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Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags (formerly known as Purdue Improved Cow-pea Storage bags) [1] are bags developed by scientists at Purdue University [2] to store grain and seeds. They use hermetic storage technology to reduce loss of post-harvest cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ) due to orchid infestations in West and Central Africa. [3]
A PICS bag consists of two layers of polyethylene liners and a layer of woven polypropylene. [4] Each layer is closed separately to create a hermetically sealed container for harvested grain. This oxygen-deprived environment kills Bruchidius atrolineatus larvae, [5] the cow-pea weevil ( Callosobruchus maculatus ), [6] and some other post-harvest pests.
Cowpeas are one of the crops farmed in Western and Central African countries. [7] They are high in protein, a source of fodder for animals, and used by rural women to generate income, thereby providing a source of liquidity for farmers. [5]
The shelf-life of stored cowpea grain can be shortened due to insects. Species such as Bruchidius atrolineatus [5] and Callosobruchus maculatus [8] (commonly known as cow-pea weevils, or bruchids) carry out their entire life cycle within grain, [5] which makes crops unfit for consumption. These insects reproduce rapidly. Only a few insects in a collection of cowpeas can cause significant damage within a month. [9]
The development of PICS bags began in 1987 when Professor Larry Murdock of Purdue University, along with Bean/Cow-pea CRSP, USAID, [5] and BIFAD, sought a solution to combat orchard infestations of cow-pea harvests in Cameroon. [9]
As of 2007, over 1.75 million PICS bags have been sold in West and Central Africa, [9] and demonstrations of their use have been conducted in 31,000 villages. [9] As of 2023, the project has been funded with $11.4 million (USD) by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. [10]
The PICS project has evolved since its original conception. As such, the project's focus has also evolved to address the need for providing safe, cheap, and effective post-harvest storage solutions to smallholders. [11]
Active from 2007 to 2011, this phase of the project aimed to create the ideal design for a triple-layer, hermetically sealed, commercially available cowpea storage bag. [12] Another aim was to educate farmers and rural development groups about non-chemical cowpea storage methods and to demonstrate the most effective cowpea storage methods. The project also strove to develop a local supply chain, making them more available for rural farmers, while providing development opportunities for local businesses. [7] This received funding of $11.4 million for 5 years. [13]
Active from 2011 to 2014, PICS2 sought to expand the original scope of the PICS program. Its goals were to identify other agricultural commodities that suffer loss to insects and other pests during storage, test the PICS bags through collaborative projects with scientists in sub-Saharan developing nations, implement economic analyses to estimate the potential benefits of optimizing the PICS technology for specific commodities, and develop plans to disseminate the technologies for those commodities where they will provide the greatest benefit. [12] Funding was $1.1 million for 30 months. [13]
The third phase of the program began in April 2014, and is ongoing as of 2024. The program is currently funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation also funded the initial PICS1 and PICS2 projects. [2] [14] PICS3 aims to improve market access, income, and food security for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa by expanding the availability of PICS technology [15] to reduce post-harvest storage loss.
