Project Origin: A VIDEO Recap of the “Best Of” Awards and Auctions

Project Origin: A VIDEO Recap of the “Best Of” Awards and Auctions

The Project Origin - Best of El Salvador pilot was held last May 2 to 8, 2016. It was a huge success that resulted in increased profits – up to 480% for some farmers – and creation of stronger relationships between local producers and roasters around the world. To preserve the quality of auctioned off varieties, GrainPro® SuperGrainbags® were used (see video).

Project Origin travels to coffee producing countries where they meet local with producers to find the best coffees, which they enter into competitions and auctions. The program, still in its early stages, is already help coffee farmers increase their incomes.

For example, Ever Leonel Díaz Pérez, the 2016 El Salvador Washed Champion. Pérez produces only 6 to 15 bags a year, which prevented him from entering cupping competitions. He would sell his coffee for around $2 a pound to other producers. This year, it was a different story. He came up with the best coffee, which he sold for $9.60 a pound.

HOCKEY FIGHT GOT CORDIAL

HOCKEY FIGHT GOT CORDIAL

San Jose Sharks defenceman Brenden Dillon was caught on video last weekend at the SAP Center having a civilized conversation with the player he just finished fighting. The video was a huge internet hit that is going viral and making the late night talk show rounds.

Hockey players -- tough as they are -- doesn't usually start cordial chats in the penalty box with players they just had a fight with. But that is the persona we are forced to believe in, after all, it's a rough sport. But these players are also human and moments like these are simply priceless.

Brendan Dillon was obviously wearing a microphone during the game. His opponent, Austin Watson of the Predators, chimed in a during the surreal moment.

The video starts with Dillon obviously challenging Austin to a fight. Nothing out of the ordinary among hockey players. What's awesome is that the two finished the fight with compliments of each other. You can even hear Watson telling Dillon: "Atta-boy, good job."

In the penalty box, the two players talked about going for cardio training in the off-season. Watson said, "I’ll come see Joey, we’ll mix it in this summer," to which Dillon replied, "Uh, Joey doesn’t know cardio.”The Joey in this conversation is their mutual friend and Predator forward Ryan Johansen. Before going back to the ice, the two exchanged pleasantries once more with Austin wishing Dillon good luck and the former reciprocating the sentiment.

Hockey players (especially among Canadians) are notorious for letting things go after a fight. Grudges usually aren't held except in the most extreme of circumstances. It's only natural that after the fight, the protagonists went about business as usual. This is definitely something you don't usually see in today's sport culture. 

The cool thing about this is that this kind of attitude spills over onto the streets of Canada. I remember back in 2011, I was hanging out with a few tourists in Halifax when we saw a fight at the well-loved Pizza Square section at the heart of downtown. The guys I was with were obviously agitated by what's happening and was looking to stop the fight. I had to stop them from interfering as they could just escalate it and ensuring them that they will see the most amazing thing ever. And yes, as I predicted, the fighters, dressed in their Saturday Night best, all bloodied, hugged and went about as if nothing happened as people around them cheered the release of tension. Awesome stuff and we got to eat cheeseburgers and pizza slices afterward.

It's a hockey life...a hockey culture. And it's just great to see that competition shouldn't get in the way of sportsmanship.

Rural Distribution Plays an Important Role in the Safe Preservation of Grains and Seeds in Ethiopia

Rural Distribution Plays an Important Role in the Safe Preservation of Grains and Seeds in Ethiopia

“This is the first year I’m not buying chemicals to store my grain,” Baraka Nurie, the mother of three small children, revealed to Jordan Dey, GrainPro® VP for Food Security, during a visit on February in Ethiopia’s Gurage Region.

What gives? A new rural distribution strategy initiated in January 2017 by GrainPro’s Ethiopia distributor, HiTec, will give millions of small farmers access to pesticide-free and safe hermetic storage. Hermetic bags, such as GrainPro’s SuperGrainbag®, help stop infestation and inhibit the growth of aflatoxin-producing molds, while retaining the quality, color, and taste of stored grains for months, even years without using chemicals that can harm consumers.

HiTec’s strategy involves partnering with governments and local groups to conduct outreach activities that will see highly-trained agricultural extension officers visiting rural communities to train and educate farmers on hermetic storage, and establish a network of local dealers to supply the farmers.

