This study examines the economic feasibility of improved storages and the potential impacts of us... more This study examines the economic feasibility of improved storages and the potential impacts of using them on household food security and income. Moreover, it tests whether storage losses can induce early sale of households maize produce. We used data from on-farm experiment, household survey, and secondary sources. We considered Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags, metallic silos, and polypropylene bags (control). Results show that PICS bags are profitable when the grain is sold during the lean season. However, the economic feasibility of metallic silos depends on the size of the storages and location i.e. silos of 1.5t and 2t storage capacities are feasible in some districts while lower size silos are not feasible in all locations. Storing maize using PICS bags will enhance household food security, especially among net-buyer farm households enabling them to reduce their annual grain deficit period by three to four weeks. Moreover, market-oriented storage using the improved sto...
Agricultural biodiversity plays a central role in household food security and income generation, ... more Agricultural biodiversity plays a central role in household food security and income generation, and thus in achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 of halving the proportion of hungry and extremely poor people by 2015. However, its wider use to address nutritional deficiencies and other aspects of poverty, all of paramount importance, is yet to be fully realized. With this in mind, an International Consultation was held in Chennai, India, in April 2005, gathering together policy-makers and experts with diverse backgrounds from 25 countries. The aim of the Chennai consultation was to emphasize the unique contribution that agricultural biodiversity makes to improved livelihoods, through providing a foundation for household food and nutrition security and offering opportunities for income generation. Agriculture is what feeds us but agricultural biodiversity is what sustains us. The consultation also looked at policies, institutional constraints and other issues that are impeding the full deployment of these natural resources and hence limiting the achievement of the MDGs. Concern was registered at the rapid loss of these resources, which seriously threatens the food and nutrition security of future generations. This report documents the presentations made at the consultation and the papers contributed, the discussions conducted thereon, the outputs of the working groups and the final recommendations.The principal outcome of the consultation was the adoption of the Chennai Platform for Action, which was drawn up with serious commitment on the part of all present to address the value of agricultural biodiversity in meeting the MDGs. This is a 10-point strategy, designed to assist national governments and international agencies to achieve, as soon as possible, the UN MDG of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. This can be done through the promotion of local, community-centered systems that will deliver improved food security and health, based on the cultivation of a wide range of food crops, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants. The Chennai Platform for Action is available as a separate publication in seven languages to facilitate action and awareness generation by different stakeholders. It is hoped that this action plan will be widely adopted because the eradication - and not mere reduction - of hunger and poverty must become an overriding priority for public action and investment. Moreover, the challenge of the MDGs is not simply to halve hunger but also to attack the hidden hunger caused by unbalanced diets, and to do so in a sustainable manner. In the past, approaches to hidden hunger were essentially based on supplementation and fortification. However, such remedies do not address all aspects of malnutrition and have not proved feasible in all circumstances, particularly for the rural poor. Therefore, the dietary diversity approach is really the main way forward. We must bear in mind that the right to food is the right to 'good' or 'adequate' food. The global struggle against poverty and hunger cannot be won without increased collaboration in the conservation, and sustainable and fair use of agricultural biodiversity. Genetic diversity is the foundation of all improvements to agriculture. Diversity can also help improve productivity by raising yield stability, contributing to pest and disease control, and improving the environment. Meeting the Millennium Development Goals will require political will, financial commitment and a readiness to attempt innovative solutions. The very fact that five years after the adoption of these goals, most developing countries have been unable to make proportionate progress in the elimination of hunger and poverty indicates the need for an overall change in the manner in which we have addressed this challenge to date. Without such a change we will not achieve the goal of a hungerfree world. Let us keep before our eyes a positive reality: that, given the necessary resources and collaboration, the MDGs can, in fact, be achieved. In a world where 852 million people are hungry, in the words of FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf, ”The question is not whether we can afford to take the urgent and immediate action needed...The question is whether we can afford not to.1” Can we have a hunger-free world? This is the challenge. 1The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004, FAO, Roma, 200
Across sub-Saharan Africa, chili peppers are fundamental ingredients of many traditional dishes. ... more Across sub-Saharan Africa, chili peppers are fundamental ingredients of many traditional dishes. However, chili peppers may contain unsafe aflatoxin concentrations produced by Aspergillus section Flavi fungi. Aflatoxin levels were determined in chili peppers from three states in Nigeria. A total of 70 samples were collected from farmers’ stores and local markets. Over 25% of the samples contained unsafe aflatoxin concentrations. The chili peppers were associated with both aflatoxin producers and atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus genotypes. Efficacy of an atoxigenic biocontrol product, Aflasafe, registered in Nigeria for use on maize and groundnut, was tested for chili peppers grown in three states. Chili peppers treated with Aflasafe accumulated significantly less aflatoxins than nontreated chili peppers. The results suggest that Aflasafe is a valuable tool for the production of safe chili peppers. Use of Aflasafe in chili peppers could reduce human exposure to aflatoxins and increase c...
