Improvement of Silo Cincho: innovation in family agriculture forage storage

Abstract

Technical Assistance actions on agroecology are extremely important to enable knowledge
building as well the development of adapted techniques on family farming context. In order
to increase the efficiency at agroecological forage production, “Silo Cincho” technique was
proposed over three familiar unities at the municipalities of Jaboticatubas, Santa Bárbara and
Bonfim, all of them located at Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region. Originally, the “Silo Cincho”
used to be made by compacting the fodder in a metal form with the feet. Farmers and
technicians field observations and reflections guided to technical innovation testing. The use
of a tamping rammer over a resistant rubber sheet at the same metal mold size for fodder
compacting, also the use of weed trimmer for forage harvesting enabled a greater efficiency of
the technique. At the original way it was used to take four to five people to do the compaction
stage, after technical innovations only one person does all work.