DEVELOPING COUNTRY GRAIN DRILL The DC Grain Drill shown in the photo was made in Kabul, Afghanistan, in l961 while I was working for The Asia Foundation, assigned as to the Community Development Department. At that time the method of planting wheat was to broadcast 3 bushels of wheat seed by hand and then plow it in with a wooden plow. It was estimated that one third of the seed was planted so deep it never came up, one third stayed on the top of the ground and the birds ate it. The one third that was at the proper depth was in loose (unpacked) soil which was not conducive to good germination. It was reported, in those days, that the average yield of irrigated wheat in Afghanistan as 9 bushels to the acre. The low yield was attributed to the fact that soil improvement practices were almost nil. Manure was used as a fuel for cooking and not as fertilizer. Commercial fertilizers were not available and would have been considered too expensive if they were. Plowing in organic matter to improvement the soil was not possible with a wooden plow. Also the wheat straw was the winter feed for the animals and was not left to be plowed under.. In some areas, at harvest time, the plants are pulled up and even the roots are fed to the animals. The DC GRAIN DRILL does not overcome all of these problems but it does eliminate a few of them. Only 1 bushel of wheat is planted with the DRILL and the seed is placed at the proper depth for germination. The wheels on the DRILL pack the soil over the seed further increasing the chance for growth. The saving of 2 bushels of wheat at planting time is the same as an increase of 2 bushels at harvest time. No claim is made for increased yields through the use of the DRILL but a 33% increase in the field should be enough to make its use worthwhile. The DC GRAIN DRILL can be made in most Developing Countries. The materials for making the seed feeding mechanism--wood and rope--are available everywhere. It consists of a wooden bottom in the seed hopper with a 3/8" square groove in it. A 1/4" rope in the groove moves back and forth causing some seed to fall through holes in the bottom of the groove and into the planter shoes. The construction of the rest of the DRILL will vary according to local situations, but are possible. The market for the DC GRAIN DRILL is very limited. It is not a matter of every farmer having a DRILL because a farmer in Developing Countries are not a jack-of-all-trades. All of his carpentry and metal work is done by the village carpenter and blacksmith. It will be so with the DRILL. There need be only one DRILL in a village and only one man to use, maintain and repair it. This makes the introduction of the DC GRAIN DRILL a little easier. The training of the operators can be done in the "factory" where the DRILLS are produced.