If you grow hay grass you will definitely need a baler to compact it and tie it into bales (dammuna) such that the bulky grass does not occupy plenty space.
The tractor mounted machine for this purpose is called baler. It is a bit expensive, about 4 million for a new, small size in Nigeria if you are very lucky to get one.
Since my grass last year was not much, I designed and constructed a manual baler that can be used on farms to achieve a reasonable level of compaction. I used it to make about 1,500 bales.
This year, I paid for a baler, having increased my hecterage. Unfortunately, the person I entrusted with the transaction was swindled and the baler has never arrived my farm. Do not worry. I know how to reclaim my money. Meanwhile, I was left with the dilemma of what to use to bail about 3000 bales for this season.
I had no option but to dust my manual baler and use it once more. The baling started today.
If you have a small amount of hay to bale, a tool like this can be useful on the farm. I have given the approval to an agric engineer-mate of mine in Kano to see how he can improve on the design for adoption by public. He was happy with the design and said it will be good for a Master's degree project if a sponsor is found. It can be motorised such that far lesser time is spent during baling. But I designed the manual for local farmers who may not have tractor or electricity to drive the motor.
The picture shows the baler and the 20 bales it made this morning by the side.
Next year I will make sure that I sort out the purchase of a standard one early in the raining season, in sha Allah.
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