Powerpoint presentation on the adoption of the ASI rice thresher. Outlines technical details as well as impact, and suggests that the recommendation could make a significant change in Senegalese rice harvesting – helping it to achieve its goal of becoming self-sufficient. http://www.africarice.org/workshop/grisp-mech/PPT/Diagne,%20africarice.pdf
Adoption and Impact of an Award-Winning Postharvest Technology: The ASI Rice Thresher in the Senegal River Valley
Maize Stocks Fall Sharply with Rise in Smuggling
Smuggling is yet another cause for PHL as one million bags of maize have disappeared and are thought to have been sent to southern Sudan. Accordingly, prices have doubled, stocks have decreased significantly, and the import duty on maize was waived so that the country could meet the demand of its citizens. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Maize+stocks+fall+sharply+with+rise++in+smuggling/-/539550/1195852/-/1032lwj/-/
African Union Signs MOU with UN FAO
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the African Union Commission (AUC) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was signed on July 5 at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The MoU defines the areas of cooperation between the two bodies in support of regional capacity building to reduce post harvest losses. […]
Minister Calls for Better Packaging of Products
The Minister of Trade and Industry expressed dissatisfaction that packaging in Ghana is at its elementary stage, saying it contributed to product damage and postharvest loss. The Minister highlighted that packaging has been identified as “one of the major reasons for the failure of locally manufactured good to compete favorably with imported goods”. She spoke […]
Gates Foundation Grants $11.8 Million for Agricultural Development in Ethiopia
Following its receipt of a $11.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme announced today it will partner with the Ministry of Agriculture to support the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). http://www.ezega.com/News/NewsDetails.aspx?Page=heads&NewsID=2961
Innovation of the Week: Empowering Impoverished Communities with Compatible Technologies
Compatible Technology International (CIT) focuses on developing small-scale technology for rural farmers to process crops and produce efficiently. The McKnight Organization (with SUA and ICRASAT) has given them a grant of $673,000 for a 4-year R&D project focusing on Malawi and Tanzania, focusing on adding value and reducing postharvest loss. http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/empowering-impoverished-communities-with-compatible-technologies-post-harvest-loss-food-waste-storage-corn-hunger/
EAC Bloc in Talks Over Commodity Exchange Forum
The East African Community has kicked-off negotiations for the creation of a common commodity exchange to boost growers’ earnings and availability of food. The bloc is in talks with an independent international consultancy, Nicolas Berggruen Institute (NBI), that comprises a group of former heads of state and global entrepreneurs to help create the facility. The planned commodity […]
Malo Traders Win 2nd Place in Dell Social Innovation Competition
2011 Dell Social Innovation Competition – Second place winner was MaloTraders, a group dealing with using cutting-edge technology to help with postharvest loss in Mali. http://studentcompetitions.com/posts/winners-of-dell-social-innovation-competition-2011
Sub-Saharan Africa Loses US$4bn to Postharvest Losses
Postharvest grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa are estimated at around US$4 billion a year, according to a World Bank and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) report. The lost food, according to the report, titled: ‘Missing Food: The Case of Post-Harvest Grain Losses in sub-Saharan Africa’, could meet the minimum annual food requirements of at least 48 […]
NESG: Nigeria Loses 1.2tr Yearly to Poor Agric Development
Nigeria has conducted a study to understand the monetary and physical losses in their agricultural sector. Focusing on government involvement in order to use agricultural as a means of rural development (and to facilitate social cohesion). http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nesg-nigeria-loses-n1-2tr-yearly-to-poor-agric-devt/93198/