The hypothesis that application of starter nitrogen (N) fertilizer to cowpea may increase grain a... more The hypothesis that application of starter nitrogen (N) fertilizer to cowpea may increase grain and fodder yields and profitability was tested in the Guinea and Sudan savanna zones of northern Ghana. Two cowpea varieties (Apagbaala: grain-type and Padi-Tuya: dual purpose) and three N fertilizer rates (0-30-30, 15-30-30 and 30-30-30 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha) were evaluated using a 2 × 3 factorial treatments arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Grain and fodder yields, 100 seed weight (SW) and net return of Padi-Tuya increased significantly compared with Apagbaala in both zones. Application of starter N fertilizer increased grain yield, fodder yield, N use efficiency (NUE) and net return by more than 30% compared with the control in both zones. Padi-Tuya cowpea with 15 kg/ha N fertilizer was risk efficient at all risk aversion levels when only grain was considered, but Padi-Tuya with 30 kg/ha N fertilizer becomes the most risk efficient option when the valu...
I International Symposium on Pomegranate and Minor Mediterranean Fruits, 2009
... These intervention areas are supported through improved interaction and partnerships amongst ... more ... These intervention areas are supported through improved interaction and partnerships amongst ... Regional and international organisations such as the World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC ... for coordinating, where appropriate, research prioritisation and impact assessment, research ...
This study examines the economic feasibility of improved storages and the potential impacts of us... more This study examines the economic feasibility of improved storages and the potential impacts of using them on household food security and income. Moreover, it tests whether storage losses can induce early sale of households maize produce. We used data from on-farm experiment, household survey, and secondary sources. We considered Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags, metallic silos, and polypropylene bags (control). Results show that PICS bags are profitable when the grain is sold during the lean season. However, the economic feasibility of metallic silos depends on the size of the storages and location i.e. silos of 1.5t and 2t storage capacities are feasible in some districts while lower size silos are not feasible in all locations. Storing maize using PICS bags will enhance household food security, especially among net-buyer farm households enabling them to reduce their annual grain deficit period by three to four weeks. Moreover, market-oriented storage using the improved sto...
Agricultural biodiversity plays a central role in household food security and income generation, ... more Agricultural biodiversity plays a central role in household food security and income generation, and thus in achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 of halving the proportion of hungry and extremely poor people by 2015. However, its wider use to address nutritional deficiencies and other aspects of poverty, all of paramount importance, is yet to be fully realized. With this in mind, an International Consultation was held in Chennai, India, in April 2005, gathering together policy-makers and experts with diverse backgrounds from 25 countries. The aim of the Chennai consultation was to emphasize the unique contribution that agricultural biodiversity makes to improved livelihoods, through providing a foundation for household food and nutrition security and offering opportunities for income generation. Agriculture is what feeds us but agricultural biodiversity is what sustains us. The consultation also looked at policies, institutional constraints and other issues that are impeding the full deployment of these natural resources and hence limiting the achievement of the MDGs. Concern was registered at the rapid loss of these resources, which seriously threatens the food and nutrition security of future generations. This report documents the presentations made at the consultation and the papers contributed, the discussions conducted thereon, the outputs of the working groups and the final recommendations.The principal outcome of the consultation was the adoption of the Chennai Platform for Action, which was drawn up with serious commitment on the part of all present to address the value of agricultural biodiversity in meeting the MDGs. This is a 10-point strategy, designed to assist national governments and international agencies to achieve, as soon as possible, the UN MDG of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. This can be done through the promotion of local, community-centered systems that will deliver improved food security and health, based on the cultivation of a wide range of food crops, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants. The Chennai Platform for Action is available as a separate publication in seven languages to facilitate