This project was first developed in Cameroon, but it has since spread to 23 nations in Africa and Asia. [10] To date, PICS bags have been introduced and are in use in Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. [10]
After harvesting and thoroughly drying the grain, farmers put it into a polyethylene bag that holds either 50kg or 100kg. [7] The bag is then tightly sealed, preventing air from entering. [9] The first polyethylene bag is surrounded by a second identical bag, which is also sealed, making it airtight. [9] The double-bagged grain is then sealed inside a third woven polypropylene bag, which provides the mechanical strength for PICS bags. [8]
This method creates an airtight environment and seals any insects present in the crop inside the bag. These insects briefly continue to consume oxygen, but as oxygen levels in the bags drop, and CO2 concentrations rise, [5] the insects stop feeding and quickly die, thereby protecting the crop from further damage. [9]
Recent studies have shown that orchids sealed in PICS bags do not die from asphyxiation, but rather from dehydration. This subfamily of Chrysomelidae has the ability to produce water through their own metabolism. [9] However, this process requires oxygen, so when oxygen levels in PICS bags decrease, the orchids lose the ability to produce water and die of dehydration. [9]
PICS bags can assist smallholders in a few ways. They are an insecticide-free, relatively cheap method of storing cow-peas and other grains. [9] The PICS bags can be stored in homes, making this an effective way for smallholders to protect their harvests. [5]
Furthermore, the bags can be opened at any time. When they are unsealed, the cow-peas are ready to be consumed. [5] The PICS bags can then be reused, provided they are free of holes or tears. [16] Studies have demonstrated that PICS can be used multiple times for several years without quality loss. [17]
Additionally, the storage allows communities to create food reserves during the post-harvest season. [5] Even after several months of storage in PICS bags, the quality of the grain does not decrease. [16]
The PICS project aims to increase the incomes of smallholder producers. [5] By 2012, Purdue University researchers expected each household that used the PICS bags to increase their annual income by an average of $150 USD. [18] With widespread adoption of PICS bags, global savings of cow-pea harvests were predicted to be worth $500 million USD annually. [9]
The additional income provided through the use of PICS bags is expected to allow smallholder producers to invest in their own farming practices and local communities, thereby stimulating local development. [5]
Some disadvantages of this technology are that PICS bags are prone to being stolen and therefore need to be protected. [5] In areas where grain has always been sold immediately after harvest, storage areas may not exist for PICS bags. New storage facilities may thus need to be built when the bags are introduced to these communities. [5] It is also essential that grain intended to be stored in PICS bags be thoroughly dried prior to storage to prevent mold growth and grain rot. [19]
While PICS bags protect cow-peas against damage caused by insects, they do not provide a barrier against intrusion and mechanical damage by mice, rats, or other animals. [5] The environmental impact of PICS bags also remains unstudied. [7]
To increase the effectiveness of PICS bag technology, the following suggestions should be considered:
As studies show, PICS bags work not only by depriving bruchids of oxygen, but also by dehydrating their environment. Therefore, it has been suggested that this technology could be improved by finding additional methods of lowering the moisture content within sealed bags quickly, to facilitate quicker dehydration of pests and insects. [9] Since PICS bags do not provide protection from mice, rats, or other larger animals, any Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) aiming to increase their use should ensure that farmers are taught to store their cowpea harvest in an environment as free of these exterior threats as possible. There is also potential for PICS bags to be improved through the use of an additional barrier that cannot be punctured by animals.
Due to low levels of local literacy in some areas, this project aims to communicate with communities through verbal demonstrations and also through information communicated via radio. [5]
Other projects competing with PICS bags to prevent insect-induced post-harvest grain losses are other forms of hermetically sealed containers, such as the Grain-pro bag. An alternative hermetic method of protecting the crop is to store grain inside sealed steel drums. [16]
Teff, also known as Eragrostis tef, Williams lovegrass, or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the Horn of Africa, notably to both Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as teff. Teff was one of the earliest plants domesticated. It is one of the most important staple crops in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Pea is a pulse, vegetable or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species, formerly 'Pisum sativum', it has been proposed to rename the species as Lathyrus oleraceus. Each pod contains several seeds (peas), which can have green or yellow cotyledons when mature. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea, the cowpea, the seeds from several species of Lathyrus and is used as a compound form for example Sturt's desert pea.
Legumes are plants in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption; for livestock forage and silage; and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, grass peas, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.
The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.
Vigna subterranea is a member of the family Fabaceae. Its name is derived from the Bambara ethnic group. The plant originated in West Africa. As a food and source of income, the Bambara groundnut is considered to be the third most important leguminous crop in those African countries where it is grown, after peanut and cowpea. The crop is mainly cultivated, sold and processed by women, and is, thus, particularly valuable for female subsistence farmers.
A controlled atmosphere is an agricultural storage method in which the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as the temperature and humidity of a storage room are regulated. Both dry commodities and fresh fruit and vegetables can be stored in controlled atmospheres.
Grain crimping or moist grain crimping is an agricultural technology, an organic way to preserve feed grain into livestock fodder by fermentation.
