A student of KNUST constructs a Baja vehicle

A nine- member team of Mechanical Engineering students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have constructed a Baja vehicle.

The innovation was in partial fulfillment for the award of a Bachelor of Science degree to complement the work of farmers and reduce the stress they encounter with farming activities.

According to the students their inspiration to design the vehicle stemmed from their realization that agricultural yield in Ghana was low due to unmechanised farming.

As such, they thought of helping the farmers to boost their productivity through the use of a relatively cheaper agricultural vehicle.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mr Mathias Nyaka, and the team leader said the objective was to design and construct a Baja with a suitable power take-off for ploughing, planting, fertilizer application and other basic farming activities.

“The chassis mainly consists of mild steel and galvanised steel. Time was also spent to study the make-up of the vehicle and its movement.

“We designed the Baja vehicle in Computer Aided Design (CAD) software for the frame and body parts. We used working model and a bit of MATLAB for stress analysis to verify the success of the design.

“The analysis proved positive so we proceeded to the fabrication stage till the point where the vehicle became functional. The Baja vehicle runs on petrol. Its power can pull a maximum weight of 900kg,” he said.

Mr Nyaka explained that: “We lagged behind in aesthetic value which therefore became our major drawback as compared to what exists. We can just be optimistic about its durability and shelf life.

“This was a time bound final year project and the time frame was not enough to do complete testing after finishing the project. The cost of the vehicle would be between GH? 13,500.00 and GH? 14,000.00,” he said.

Mr Nyaka expressed pride in the construction of the Baja vehicle for farmers although the team was financially handicapped as such the construction appeared to be an incomplete work done.

Mr Smart Kweku Frempong, a team member of the project said the vehicle’s designs would enable the attachment of a plough, mower, a mini harvester and other farm implements.

“Our initial designs were not available in the market. As such, we had to improvise or in some cases modify the design.

“We believe that when this vehicle is mass produced would convert farming in Ghana into a mechanised one,” he said.

He explained that the vehicle has not been displayed to the public as it is undergoing testing and some improvements so as to meet the Driver Vehicle Licence Authority’s standards.

However, he feels enthusiastic to have applied his skills to design a utility that would solve one of the many problems in the Agricultural sector.

GNA

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