Research seeks to develop cotton harvester for family farming

A major producer of cotton until the 1980s, the semi-arid region of the northeast seeks to revitalize cotton cultivation but faces a major obstacle: the cost of harvesting. Currently, harvesting in the region is still carried out manually and the cost of labor has made initiatives focused on expanding the crop unfeasible. While in the Cerrado, mechanized harvesting represents up to 5% of the total production cost, in the Semiarid region, this cost jumps to around 60% of the production value.

“Manual harvesting limits the area that a small producer can cultivate. He cannot plant more than two hectares of cotton when he uses only his own family's labor. To expand this area, it is necessary to hire outsourced labor. Therefore, cotton cultivation is not attractive for small producers and the main limiting factor is the cost of harvesting”, explains Embrapa researcher Odilon Reny Ribeiro.

With the aim of making mechanized harvesting possible in small areas both in Brazil and in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Embrapa Algodão, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is working on the development of a single-row cotton harvester, coupled to a tractor, low cost and replicable by small producers. “The idea is to use simple technological resources, which are easy to operate and adapted to the regional production context and the financial reality of these farmers”, says Odilon.

In Brazil, there are no small harvesters that can meet the demands of family farming. “Large manufacturers are not investing in this type of equipment, as they are less profitable, due to their lower market value”, he reports. “In other important cotton-producing countries such as China, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, where only a few hectares are cultivated per farmer, there is equipment adapted for small areas. These are one- to two-row harvesters,” he adds.

The researcher believes that Brazil can also greatly expand its production if it makes mechanical harvesting viable for family farming. “Today, Uzbekistan is one of the largest cotton producers in the world, even though it is grown by small farmers because it managed to mechanize the harvest,” he notes.

Adapted single-row harvester 

The harvester will be an adaptation of disused machines in the Cerrado (photo below), recently replaced by more innovative equipment, which produces round bales in the machine itself. “Each of these disused machines has four to five harvesting units (spindles) that can be used to make four to five new single-line harvesters for family farming,” says Odilon.

The machine will be adapted to a chassis and attached to the side of the tractor, harvesting a single row of cotton. Each machine in a line can annually harvest an area of ​​up to 120 hectares (0,3 ha/hour). The equipment is expected to provide a reduction in harvesting costs of up to 70% compared to manual harvesting.

According to the researcher, importing small harvesters that are already developed in other countries would cost three times the value of an adapted domestically manufactured harvester. “The main reason is that the availability of low-cost harvesting units (in the Cerrado) is only occurring in Brazil and this detail makes it possible to obtain machines with a lower value. Furthermore, imported machines require maintenance and replacement parts that can be more difficult or expensive than equipment traditionally used in the country”, he explains.

The prototype (featured image) will be tested this harvest and should be available to farmers within two years, with an estimated cost of R$80 to R$100. The technology has the potential to be adopted by cooperatives and associations of small cotton producers throughout Brazil and other countries, such as mini mobile cotton mill, also developed by Embrapa to benefit small producers of colored, white and organic cotton.