Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
can be sold at the going rate. Without a truck, the small farmer must wait for a commer-
cial truck driver to pass by his farm. Often the drivers conspire to offer minimal prices for
grain, sometimes letting each driver buy only from a restricted area (a monopoly). This
means the farmers must sell their grain for whatever price is offered. No other truckers
will dare to buy their crop. There is risk for the truck drivers also. They must travel
over poor roads and pass internal customs posts to reach the market. It is sometimes
necessary to pay taxes and bribes to local officials, thus raising their cost of operation.
By definition, subsistence farmers have little or no surplus to sell. When there is a
surplus, it may be only a few kilos. These small quantities are usually sold by the farmer
at the weekly market. He will bundle up his maize or sorghum to sell, walk to a bus stop
or catch a truck at a main road (sometimes several miles) where he must pay for a ride to
the market and to transport his grain. If it is a good day, he will sell the grain, buy a few
supplies, and have money left over to travel back home. Sometimes there are no trucks
passing through his area to buy the grain because the roads are poor or nonexistent.
Sometimes only a footpath connects the farm to a road several miles away.
3.2.11 Postharvest Processing
Postharvest processing depends on the end user. If the grain is to be fed to livestock, it
may not be processed at all. Most animals can consume the grain directly. For most effi-
cient digestion, however, the grain should be at least cracked or broken. In some cases it
will be ground into a coarse powder to permit mixing with other supplements to form a
more complete ration.
For human consumption in industrial countries, maize may go through several
stages of processing. The most common type of processing is wet milling. This com-
bines physical and chemical treatments to separate the grain into four basic
components: starch, germ, fiber, and protein. The starch is then processed to form
products such as adhesives, batteries, crayons, paper, plywood, and chewing gum.
Oil obtained from this process goes into production of various products, including
mayonnaise, salad dressing, cooking oil, printing ink, and soups. Ethanol production
utilizing the starch extract is becoming an important motor fuel.
The Masa process is a cooking process done under alkaline conditions to produce
specialty foods such as tortillas. 7
Other grades of fine, medium, and coarse flour are
produced for specific products.
Dry milling is used primarily to process grains going to animal feed. Other foods
made from dry milled maize include grits, maize chips, snack foods, polenta, and
maize flour.
In the developing countries of South America, Africa, and Asia, a large portion of
the maize is white. Although it varies from one country to another, many countries use
50 to 80 percent of the white maize production for human consumption. 8 Processing of
maize in countries of South America is divided between large millers and small
business processors. A significant amount of processing is often done on the farm or
in small business settings. Much of the maize produced in the Andean region of
South America goes to the fresh produce market, where it is consumed as roasted
ears. In Mexico, steamed maize meal is sold wrapped in maize husks as tamales.
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