Farmers in Ethiopia traditionally grow corn, sorghum and teff for their household consumption, keeping four or five bags (100KG) of the grain in their house.  Bugs, particularly weevils, immediately show up, infesting the grain, eating the nutritious core and reducing the contents to a powdery mess.

To combat this problem, farmers, desperate due to the lack of appropriate, affordable and alternative preservation methods during storage, are directly applying chemicals categorized under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants on their grains every couple of months. Some of these chemicals have doubtful origins and are banned internationally from use without proper training because their use can have negative health and environmental effects. 

These chemicals kill the weevils, but leave residues that threaten the health of consumers, particularly children, and farm animals. At a financial standpoint, chemical pesticides reduce the market value of their crops. Additionally, the improper use of these chemicals can lead to environmental problems and health concerns for users and their families. Given the downsides of using chemicals, hermetic storage is clearly the safer and more cost-efficient alternative.

HiTec’s strategy involves partnering with governments and local groups to conduct outreach activities that will see highly-trained agricultural extension officers visiting rural communities to train and educate farmers on hermetic storage, and establish a network of local dealers to supply the farmers. One of the dealers, Shafi Agro in Butajira, already sold 439 GrainPro bags since the program started. 

The financial incentives of storing are undeniable. In southern Ethiopia, with the harvest just in, the price for a 100 KG bag of corn is currently $19 USD. In five months, as supplies diminish, the market price will increase to $31 per bag, or a 60% gain. The small farmers can recoup the cost of their investment in hermetic bag by waiting 3 to 4 months before they sell their grain.

Despite the obvious benefits, creating the foundation for behavior change among small farmers is a long-term process and requires a long-term commitment. Sharing this effort among governments, donors, non-profits, international organizations and the technology providers is the key to catalyzing behavior change and improving the health, nutritional and financial outcomes for small farmers globally. 

And the right time to do this is now.

With increasing pressures to stop the use of dangerous pesticides on dry agricultural commodities, there is a clear desire among farmers for safer alternatives. Baraka Nurie and others in her neighborhood got it right when they decided to stop using chemicals and try out hermetic storage. Aside from the financial potential, they can be sure that their children are eating safe.

VIDEO: SUPERBOWL 51 JERSEY MYSTERY SOLVED

VIDEO: SUPERBOWL 51 JERSEY MYSTERY SOLVED

Finally, some positive development in Tom Brady’s missing SuperBowl 51 jersey. 

Reports are finally coming in confirming that the winning jersey was finally located after a month and a half of extensive searching by multiple law enforcement agencies in the US. This was revealed this morning after Jay Glazer, respected sports columnist, released a surveillance video on FSN’s the Herd. 

The suspect is a credentialed member of the international press and a former news director of Mexican paper La Prensa. TMZ also released photos of the suspect taking selfies with multiple NFL stars including Brady, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and legend Jerry Rice, to name a few.

The video shows that after the awarding of the Lombardi Trophy, the suspect entered the Patriots locker room at 10:04 Central Time behind head coach Bill Belichick’s entourage. He left the locker room at 10:18 CT with something tucked between his arms. Not long after, Tom Brady was caught on video telling Mr. Kraft that his jersey was stolen.

After the thrilling 34–28 victory of the Patriots in the first SuperBowl that went to overtime – christened by many as the greatest ever played – Brady handed his jersey to a staff member. He later got the jersey and placed it inside his bag only to discover that it was gone. This triggered a manhunt led by the FBI.

Brady asked the public to be informed in case it appears in bidding site Ebay.com. The jersey is estimated at $500,000 to $800,000, perhaps more with the added lore attached to it. Brady is hoping to use it to raise funds for his personal advocacies. 

Authorities have also recovered Brady’s missing SuperBowl 49 jersey. The two jerseys were authenticated and are in the process of being returned to the Patriots. They are currently linking Von Miller’s missing helmet from SuperBowl 50 with the same suspect.

Crime does not pay, and sooner or later, poor judgment will come haunting. The suspect could face felony charges of up to two years in prison, among others. Additionally, this could add fire to the debate of foreigners in America. Finally, let’s just say that nobody is going to trust this guy in any locker room.

New Storage System Seen to Modernize Agriculture

New Storage System Seen to Modernize Agriculture

This is one of the biggest earned media pitch I did in my career.