Philippe Villers founded the company Computervision with Marty Allen in 1969. In 1980 he co-founded Automatix, an early robotics company, which he led until 1986. He later served as president of Cognition Corporation for 3 years. He is currently (2013) president of GrainPro, Inc., and board member of a number of high-tech startups, as well as president of Families USA Foundation, which he endowed. GrainPro makes bags and storage cocoons out of polyvinyl chloride to protect grain in third world countries, where up to 25% of harvested crops are lost to insects and rodents.
Hermetic storage is a method of using sealed, airtight units to control moisture and insects in stored dry agricultural commodities. The hermetic storage restricts gas exchanges between the internal and external environments and the stored commodity, maintaining the initial levels of moisture and controlling pests by the lack of oxygen.
Vacuum packing is a method of packaging that removes air from the package prior to sealing. This method involves placing items in a plastic film package, removing air from inside and sealing the package. Shrink film is sometimes used to have a tight fit to the contents. The intent of vacuum packing is usually to remove oxygen from the container to extend the shelf life of foods and, with flexible package forms, to reduce the volume of the contents and package.
The Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP) funds participatory, collaborative research on agroecological intensification (AEI). Funded projects typically link international, national, and local organizations with communities of smallholder farmers, researchers, development professionals, and other parties. Projects work together as part of a Community of Practice to generate technical and social innovations to improve nutrition, livelihoods, and productivity for farming communities in Africa and South America. Large-scale impact is realized when new ideas, technologies, or processes are adapted, when insights from research catalyze change in policy and practice, and when innovation inspires further success. The program is under the direction of Rebecca J. Nelson of Cornell University and Jane Maland Cady of the McKnight Foundation.
Maruca vitrata is a pantropical insect pest of leguminous crops like pigeon pea, cowpea, mung bean and soybean. Its common names include the maruca pod borer, bean pod borer, soybean pod borer, mung moth, and the legume pod borer. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1787.
The red flour beetle is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. The red flour beetle, and other closely related beetles like the Gnatocerus cornutus, are a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety research.
Callosobruchus maculatus is a species of beetles known commonly as the cowpea weevil or cowpea seed beetle. It is a member of the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae, and not a true weevil. It is often mistaken for Callosobruchus chinensis, another bean beetle species with a similar lifestyle. This common pest of stored legumes has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. The beetle most likely originated in West Africa and moved around the globe with the trade of legumes and other crops. As only a small number of individuals were likely present in legumes carried by people to distant places, the populations that have invaded various parts of the globe have likely gone through multiple bottlenecks. Despite these bottlenecks and the subsequent rounds of inbreeding, these populations persist. This ability to withstand a high degree of inbreeding has likely contributed to this species’ prevalence as a pest.
Food storage containers are widespread in use throughout the world and have probably been in use since the first human civilizations.
Grains may be lost in the pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages. Pre-harvest losses occur before the process of harvesting begins, and may be due to insects, weeds, and rusts. Harvest losses occur between the beginning and completion of harvesting, and are primarily caused by losses due to shattering. Post-harvest losses occur between harvest and the moment of human consumption. They include on-farm losses, such as when grain is threshed, winnowed, and dried. Other on-farm losses include inadequate harvesting time, climatic conditions, practices applied at harvest and handling, and challenges in marketing produce. Significant losses are caused by inadequate storage conditions as well as decisions made at earlier stages of the supply chain, including transportation, storage, and processing, which predispose products to a shorter shelf life.
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.
Securidaca longipedunculata is a species of tree in the genus Securidaca. It is most commonly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, and it was given protected status in South Africa. The generic name is derived from Latin securis, as the shape of the wing on the nut recalls a hatchet. The specific name longipedunculata hints at the long peduncle on which the flowers are borne.
Grain storage on a subsistence farm is primarily based on minimizing grain loss. In modern agricultural practices there are methods of managing under 1% grain loss, but small subsistence farms can see 20% - 100% of grain loss. This causes starvation and an unstable food supply. Grain loss can be caused by mold growth, bugs, birds, or any other contamination.
A flour sack or flour bag is a bag or sack for flour. Large bulk bags as well as smaller consumer sizes are available.
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