Machines | Moringa production farm Ghana

a 15 hectar Moringa Farm in south Ghana, near Nsawam. Moringa Moringa is a fast growing tree which can reach a maximum high of 6-14m and a diameter of 2-4m. Malnutrition with Moringa: Malnutrition is a significant factor also in the Sub-Sahel Zone in west-africa. In the most poorest countries as one child in five will die during a small children. Many million people die by chronic undernutrition. Here we can find several factors as: arid climate, drought, poverty, unemployment, war, refugees... Moringa grows wild in north-Ghana. Moringa grows quickly from seeds or cutting and generate itself after severe pruning. The tree is often cultivated as a fence around the house or garden. The tree is known for its many medicinal uses. But by the traditional method of preparing the leaves they lost the nutritional values. During our project since 2010 we trained teacher, doctor and many other people in the villages in methods of drying the leaves and used as a food additive. The target is to produce Moringa leaf powder in large amounts for use in nutritional programs. (low cost, availability on the market, acceptance...) Moringa parts and their uses: Seeds (kernels, shells, oil, fuel, cooking, cosmetic, medicinal and industrial uses, animal feed, water purification) Roots (medicinal use, human consumption) Bark (medicinal use) Leaves (human consumption, medicinal use, animal feed) Stems (animal feed) Twigs (animal feed) The seeds: The seed powder produced of the seeds of the Moringa tree can help to purify water of muds, bacteria and viruses. But in north-Ghana not many people use this method to obtain drinking water. Moringa seeds contain 30-45% oil. The oil is very yellow and fined us in the kitchen, in the cosmetic industry, in the soap industry, in the fine machinery and in the parfume industry. The oil is plenty of oleic acid (69-74%). Other edible oils contain only about 39-41% oleic acid. The press-cake as a byproduct of the oil extraction process comprised a very high level of protein. The dry seeds can be ground to a powder and find use in different sauces. Also good is to eat it to salads. Leaves: After cutting the trees they wash and remove/strip all the leaves. Damaged leaves are discarded. After this we can bring it into the drying room. The drying room is a ventilated room. It`s important to dry the leaves in 2-3 days, depending on conditions of humidity. After drying the leaves can be pounded in a mortar in a groundnut mill or in a hammer mill to pack it into a clean cardboard with polythene bag and heat-sealed that the powder in the box is hermetically sealed. This is important for freshness and dryness. The cardboards are stored in a cool and dry place. The Vitamin C content of Moringa leaves is very high. Fresh and very young leaves can be eaten raw.