action and awareness generation by different stakeholders. It is hoped that this action plan will be widely adopted because the eradication - and not mere reduction - of hunger and poverty must become an overriding priority for public action and investment. Moreover, the challenge of the MDGs is not simply to halve hunger but also to attack the hidden hunger caused by unbalanced diets, and to do so in a sustainable manner. In the past, approaches to hidden hunger were essentially based on supplementation and fortification. However, such remedies do not address all aspects of malnutrition and have not proved feasible in all circumstances, particularly for the rural poor. Therefore, the dietary diversity approach is really the main way forward. We must bear in mind that the right to food is the right to 'good' or 'adequate' food. The global struggle against poverty and hunger cannot be won without increased collaboration in the conservation, and sustainable and fair use of agricultural biodiversity. Genetic diversity is the foundation of all improvements to agriculture. Diversity can also help improve productivity by raising yield stability, contributing to pest and disease control, and improving the environment. Meeting the Millennium Development Goals will require political will, financial commitment and a readiness to attempt innovative solutions. The very fact that five years after the adoption of these goals, most developing countries have been unable to make proportionate progress in the elimination of hunger and poverty indicates the need for an overall change in the manner in which we have addressed this challenge to date. Without such a change we will not achieve the goal of a hungerfree world. Let us keep before our eyes a positive reality: that, given the necessary resources and collaboration, the MDGs can, in fact, be achieved. In a world where 852 million people are hungry, in the words of FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf, ”The question is not whether we can afford to take the urgent and immediate action needed...The question is whether we can afford not to.1” Can we have a hunger-free world? This is the challenge. 1The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004, FAO, Roma, 200
Across sub-Saharan Africa, chili peppers are fundamental ingredients of many traditional dishes. ... more Across sub-Saharan Africa, chili peppers are fundamental ingredients of many traditional dishes. However, chili peppers may contain unsafe aflatoxin concentrations produced by Aspergillus section Flavi fungi. Aflatoxin levels were determined in chili peppers from three states in Nigeria. A total of 70 samples were collected from farmers’ stores and local markets. Over 25% of the samples contained unsafe aflatoxin concentrations. The chili peppers were associated with both aflatoxin producers and atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus genotypes. Efficacy of an atoxigenic biocontrol product, Aflasafe, registered in Nigeria for use on maize and groundnut, was tested for chili peppers grown in three states. Chili peppers treated with Aflasafe accumulated significantly less aflatoxins than nontreated chili peppers. The results suggest that Aflasafe is a valuable tool for the production of safe chili peppers. Use of Aflasafe in chili peppers could reduce human exposure to aflatoxins and increase c...
The hypothesis that application of starter nitrogen (N) fertilizer to cowpea may increase grain a... more The hypothesis that application of starter nitrogen (N) fertilizer to cowpea may increase grain and fodder yields and profitability was tested in the Guinea and Sudan savanna zones of northern Ghana. Two cowpea varieties (Apagbaala: grain-type and Padi-Tuya: dual purpose) and three N fertilizer rates (0-30-30, 15-30-30 and 30-30-30 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha) were evaluated using a 2 × 3 factorial treatments arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Grain and fodder yields, 100 seed weight (SW) and net return of Padi-Tuya increased significantly compared with Apagbaala in both zones. Application of starter N fertilizer increased grain yield, fodder yield, N use efficiency (NUE) and net return by more than 30% compared with the control in both zones. Padi-Tuya cowpea with 15 kg/ha N fertilizer was risk efficient at all risk aversion levels when only grain was considered, but Padi-Tuya with 30 kg/ha N fertilizer becomes the most risk efficient option when the valu...
I International Symposium on Pomegranate and Minor Mediterranean Fruits, 2009
... These intervention areas are supported through improved interaction and partnerships amongst ... more ... These intervention areas are supported through improved interaction and partnerships amongst ... Regional and international organisations such as the World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC ... for coordinating, where appropriate, research prioritisation and impact assessment, research ...
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