New bags to save farmers from storage expenses

By STANDARD  CORRESPONDENT

KENYA: Farmers and grain handlers will soon be able to store produce for longer without using chemicals following the introduction of a new post-harvest technology that uses airtight bags.

The bags, known as Purdue Improved Crop Storage (Pics) will be manufactured and distributed by Bell Industries Limited, a local agribusiness firm.

Bell Industries National Sales Manager Jean Njiru said the bags would initially be launched in North Rift, South Rift, Central and Eastern regions.

“We will be rolling out soon for demonstrations in 700 villages in the four regions. We will pick out various groups for demonstration,” she said.

The team on the ground, Njiru added, would routinely visit to ensure the grains are not exposed to air before the stipulated opening date.

“The bags have already been tested by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology and found to be ‘very effective,’ she said.

The bags were initially developed in the late 1990s to stop weevils from attacking cowpeas during storage.

So successful was the innovation in Cameroon that in 2007, the team behind the innovation, from US-based Purdue University, received a $12 million five-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to enable them introduce the bags in nine other African countries.

The team

The countries are Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. In this campaign, the team was able to reach and introduce the bags in more than 31,000 villages.

“The technology uses ordinary materials manufactured locally to almost completely control the insects in stored grain without using chemicals,” said Purdue University International Research and Engagement Project Management Specialist, Heather Fabries.

The bags come in three layers: The two inner layers are made of 80 micron thick polythene while the outer bag is the usual polypropylene packaging bag. It cuts off air and moisture, denying pests the conditions needed to survive.