COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE DIFFERENT ABACA STRIPPING MACHINES IN REGION 8

Abstract

In an effort to help local abaca farmers, the study evaluated the efficiency of six portable and one traditional stripping machines commonly used by abaca farmers. Farmer evaluators were pooled to evaluate the machines for fiber quality which is composed of the fiber output, texture, color, fiber length and fresh fiber moisture content. The study sought to determine the portable machines most preferred by abaca farmers and stakeholders, through a pair-wise evaluation. Results revealed that across all stripping machines, the traditional machine produced the highest capacity of fiber per unit time, while the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU)–developed machine got the highest ranking for fiber quality. Among the portable types however, the VSU machine had the highest average output followed by the Catalo and Marte designs. The Catalo design was also the most preferred by the abaca farmer evaluators in the pair-wise evaluation. The sought-after characteristics of a stripping machine by the abaca-farmer evaluators are those which are portable, easily fabricated, has safety mechanisms, easy to operate, has high fiber output, and can produce good quality fiber at less fuel cost. Diesel engine driven machines were also recommended based on the farmers’ technology evaluation and the researchers’ technical evaluation.