Last year, I went to the ADB Food Security Forum at the Asian Development Bank complex in Pasig City, Philippines where I had the opportunity to talk with food security experts and learn more about the state of food security in a global context.

It was also an opportunity to mingle and do some public/media relations with international media professionals covering the event.

One of those media outlets present was CNN Philippines. The crew was led by reporter/producer Cecille Lardizabal. They were just setting up their equipment and was about to start their coverage when I approached her and sold the idea of doing their story in the context of innovations and a locally-based company (GrainPro) that develops solutions to post-harvest losses that commercializes their innovations worldwide. I also told her that this will help her and the team a quickly end to the day with a stronger angle to an important story that doesn't get much focus by the mainstream media.

After carefully explaining to her what we do and how we are playing a leadership role in helping solve the food crises, she went ahead and did the featured story. GrainPro's Technical Support Manager Joel Dator, was interviewed first. Then I invited IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) Senior Scientist Martin Gummert, who addded his thoughts on the food loss problem.

This is the result of that work. Proud moment indeed on my end.

Video courtesy of CNN Philippines.

KENYA FARMERS SET TO BENEFIT FROM USE OF HERMETIC STORAGE BAGS

KENYA FARMERS SET TO BENEFIT FROM USE OF HERMETIC STORAGE BAGS

Hellen Irungu, Farm Concern International (FCI) staff giving a Super Grain Bag (GrainPro Hermetic Bag) to Mr. Willy Bett, the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

NAIROBI, KENYA – Farmers were urged to use hermetic storage bags during the National Campaign on Hermetic Storage Technology Road Show. The event, a collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, USAID’s Kenya Agricultural Value Chain Enterprises (KAVES), and the Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization (KALRO), promoted hermetic technology use on November 16, 2016. The GrainPro® SuperGrainbag® (SGB) was one of the five hermetic innovations featured at the event.

“Reduction of post-harvest loss is an important strategy to ensure food and nutritional security and improve farmers’ incomes in a sustainable manner,” said Willy Bett, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture. 

The SGB is an Ultra Hermetic™ bag liner with extremely low permeability to air and moisture to stop infestation and inhibit the growth of aflatoxin-producing molds. It can safely preserve the quality of grains and seeds for more than a year without using harmful chemicals. The partners claimed that around three million bags could be saved from going to waste once farmers adopt the technology.

In 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that about 30 percent of all food produced in Kenya goes to waste due to poor post harvest handling. “Reduction of post-harvest loss is an important strategy to ensure food and nutritional security and improve farmers’ incomes in a sustainable manner,” said Willy Bett, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture.

Besides preservation, hermetic bags can also help inhibit the growth of aflatoxins which can lead to debilitating diseases when consumed in large quantities, thus benefiting both farmers and consumers. To encourage its wide use, the partners are asking the Kenyan government to remove the 16 percent VAT charged on hermetic bags.

FOOD SECURITY REMAINS A PRIORITY IN WAR-TORN SOMALIA

FOOD SECURITY REMAINS A PRIORITY IN WAR-TORN SOMALIA

 GALMUDUG, SOMALIA – Two Ultra Hermetic™ GrainPro® Self-Verifying Cocoons™ are preserving a blend of corn and soya flour in Somalia. The Cocoons are part of a development program that aims to alleviate the growing food problem in the war-torn country.

GrainPro’s Priscilla Mosigisi, Sales Manager, and Alinaitwe Justus, Customer Support Engineer, carried out a training of local staff on December 2, 2016. The training program included the installation of the 100MT and 150MT Cocoons. Logistical issues and exchanges of gunfire between government and rebel troops near the compound caused delays.

The ongoing civil war has an adverse effect on local food production. Despite efforts to improve food security in the country, the situation forces many to rely on food donations from international relief organizations. To preserve the quality of foreign aid, Cocoons are a cost-effective solution that prevents the exchange of air and moisture to safely control pests and inhibit the growth of aflatoxin-producing molds without using any harmful chemicals.

GrainPro is working actively with international organizations and the local community in Somalia to help reduce food losses and prevent aflatoxin poisoning. Its Cocoon™ is well-known among development organizations in the country as a viable solution to storage-related problems. Last year, GrainPro visited the capital city of Mogadishu where the team trained local officials and food producers how to use the SuperGrainbag® and GrainSafe Bag in the framework of a FAO funded project.