GrainPro Distributor Leads the Way in Safe Storage in Ghana

GrainPro Distributor Leads the Way in Safe Storage in Ghana

 In 2010, Nana Yaw Obeng immediately saw the potential of hermetic technology to safely store grains and seeds. His vision is paving the way to safer postharvest storage and organic preservation, not only in Ghana, but throughout the continent.

A Postharvest Technology graduate of the Natural Resource Institute in the United Kingdom, Nana returned to Ghana upon completion of his degree and worked for the government. He started Agrimat, Ltd., as a trader of agricultural inputs and machineries. It is through his business that he found out about the GrainPro® SuperGrainbag®, a hermetic liner bag with superior air and water barriers to stop infestation and inhibit fungal growth without using chemicals. 

Harvest season is a busy time for the Agrimat team when farmers flock to buy these miraculous storage bags. Each farmer buys up to 10 to 15 bags at 8 Cedis, or less than US$2 per bag. Ivy Oduro Donkyi holds Agrimat’s wholesale warehouse, where GrainPro bags are sold to retailers from all over the countryside. Ivy is on her 14th year with Agrimat and she confirms, “our clients are happy with the performance of the SuperGrainbag and they keep coming back.” At the store, we find Dora Bempong who’s been an employee for 20 years with Sophia Turkson, another 14-year employee. Dora says, “I also use the SGB at my house to store rice and since I began using it, I’ve never had any infestation problems.”

The liner bag isn’t the only hermetic solution Agrimat is offering. Tom de Bruin, who visited Agrimat last month, explains that, "as the oldest and most senior partner of GrainPro in Africa, Agrimat also sells Cocoons™, which can hermetically store up to 1050 metric tons." They are piloting a new government initiative to set up grain warehousing facilities that will help smallholder farmers safely store their crops without the use of chemicals. This puts them and hermetic storage at the forefront of food loss reduction. 

COCOON USE SPREADS IN ASEAN REGION

COCOON USE SPREADS IN ASEAN REGION

The use of Cocoons are spreading throughout Indonesia, the Philippines, and the rest of the ASEAN region. Check out these pictures from Alnor Limbo, GP Customer Support Engineer, which shows installations of Cocoons in the region.

According to Limbo, "Cocoons are non-chemical storage solutions that are designed to effectively control insect infestation on dry agricultural commodities." With the reliance of most food producers in chemical fumigants, Cocoons offer a more sustainable and cleaner solution to storing a wide range of grains and seeds.

The GrainPro Cocoon employs the principles of Ultra Hermetic storage, modified atmospheres and organic pest control. The combination is a gas- and watertight container that prevents the exchange of air and moisture. This results in the complete elimination of insects (in all life stages) embedded with the stored crops, the inhibition of aflatoxin-producing moulds, and the preservation of the crops for longer than its regular shelf life without any chemical residues.

Hermetic storage solutions, such as the Cocoon, is leading a global revolution in how food is preserved. Tighter international laws and trade agreements are calling for the reduction and complete ban of several chemical fumigants and pest-control systems. This makes the use of organic storage and pest-control systems very appealing for food producers and traders.

BABBAN GONA AMONG RECEPIENTS OF 2017 SKOLL AWARDS

BABBAN GONA AMONG RECEPIENTS OF 2017 SKOLL AWARDS

Kola Masha, Managing Director of the Babban Gona program in Nigeria, is among this year’s recipients of the prestigious Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. Masha, a supporter of hermetic storage and social enterprise, was recognized for his role in creating a model that attracts smallholder farmers and the nation’s unemployed youths. This agricultural program is generating employment opportunities, livelihoods, and is keeping younger generations from joining extremist groups and gangs in the country.

Babban Gona provides much needed support through financing, training, tools, technology, and marketing to increase the yields and profits of farmers by 2.3 times the national average. The member farmers bring their harvests to Babban Gona collection centers for processing and storage. The crops are stored inside GrainPro® Cocoons™ to safely preserve the quality and freshness of the products for extended periods without the use of harmful chemicals. The crops are then sold by Babban Gona during the lean season to trusted customers who pay a premium for quality. 

This results in higher profits for the farmers. But more than that, the program is creating opportunities and making agriculture a viable livelihood for the millions of youths who are without employment prospects in a country that has one of the worst unemployment rates in the continent.

The Skoll Awards distinguish transformative leaders whose organizations disrupt the status quo, drive sustainable large-scale change, and are poised to create even greater impact on the world. Awardees’ organizations receive $1.25 million core support investments to scale their work and increase their impact. The social entrepreneurs also gain leverage through their long-term participation in a global community of visionary leaders and innovators dedicated to solving some of the biggest global challenges of our time.

PRESS RELEASE: Africa Strategic Grain Reserves Conference

PRESS RELEASE: Africa Strategic Grain Reserves Conference

Nairobi, Kenya – Some of the brightest minds in food security are coming together on 14-15 June 2016 to participate at the first Africa Strategic Grain Reserve Conference to be held in Nairobi at the Intercontinental Hotel. The event aims to break the cycle of hunger and poverty in developing nations by reinforcing the role of strategic grain reserves through innovative and affordable safe storage systems and solutions.

The 2016 first Africa Strategic Grain Reserve Conference is an opportunity to discuss large-scale storage and national grain reserves from the perspective of users, experts, and policy makers in the field, and introduce innovative storage strategies and solutions to strengthen Africa’s food security and food safety. The prevalence and growth of aflatoxin in stored grain continues to be a leading food safety issue on the continent.

Conference Sponsors include the Africa Union’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control (PACA), Abt Associates, the Schooner Africa Fund, AGCO/GSI and GrainPro.

Partners include the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Farm Concern International, Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS), and the World Food Preservation Center.

For more information, contact Jordan Dey (Jordandey@grainpro.com) or conference organizer Ludovica Bellingeri (lbellingeri@gmail.com)

(Victor Dela Casa)

A press release that I made for the Food and Agriculture Organization.

SUBSIDIZED HERMETIC BAGS LAUNCH IN KENYA’S BUSIA COUNTY

SUBSIDIZED HERMETIC BAGS LAUNCH IN KENYA’S BUSIA COUNTY

Farmers in Kenya’s Busia County could now avail of hermetic bags at a low, subsidized rate thanks to the partnership between the Agriculture Ministry, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization, and the six storage firms that are spearheading the hermetic storage revolution in Africa. 

The Busia County government is urging farmers to buy and use affordable and efficient hermetic storage bags to protect against weevil infestation. Some one million bags are stocked across the county at a subsidized price of Sh200 (compared to the Sh300 retail price). One of these hermetic solutions is the GrainPro SuperGrainbag® Farm (SGB Farm). The SGB Farm 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 is designed to safely preserve the quality of grains and seeds for more than a year. 

According to Samson Khachina, County Director of Agriculture,” farmers require bags that are tightly sealed to store their maize.” In Kenya, the weevil infestation occurs because many farmers harvest their maize crops late in the season when it is already too dry to reduce their costs. “It is better for the farmers to take put in the effort to dry their maize to between 13 to 14 percent moisture content,” Khachina said. If done correctly, farmers can use hermetic bags to keep out weevils and kill off any that are still embedded with the stored maize without using harmful chemicals.

USAID has partnered with local governments and agricultural stakeholders to popularize the bags in all the 47 counties. Kenya is taking on a leadership role in food security in Africa. Major topical events, such as the Africa Strategic Grain Reserve Conference, were held in Nairobi last year. The country is also looking to include hermetic storage solutions into its subsidized pricing program. With the threat of food insecurity always a looming issue in the continent, Kenya’s pivotal role cannot be understated.