Labour and Skill Shortages in Harvesting/Primary Processing

Problem Statement

Harvesting and initial on-farm processing (e.g., cleaning, sorting) are highly labour-intensive. Acute labour shortages and the lack of skills for handling modern equipment during this critical, time-sensitive phase lead to significant delays and quality degradation.

Innovation Opportunities

• Small-Scale Mechanised Harvesting Solutions: Development of affordable, portable, and crop-specific harvesting/stripping tools (e.g., for pepper, turmeric, fruits) suitable for small farm sizes.
• Mobile/On-Farm Primary Processing Units: Creation of compact, trailer-mounted units for preliminary cleaning, grading, and moisture reduction that can be brought to the field, reducing transport and post-harvest loss.
• Decentralised Custom Facilitation Centres (CFCs): Technology solutions to manage and coordinate the deployment of community-owned or FPO-managed primary processing machinery and trained operators.

Use Case Example

A collective of pepper farmers books a mobile pepper thresher/cleaner through an FPO platform, which arrives at the farm, processes the freshly harvested pepper berries, and provides a digitally signed quality report.