Samson Alemba is targeting to market his product to the counties bordering Lake Victoria as the devolved units attempt to re-establish transport and fishing industry.
A Kisumu Polytechnic lecturer has designed a combine harvester he says can eliminate the toxic water hyacinth from Lake Victoria.
To realise his dream, Mr Samson Alemba is seeking Sh9.9 million to build the short range prototype harvester.
The automotive engineering tutor is targeting to market his product to the counties bordering Lake Victoria as the devolved units attempt to re-establish transport and fishing industry.
“The combine harvester to be fitted with two pontoons in equal lengths uses mat breaker mechanism to be placed at the bow end of the boat,” Mr Alemba said.
The harvesting is through an on-board mounted harvesting tunnel that makes it compact when navigating turbulent waters, he said.
He is working on the project with his students Maurice Odiwuor and James Abuto.
To cover 2km from the shore and harvest up to 50kg of hyacinth per hour, it needs to be designed, assembled and tested on the lake.
“The students are well trained and capable of handling fabrication and fitting of the device which can collect the highest density of the weed at the lake,” he said.
This comes as an Sh81 million water hyacinth harvester bought by the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Program last year lies idle at the Kisumu Port. Reports say it is down with mechanical hitch.
Mr Alemba said the fabricated boat is more superior than the existing harvesters.
Under favourable conditions, the weed can double in volumes in 14 days.
The lecturer says the machine can clear the aquatic weed by either chopping it into small pieces then allowing it to sink and rot or pushing it to the shores.
“This is the safest, surest and least hazardous, method available and widely employed in the removal of water hyacinth,” he said, adding there hasn’t been any aquatic weed combine harvester boat or ship floating on any water surface “anywhere on earth.”
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