Post-harvest management of maize in Quzhou county

Once the maize has been harvested from the farmers' fields, the farmers ensure that the maize needs to be dried up. There is not enough space in China. Therefore, farmers have a challenge in managing yields. As a result,farmers put their maize in different places, such as on the rooftops and by the roadside. Once the maize is dry, there is coordinated shelling of the cobs. I have been observing this phenomenon in Quzhou county. It took about four people to complete the task of shelling. Two people used large shovels to get the maize in a somewhat linear heap. A machine then came in, which has been designed to pick cobs with its front rim. The rim was connected to a conveyor belt which brought the cobs to the sheller. The sheller then separated the grains from the cobs.

Later on, the grains were sieved and exited through another opening. The crushed cobs were then dropped to another side. Even though this whole activity was done on the floor, there was still an opportunity to let the grains stay for further drying. Most importantly, the process was much faster as compared to the African way of shelling using bare hands.