Ethiopia
Cereal grains in Ethiopia make up 70% of the agricultural gross domestic product. Post-harvest loss (PHL) of 14-36% of cereal grains in Ethiopia are similar to other regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Storage losses at the farmer level result in marketing only 40-63% of the harvest commodity. Thus, there is great potential for farmers to adopt current technologies for grain drying, storage, and environmentally-benign pest management tactics to significantly reduce PHL at the farmer level, allowing farmers to "bank" and market surplus grain in Post-Harvest Service Centers.
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss will collaborate with Mekelle University and Bahir Dar University to implement research in
- a solar dryer for drying of cereal grains (corn, wheat, and/or sorghum),
- use hermetically-sealed metal bins/drums for extended grain storage,
- assess applicability of Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bags made of polyethylene/polystyrene for cereal grains, and
- compare an efficacy of innocuous diatomaceous dusts or silica nanoparticles with existing chemical insecticides for long-term grain storage.