Harvesting rain-fed chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) from fallow fields in developing countries is currently a manual process performed by laborers in a tedious manner at a low level of efficiency. A tractor-pulled harvester was built in which a chain conveyor transfer harvested material. A tractor-mounted harvester was then redesigned, which incorporated a modified stripper header to detach pods from the anchored plants together with a pneumatic conveyor mechanism. The resulting machine benefitted from being light-weight and having good maneuverability. Reduction of total losses from over 50% to close to 25% over a seven-year period confirms the potential of the prototype for commercialization.
