Hermetic bag for the storage of maize: Economic perspective in different Sub-Saharan African countries, food security and greenhouse gas emissions

During storage, cereals and legumes are vulnerable to insects, rodents and fungi which can cause toxins formation, discoloration, damage and/or weight loss of the product. Hermetic bags prevent excessive insect infestation. The effects of hermetic bags for the storage of maize on food loss reduction and its effect on net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are assessed from field trials. The economic effects are analysed in different Sub-Saharan Africa countries. In data used from field trial typically, beyond 100 days significant losses occur with standard storage whereas with hermetic bags product losses are kept to a minimum. From an economic point of view the situation is more complex; interventions effectiveness depends mainly on the seasonal price fluctuation of the commodity. For own consumption, when the quality is less important, the use of hermetic bags is only more economical compared to other ways of storage after 100 days. As the quality of maize is well preserved by the hermetic bag, the return on the investment is faster when the maize is sold at the market. However, for countries with a low seasonal price gap the investment cannot be earned back

Evaluation of Scenarios for Improving the Collection System for a Milk Factory in Ethiopia

The milk for a factory in Sululta (Ethiopia) is currently collected at ambient temperature. To increase milk production, the sourcing must be extended. This requires the collection of not only the morning milk but also the evening milk from smallholder farms. To accomplish this, the collection of milk from small farmers has to be improved, whereby the milk quality has to be assured with reasonable cost and environmental impact. A model predicting milk rejection was developed based on initial contamination and time and temperature profiles. With this model, different cooling scenarios we reevaluated regarding the expected effectiveness of reducing the rejection rate during collection. Second, cost estimations were made to implement the scenarios to collect morning and evening milk from smallholder farms. A third criterion was greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per litre of collected milk. Finally, the feasibility of the scenarios was assessed in terms of technical, practical, and economic aspects. Including both quality and economics, the best scenario can be expected from a cooling centre where farmers bring their milk twice a day, except there are signals that the farmers would not be willing to deliver the evening milk to the centre at night. In that case, an additional collecting system would be needed to increase the milk supply. This would result in higher collection costs and an increased risk of milk rejection at the factory gate. Furthermore, this would reduce the value of the chilling centre, as in that case it would be better to deliver the milk directly to the factory. Both scenarios would increase GHG emissions compared with the current situation. Only the use of an off-grid solar power-driven cooling system at the farms would reduce the GHG emissions. However, this solution is less feasible economically. The applied combination of a simple model, economic analysis and the effect on GHG emissions gives valuable information on the effectiveness and limitations of different cooling scenarios for the milk factory. It can help to successfully apply a scenario for increasing the milk supply

Effects of milk cooling: A case study on milk supply chain for a factory in Ethiopia

Milk has important nutritious values and is therefore can contribute to nutrition security in Africa. The product category is a hotspot for food loss & waste and the associated greenhouse gas emissions in African countries. Therefore, adequate design of milk collection chains and choice of technology options is essential to make the food product available with minimum climate impact. In this study the effects of different scenarios for introducing a cold milk chain are evaluated based on rejection rates and costs to increase the milk supply of a milk factory near Solulta (Ethiopia). The effect of the scenarios on the milk is calculated with a model that combines temperature, growing rate, lactic-acid production to estimate the quality: chance of rejection on arrival at the factory. Introduction of chilling centres or on-farm cooling system can both make the evening milk delivery possible for the factory. For the first option, the implementation of a collection system will be critical, whereas for on-farm chilling the willingness to extend the power grid and the type of milk containers are essential. On-farm off-grid cooling systems seem not economically feasible in the studied area

Hermetic bag for the storage of maize: Economic perspective in different Sub-Saharan African countries, food security and greenhouse gas emissions (Presentation)

The potential of hermetic bags for storage of maize in sub-Saharan African countries

Processing Cassava in Mozambique

Is industrialization in developing countries possible with minimal climate impact? Summary of findings from a recent study

Hermetic Bags for the Storage of Maize : Perspectives on Economics, Food Security and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Different Sub-Saharan African Countries

During storage, cereals and legumes are vulnerable to insects, rodents, and fungi, which can cause loss of weight, damage or discoloration of products, and/or toxin formation. Hermetic bags can prevent excessive insect infestation, and toxin formation. This paper presents an analysis of the effects of hermetic bags for the storage of maize on food loss reduction by insects and on net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, based on practical data from field trials. Their economic feasibility, by optimizing the total income in markets with different price seasonalities in different Sub-Saharan African countries, is analyzed. The data of five field trials were combined and put in classes of 50 days of increasing storage time to get a realistic loss of produce during storage using regular bags (with or without the use of pesticides) and hermetic bags. The maize for storage trials were used as is, bought locally or used direct from the field. Scenario studies with standard storage, standard storage combined with pesticides and hermetic bag storage show significant losses by insects after 100 storage days for standard and standard with pesticides storage, whereas with hermetic bags, product losses are kept to a minimum of 2%. The economic analysis shows less clear-cut outcomes: the interventions' effectiveness depends largely on the rate of seasonal price fluctuation of the commodity. For farmers' personal consumption, when the quality is less critical, the use of hermetic bags is only more economical compared with other methods of storage for produce kept over 100 days. Since the quality of maize is well-preserved by the hermetic bag, the return on the investment is shorter when the maize is sold at the market. However, for countries with a low seasonal price gap, the investment cannot be recouped. As the use of hermetic bags is a good intervention for preventing food loss, it is best promoted not only for providing direct profits to farmers but also for health benefits, as bag use implies a lower need for pesticides and a possible reduction in aflatoxin intake

Effects of milk cooling: A case study on milk supply chain for a factory in Ethiopia (Presentation)

Evaluation of different chilling scenarios for improving and increasing the milk supply. Summary of study findings

Ecstasy use and self-reported depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking: a prospective cohort study

Although there are indications that ecstasy users have higher levels of depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking, it is unknown whether these are consequences of ecstasy use or predisposing factors for starting ecstasy use. We prospectively assessed the predictive value of depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking on future first time ecstasy use. We also assessed whether depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking had changed after first ecstasy use. Depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking were assessed using self-report questionnaires in 188 ecstasy-naive volunteers with high probability for future ecstasy use. After a mean follow-up of 17 months, measurements were repeated in 59 incident ecstasy users (mean 6.0 tablets) and 61 matched persistent ecstasy-naive volunteers. Only experience seeking (subscale of the sensation seeking scale) predicted future ecstasy use (OR -- 1.05, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.10), but after adjustment for potential confounders this was not significant anymore. At follow-up, significant effects of ecstasy use on the general and the disinhibition subscale of the sensation seeking scale were observed (after adjustment for potential confounders: regression coefficient B 0.51, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.83 and B -- 3.25, 95% CI 1.74 to 4.76, respectively). These data indicate that depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking do not predict first time ecstasy use in a population of young adults with the intention to start using ecstasy and that low level ecstasy use does not seem to cause depression or impulsivity. However, low level ecstasy use may increase (certain aspects of) sensation seekin