FCA Ibadan retiree fabricates locust bean, garri, Maize processing machines

A retiree from the department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan, Dr Thomas Adegbulugbe, has fabricated locust bean, garri processing machines to ease the sufferings of processors.

He showcased the machines while delivering the maiden edition of college lecture series which held on the school campus last week.

His lecture titled: ‘Moving Farm Drudgery to Pleasure: An Engineering Solution,’ afforded him the opportunity to share with the audience, various ways the machines could be used to ease and hasten the operations of processors.

Dr Adegbulugbe said: “To reduce drudgery associated with farming and crop processing operations, making such a job pleasant, not only must machineries be made, bust also the machines should work efficiently and function well.

“The design of such machines should be based on the application of well gathered data on engineering properties of the crop concerned. To establish such data and mositure content levels on their behaviour, some investigation was conducted.

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“The physical properties such as Terminal Velocity, Angle of Repose, Coefficient of friction on various surfaces, Bulk and Particle Densities, Porosity, 1000 seed weight and Specific Heat Capacity were determined for various agricultural crops.”

He further stated that:”I have presented my modest contributions towards making some aspect of activities pleasurable in terms of removal of drudgery, through research into and production of farming tools and crop processing equipment shed on grain planters, threshers for rice, maize, cowpea, soybean and dehullers for locust bean.

“I have also fabricated, discussed advantage of using some teaching model prototypes  that could be used as visual aids to facilitate teaching of agricultural engineering courses, particularly long distance learning.

“The main production and commercialisation of some of these equipment will go a long way to attract youths to farming and help in no small measure to enhance agricultural production in the country.”

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, shortly after the event, The Provost of the college, Dr Mrs Foluke Iyabo Oluwatoyinbo, hinted that the college series is being done in honour of the college’s long serving staff who are exiting the college.

“We do this in an academic way to honour them and to celebrate them for their contribution to the development of the school and by extension to the nation. We are celebrating two of them today, that is Dr Thomas Adegbulugbe and Mrs Olubunmi Sowonola and I must say that the two of them have been wonderful, they are role models to many people. They have turned out generations of students who are now doing well in their various field of endeavours.”

Nigerian Tribune