Agriculture is at the forefront of ensuring food security and researchers at the North-West University (NWU) are constantly looking for innovative and more effective ways to enhance this crucial sector.

Associate professor Rojanette Coetzee from the School of Industrial Engineering is focusing on “lean agriculture” to reduce waste and improve the efficiency of agri-systems.

“The lean agriculture approach is adapted from the manufacturing industry, where it is used to reduce waste, improve efficiency and do more with less,” says Prof Coetzee.

She says this strategy has become particularly important in the agricultural sector, where natural resources such as water and soil are limited, and it is crucial to maximise yield while minimising cost.

Working with living organisms, not production lines

Applying lean concepts to agriculture presents unique challenges, as the process involves living organisms – plants and animals – rather than production lines of work-in-progress products.

Factors like weather conditions, animal health and soil variability are dynamic and must be considered when identifying waste and inefficiencies.

Reducing waste for optimal efficiency

“Lean manufacturing has proven to be effective in eliminating waste and improving workflow in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare and the service sector. However, its application in agriculture is still emerging, and in agriculture, lean is used to analyse and reduce waste across various operations, from farms to supply chains and processing facilities,” says Prof Coetzee.

She explains: “Researchers typically start by analysing existing processes to identify areas of inefficiency. This involves data collection, process mapping and root-cause analysis to uncover bottlenecks in the system.”

After identifying wasteful activities, researchers propose solutions to streamline the process.

“The goal is not to improve the steps that are already working well, but to eliminate inefficiencies that slow down the system. One example of this is in the grain handling industry.”

Grain silos play an important role in the agricultural sector as they store grain in bulk and act as nodes for the grain supply chain. However, during peak seasons, the grain-receiving process faces several challenges due to limitations in the existing infrastructure and the methods used.

Relieving congestion and inefficiencies

The queues of trucks that form outside the silo yard cause congestion, worsening the inefficiencies already in the system. These recurring bottlenecks at the silo facility affect the efficiency and speed of operations. The slow pace of operations results in longer waiting times for producers and contractors in the queues, who want to offload their grain quickly and return to other harvesting activities.

Increased productivity a winning formula for food production

A group of students enrolled for master’s degrees in industrial engineering at the NWU are investigating how the eight forms of lean waste can be identified and contextualised for grain handling in silo operations.

These eight areas are overproduction, waiting times (for parts, instructions, materials, or trucks outside the silo yard waiting to be serviced), transportation, overprocessing, excess inventory, movement, defects and underutilisation of employee creativity.

The research team is conducting a root-cause analysis of the reasons for the slow pace of operations in the silo facilities of a case study organisation. Once found, the root causes will then be categorised across the eight forms of lean waste and contextualised into lean-agri wastes.

“By reducing waste and streamlining processes, producers and agribusinesses can produce more food with fewer resources, aligning with the global need for sustainable farming practices,” explains Prof Coetzee.

She describes that in the case of grain silos, the improving of truck turnover times not only benefits the company concerned but also allows producers to utilise their vehicles more effectively, improving the entire supply chain.

“As lean methods continue to evolve within agriculture, they offer promising solutions to the growing challenges of resource scarcity and food security. Through ongoing research and practical applications, lean principles are helping to transform agriculture into a more productive and sustainable industry.”

Prof Rojanette Coetzee from the School of Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering.

Stacey Lea, Melissa Roux and Leonize Meiring are three enthusiastic master’s degree students who are focusing their research on lean agriculture.