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PHilMech dryer reaps praise in Guimaras
by Gio Anton T. Barroga (May 27, 2020)
A dryer developed by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) has not only allowed a multi-million-peso food production company to expand its production scale, but it has also provided better assistance to the mango farmers within the vicinity.

The Multi-Commodity Solar Tunnel Dryer (MCSTD) is adopted from the solar tunnel dryer developed by the researchers of the Hohenheim University in Germany. This dryer serves as a safer alternative to sun drying and mechanical dryers. It also uses local materials, which make the MCSTD significantly cheaper than mechanical dryer, while also making it easy to assemble, dismantle, operate, and gender-friendly.

In the island of Guimaras, dubbed as the Mango Capital of the Philippines, the MCSTD is proving to be of great use for PHilMech technology adopter, Rebecca Tubongbanua, who is the owner of the McNester Food Products – a food processing company that sells products that come from local commodities such as mangoes, calamansi, and pineapples.

Tubongbanua received the MCSTD as part of a grant back in June 2013. Prior to receiving the MCSTD, Tubongbanua relied on her rotary-type mechanical dryer when drying mangoes, calamansi and pineapples. On average, drying mangoes would take 8-15 hours with her mechanical dryer. Upon using the MCSTD, drying time took around the same amount of time, only without the additional cost of operating a mechanical dryer.

The source of the MCSTD’s drying powers come from sun. Clear and good weather are the two main ingredients any MCSTD user needs in order to properly dry the commodities they place inside of the PHilMech dryer.

Using the MCSTD comes with its own challenges. Tubongbanua pointed out that since the MCSTD uses the power of the sun to dry her commodities, she has to constantly monitor the state of the commodities she’s put inside of the MCSTD. For mangoes, if they are too dry, they become too hard, which make them unfavorable to consumers. The ideal dryness must leave the mango feeling like it’s of a gummy-like texture – soft and relatively chewy.

Tubongbanua also pointed out that she received the MCSTD that used plastic sheets to act as a cover for the commodities as it dried, which melted during the hot season. To solve this problem, Tubongbanua was brought to Thailand by the Department of Trade and Industry, where she eventually learned that using polycarbonate sheets would be a more feasible solution to her problem. Although polycarbonate sheets were more expensive than plastic sheets, replacing them were lessened as these were significantly more durable than plastic sheets.

Overall, the addition of the MCSTD in Tubongbanua’s business allowed her to expand and increase her production scale. Partnered with her mechanical dryer, she is also able to help more Guimaras mango farmers as she can purchase more mangoes that have been rejected for export.

“Doon ka na-iinspire to do what you do. Marami ka na palang buhay na tinutulungan,” (That’s where you are inspired to do what you do. You don’t realize that you’re already helping a lot of people) Tubongbanua said.
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