Drying under the sun is the most common and traditional way of drying goods like rice and corn to maintain the dryness of the staple products, particularly in the Philippines.
Although it is cheaper, it becomes a problem during rainy season. Studies also show that products dried under the sun can be easily contaminated because of their exposure to air and dusts.
Every piece of rice wasted is equivalent to the perspiration and hardship of Filipino farmers, but a lot of harvested products go to waste because of the old ways of drying.
Around 10 percent is lost from the harvested produce because once dried under the sun usually on the streets, they are prone to be mixed with animal wastes, thus lowering the rice quality. During rainy season, rice is easily damaged because of moisture content.
This time, worry no more. There is an alternative method of drying rice, corn, mongo and other grain products. Inventor and entrepreneur Francisco “Popoy” Pagayon, president of the Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative, takes pride in his invention of Portasol―a portable, stackable set of grains thermal drying trays, which can accommodate 150 kilograms of palay per drying.
The innovative Portasol was designed to provide and help farmers, rice and corn traders a more effective and efficient technology to dry their grains and even for drying fish (daing).
Quality drying is obtained even if the trays are stacked five to ten tiers high. Using this farm gadget prevents pest infestation and allows storage ventilation by providing necessary breathing spaces between multi-tiers of stored grains to avoid the build-up of fungal mold, rot and mildew spoiling.
This multi-purpose drying equipment is made of aluminum thermal trays that can either be laid out on a flat surface or set up in a rack format in a backyard and doesn’t require much space. It is equipped with a net cover for use when installed in a rack format to preserve the heat and shield the crops being dried from pests, rodents, bacteria, fungi and other air-borne contaminants.
The use of portasol is three times better than the traditional way of drying harvested produce. This greatly helps farmers to avoid spoilage and to up the quality of the dried products.
“All my inventions have reasons for inventing them. This is the long overdue solution to the farmers’ dilemma in finding an effective, efficient and ‘safe’ place for drying their produce,” Pagayon said.
“Paved roads and highways are for the motor vehicles, so why use these for drying their yields?”
Former Department of Science and Technology Region 2 director, Engr. Sancho Mabborang, who is now DOST undersecretary for regional operations, said that farmers truly benefit from the invention especially during the time of pandemic and calamities when rice, corn, beans were wet.