Identification of key sugarcane harvester features using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract

Abstract The Philippine sugarcane industry is worth roughly 88 billion pesos and employs around 700,000 Filipinos. However, the competitiveness of the local industry ($0.17 per lb sugar) is currently under threat from international producers ($0.14 per lb sugar) because of the upcoming ASEAN 2015 integration. One of the major blockages to cost effectiveness is the low productivity of the local industry. This may be addressed with the use of a semi-automated mechanical harvester. As a preliminary study, the present work captures the expert preferences of various stakeholders in the selection of a semi-automated mechanical harvester. This is done using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) surveying tool. The study assumes the following important factors: a) Ease of use, b) Productivity, c) Adaptability to different terrains, d) with Lifter, and e) with Topper. Using a survey with a series of pairwise comparison questions, it is able to quantify even qualitative factors affecting decision making. The priorities of the surveyed stakeholders are averaged and discussed in the results section. Widely used in policy making and planning, the paper introduces the use of the AHP tool to commercial machinery design. The model may be expanded and improved to consider other key factors.