Hands-On Solar-Gas Dryer Fabrication: Albanus’ HD4A Experience

Albanus, the visionary behind Empire Enterprise in Makueni County, is turning local agricultural challenges into innovation opportunities. As one of the standout Agri-innovators in Cohort 2 of the HD4A Agribusiness Accelerator Program, he is transforming the way smallholder farmers access efficient and affordable farm equipment, including custom-fabricated threshers.

With the support of the HealthyDiets4Africa(HD4A) Agribusiness Accelerator Program through FSPN Africa, Albanus has taken his enterprise from a small-scale fabricator to a formally registered and trademarked business ready to scale and make a lasting impact after joining the program in October 2024.

From 10^th to 21^st November 2025, he participated in a two-week intensive practical training at organized by African Rice funded by European Union through the HealthyDiets4Africa project, at Africa Rice M’bé Research Station in Côte d’Ivoire focused on Gas Hybrid Dryer technology—an innovative clean-energy solution designed to reduce post-harvest losses and enhance food quality across Africa.

The exchange program brought together 10 innovative technicians (9 men and 1 woman) from Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Uganda working to develop efficient, cost-effective postharvest drying solutions across Africa.

Technical Knowledge and Practical Application

The program combined classroom instruction with hands-on practical sessions. Key areas of learning included hybrid drying principles (integration of gas and alternative energy sources), temperature and moisture control for different crop types, dryer design components and material selection, gas safety protocols and system maintenance, and quality assurance to preserve grain and produce value.

Through practical sessions, Albanus gained experience in setting drying parameters, monitoring moisture reduction, optimizing fuel efficiency, and addressing operational challenges.

Training at Africa Rice M’bé Research Station in Côte d’Ivoire. Photo Credit: Africa Rice

This training strengthened his capacity to design and fabricate modern drying systems tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers.

With a newly strengthened cadre of technicians, Africa Rice is paving the way for widespread adoption of solar–gas hybrid dryers—critical for processing cereals, fruits, vegetables, and fish while reducing waste and improving nutritional quality.

Translating Knowledge into Local Impact

The knowledge gained from the Côte d’Ivoire exchange is now being applied within Empire Enterprise to improve dryer design, efficiency, affordability, and adaptability to local conditions.

By integrating Gas Hybrid Dryer technology into his fabrication portfolio, Albanus is expanding beyond threshers to offer broader postharvest solutions, directly contributing to reduced crop losses, improved product quality, and stronger agricultural value chains in Makueni County.

Mr. Albanus has been able to put the training into action and fabricated a model drier. It uses briquette rather than gas. "I opted for briquettes because they affordable to smallholder farmers or enterprises and environmental friendly." said Albanus. He cited that gas is not sustainable to most of the target users but it one wants the drier powered by gas or solar, he will be able fabricate one.

Currently he conducting trials on different foods especially vegetables and fruits to learn how control the temperatures and time as well as establish areas of improvement. His goal is to transfer the technology to smallholder farmers to help reduce post-harvest losses and increase value addition. This will improve supply of perishable food crops during dry season as the area is semi arid, faced with erratic rainfall.

Partners Against Hunger Mwangangi Fabricated drier — Vegetable drying trial using the fabricated solar-gas drier improvised to use briquettes. Mr. Albanus Mwangangi at his workshop.

A Model of Scalable Support

Empire Enterprise has achieved significant milestones under the HD4A Agribusiness Accelerator program. Albanus successfully registered his business and trademarked his fabricated products, securing intellectual property protection and strengthening market credibility. — essential for scaling locally manufactured agricultural technologies.

Partners Against Hunger Dried vegetables from the drier — Vegetables from dried by the fabricated by Mr. Albanus at his workshop in Kibarani, Makueni County post training in Cote d'Ivore.

Through the HD4A Agribusiness Accelerator Program, innovators are not only building products but building sustainable enterprises capable of driving long-term agricultural transformation.

Empire Enterprise stands as an example of how targeted ecosystem and structured accelerator programs support can unlock local manufacturing capacity, strengthen postharvest systems, and contribute to resilient agribusiness development across the region.

For more information, contact: info@fspnafrica.org