Embrapa has developed a mini mobile gin and bale presser to process production in each property, which stimulates the cultivation of organic colored cotton, market niches that are not met by large cotton plantation. The equipment enables cotton growers to add value to their production, by directly trading the fiber with the industry.
The process also allows the farmer to uses the seeds for animal feed, which would not occur if the production was sold without the processing. The separation of the seed from the cotton fiber, a process called ginning, is made in large processing units that are little accessible to smallholders.

The mini gin has the capacity to process up to 120 kg of cotton in an hour, or around 960 kg/day in 8 working hours, or twice the amount if it operates in two shifts. Considering the cotton productivity in the Brazilian Northeast and working 8 hours per day during a period of 4 months a year, the mini gin could process the production of an area equivalent to 70ha. The mini gin and the press were attached to a tow to make the set more movable, and it can be transported by a utilitarian vehicle between different cotton producing farms or associations.

Who benefits from that?
Smallholders who grow either colored or white cotton. The technology has the potential to be adopted in cotton smallholdings in Brazil (Paraíba, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Goiás, and other states) as well as in other developing countries of Latin America and Africa.

Partners
The equipment was developed in a partnership between the Embrapa and the company Metalúrgica Barros from Campina Grande, Paraíba. Banco do Nordeste - BNB and the Financier of Studies and Projects - FINEP also assigned funds for the development of the equipment.
This technological solution was developed by Embrapa in partnership with other institutions.