume (ULV) are mostly used in controlling hoppers and adult locusts. They said the MoA initiated the idea to harvest locusts in the year 2020 to effectively utilise the locusts for economic and nutritional purposes, and they were instructed by their senior supervisors to develop a locust sucking machine.
The main objective of the study is to develop a locust [deleted] which is suitable for the end user of the machine in Eritrea and abroad,
they said.
The machine is designed, to perform an efficient sucking and cleaning operation. It will also be easy to be maintained and operated, by the users.
Engineer Simon Kefela
The engine-operated [deleted], is made by converting a motorized knapsack mist blower. The sucking force gently traps the locusts into a collection bag, through the suction hose. The impeller, which is enclosed in a separate housing, is attached to the 1HP SI engine crank shaft. When the engine starts to run, it rotates the impeller to generate a suction force throughout the flexible hose, and the machine starts to [deleted] locusts. While the engine is running, its speed is controlled by the operator until the sucking process is completed. The impeller rotates at the desired speed, to maintain a uniform suction. This suction force can be adjusted for different sized locusts and has the sucking capacity of five kilograms per minute, in a 0.36 meter square.
Airflow provided by the impeller, picks up the locusts and soil together and delivers them to the perforated collection bag. The impeller of the machine serves as a [deleted] and a blower, at the same time. The collection bag has an opening on its surface that releases the soil, while leaving the locusts in the bag.
With their high feed conversion efficiency, locusts are capable of converting high protein diets and vegetation into body mass. As a result, they are quite rich in protein. They can transform low-value organic by-products, into high-quality feed.
The project’s plan is to use locusts,, as poultry feed. Because of their sheer quality and their abundance in times of upsurges, animal feed industries should consider investing on harvesting hoppers and adult locusts on a massive scale as feed supplements.
Plans are underway for future modifications, to increase the efficiency of the locust sucking machine and to improve its manufacturability. It will be made available in two types — engine-operated and 12v DC electric motor operated. The machine will be tested on locusts at different stages of growth and its economic feasibility and the nutritional content of the collected locusts,, measured to determine the adjustments and operating parameters of the machine to make it affordable for users.
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“It’s almost like a Wakanda to me!”
By Sabrina Solomon
Q & A
https://shabait.com/2021/06/30/its-almo ... nda-to-me/
Jun 30, 2021
Our guest for today is Dwayne Darnell Martin, an assistant film director, from the USA. He’s been here with his crew, to shoot a documentary film. Here’s a brief chat, about his observation of what Eritrea truly is.
It’s really nice to have you here, Dwayne. Welcome back to Eritrea. Let’s start, with your documentary production house. What triggered you, to work on Eritrea?
When I first came out here, when I started doing research and told people I was coming, they warned me against coming. They were saying a lot of horrible things. So I had some hesitations. I thought I was a well-read person and studied pretty well, but I never heard about the country and its background. So I thought, it was odd. When I first came to the country, it was totally opposite from what people said. It was warm and welcoming. Everyone was happy; I saw nobody down, upset or mad. It was just very interesting and I thought that if I had that experience, maybe other people should know about it. So, it’s more out of curiosity.
What was the narrative you heard about Eritrea before you got here and what difference did you see?
I had some reservations about coming here, just because of the negative media coverage. But I talked to people and asked all the right questions and that’s not the perception I came away with. I asked very pointed questions and people were very open and they gave me direct answers. It was a 180 degree difference, from what I saw on the media.
From what you have observed, can you tell me why the world has been so unjust to Eritrea?
I think, Eritreans just want to have self-determination and mark out their own future. I think they are being villainized to a certain degree because they have been a beacon to the rest of the world, of how to have self-determination and how you stand up against colonial and imperial powers. They don’t really give people motivation to rise from their own countries, to take control of their own narratives. They rather do like they did to some other countries and just reap their resources and extract them from the people. When anyone stands against that and defeats them, that’s not something they want to expose and bring to light. I don’t think Eritrea is any different from or any worse, than anybody else. In fact, the women’s empowerment, women’s equality and their different cultures all in one unified people; it’s almost like a
Wakanda to me. I have never seen anything like this, in America. The Christians, the Muslims and all the different ethnic groups put that to the side and respect their culture. At the end of the day, they have one unified culture. People from outside would love to come and divide and conquer, but that’s impossible because there’s so much unity here.
I’ve heard you visited different cities and villages of the country, including colleges and hospitals. What did you notice about the social service facilities?
They were all professional and they were all staffed with people, who are very passionate. They had the most modern equipment, most modern medicine and nobody paid anything. The doctors were trained here in the country, which is another good thing, and it was amazing. Everybody had an opportunity to participate, nobody was left out. People didn’t have to travel to the city center, to get treatment. They have made sure, the clinics were available for people in the communities. So, everybody had access. They also had, referral services. You can start in your local district and if you had a larger problem, they refer you to the bigger hospitals. Everybody, was passionate.
It’s wonderful for a country that has been in war for decades to want to educate every person, to make sure that they are taken care of as far as health is concerned. It’s just beautiful and shows the idea of the community, that you want to represent to the world. It’s phenomenal, it’s impressive and it should be the standard for every country. You are still building from the ground up, but you want to make sure that you dedicate resources to the people and that’s just beautiful.
We live in a small corner of Africa. But, the peace and security we have is unmatched. What have you observed firsthand, about the peace and security in Eritrea?
It was totally peaceful. I didn’t see any places with guns; I didn’t see any check points. Everybody just walks nonchalant, nobody’s worried about anything. I saw kids playing in the streets. They seem that they have total freedom, total safety. And women walking by themselves at night, it’s a beautiful place. I mean, I live in a nice neighborhood back at home but I don’t know if my kids go play as freely. I’m not sure about the surrounding areas, so it seems more free here than back home. Nobody gets pulled over by the cops; it’s all one people. Back at home you see cops every ten minutes, good or bad. Out here, it’s not even needed. It’s peaceful, I feel totally safe.
What’s the overall impression you’ve got from the Eritrean people, in general? Have they met your expectations?
They surpassed my expectations, everybody was very humble, very nice. The people are very peaceful. The first thing somebody told me was ‘
welcome home, brother’. They didn’t know who I was and where I’m from, they could tell I was an outsider and they said welcome. Nobody made me feel out of place, I felt nothing but warmth and acceptance.
Nipsey Hussle , is from my community. He motivated the community with principles I think he learned here about self-determination and perseverance, and I think that’s why he is so popular and well received. He had messages aside from rap; it was more about taking control of your community and ownership. That’s why people like him and respect him and that’s why his legacy, still continues today.
I want to encourage people to see it for themselves and to maybe take a visit, because it’s very easy from a distance to believe the things on the media and everything has a spin for a reason.
You’ve come here, on more than one occasion. What changes have you seen?
When I first came here, there was still some tense situation with Ethiopia. Since then, they’ve made peace and people are happy to make the peace and that’s been the focus.
Thank you again!
