The chapter unraveled the mechanisms used by rice stakeholders, especially farmers, to provide an array of technical options and encourage social learning that evaluates technology.
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Showing posts with label Postharvest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Postharvest. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2016
New publication: Learning together in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta
Saturday, October 8, 2016
More Myanmar rice farmers are trying improved technologies to reduce postharvest losses
by Reianne Quilloy
Reposted from Rice Today online
Reposted from Rice Today online
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| Myanmar farmers learn about improved methods for drying paddy at a recent Learning Alliance meeting. (Photo by Christopher Cabardo) |
LETPADAN TOWNSHIP, Myanmar –A project that improves the productivity and sustainability of irrigated rice systems continues to engage Myanmar farmers and other actors in using improved technologies that will protect them against postharvest losses. The new technologies are expected to help upgrade the country’s overall rice value chain.
Closing rice yield gaps in Asia with reduced environmental footprints (CORIGAP) is a project implemented in six countries to improve food security and alleviate poverty by optimizing the productivity and sustainability of irrigated rice production systems. The project uses an interactive and participatory process among farmers, scientists, extension agents, public and private sectors, and other stakeholders—known as the Learning Alliance—to conduct action-oriented research centered on improving the rice value chain for smallholder farmers.
In previous meetings with CORIGAP, most farmers in Gyoe Pin Sakhan village said it takes them 2 to 3 days to dry their rice grains under the sun, a traditional method they usually practice. While sun drying is cheap, it is also unreliable and difficult to control the temperature. They lose up to 7 baskets of paddy if they are unable to dry it to the ideal moisture content for storage. Some farmers opt to sell their paddy right after harvesting due to the lack of storage facilities and drying spaces.
U Tin Shwe is a farmer who has been participating since 2015 in CORIGAP’s Learning Alliance activities organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Myanmar’s Department of Agriculture. He learned about different drying options and decided to tap IRRI’s collaborator, the Pioneer Postharvest Development Group, to build a flatbed dryer that could provide farmers with an alternative to sun drying. Locally made dryers ensure the use of readily available materials for easier maintenance and after-sales service.
In a Learning Alliance meeting conducted on 11 September, 25 farmers expressed their interest to assess the performance of the flatbed dryer. Five farmers from the group also volunteered to dry their paddy using U Tin Shwe’s newly built flatbed dryer during the coming monsoon season in October. “We want to assess the benefits related to the use of a flatbed dryer,” one participant said. “Are we going to get a higher price for our paddy if we use the flatbed dryer?”
The farmers were also interested in using GrainSafe™ to store their grains. GrainSafe™ is a 1–ton capacity hermetic storage system that maintains grain viability.
“I appreciate the IRRI team for coming to Letpadan,” U Tin Shwe said. “We hope that IRRI continues to visit us. We are excited to see the trial results. This can pave way for more farmers getting better quality rice.”
CORIGAP activities in Myanmar are funded by the Swiss Development Agency and Cooperation. Similar Learning Alliance activities in Myanmar are also conducted in Maubin Township, through the MyRice, a project funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research.
Smallholder farmers develop business models for postharvest services
Reposted from: IRRI News
MAUBIN TOWNSHIP, Myanmar –Farmers from rice-based villages have developed business plans for the sustainable use of postharvest equipment and generating income by providing postharvest services to other farmers.
Eleven farmers, representing three farmer groups from Maubin and Daik-U Townships, created practical business frameworks for threshing, drying, and storage technologies developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The plans were formed with assistance from the Department of Agriculture and IRRI's postharvest group.
Through the Learning Alliance (LA), IRRI will lend threshers, solar dryers, and hermetic storage technologies to the farmer groups that will provide postproduction-related services to other rice farmers. The LA is a platform supported by the project, Diversification and intensification of rice-based cropping systems in lower Myanmar (MyRice), and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The farmer groups will then use the earnings to pay for the equipment through MyRice.
“If we can prove that the plans we developed are profitable for these farmers, we can use this model to help other smallholder farmers in other regions of Myanmar,” said Martin Gummert, IRRI’s postharvest expert. “MyRice has demonstrated effective postharvest technologies. This is an opportunity to sustain the use of technology that is already tested and found technically feasible. At the same time, this will help other farmers increase the value of their rice by providing access to the technologies.”
Using this approach, which is similar to leasing, IRRI can demonstrate the viability of the business model without the need for an upfront investment. Such an investment is an unrealistic requirement for farmers who have to take considerable risks when trying a new technology.
The farmer groups, which are also LA members, and Dr. Myo Aung Kyaw from the Pioneer Postharvest Development Group, discussed mechanisms to manage the equipment.This Group is one of IRRI’s key partners in Myanmar. They also formed groups to assign roles and responsibilities to ensure proper maintenance of the equipment as well as a practical business plan that provides services to potential clients.
The farmer groups will validate and fine tune the initial business model developed during the April 2016 harvesting season.
Through the LA, MyRice will provide the technical assistance and advice on managerial issues that might occur during the piloting.
“If we can fully develop a business model for at least for one technology, we can use the data as a benchmark to develop more business models for other postharvest technologies that will cater to other interested farmers or farmer groups in Myanmar,” Gummert said.
MAUBIN TOWNSHIP, Myanmar –Farmers from rice-based villages have developed business plans for the sustainable use of postharvest equipment and generating income by providing postharvest services to other farmers.
Eleven farmers, representing three farmer groups from Maubin and Daik-U Townships, created practical business frameworks for threshing, drying, and storage technologies developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The plans were formed with assistance from the Department of Agriculture and IRRI's postharvest group.
Through the Learning Alliance (LA), IRRI will lend threshers, solar dryers, and hermetic storage technologies to the farmer groups that will provide postproduction-related services to other rice farmers. The LA is a platform supported by the project, Diversification and intensification of rice-based cropping systems in lower Myanmar (MyRice), and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The farmer groups will then use the earnings to pay for the equipment through MyRice.
“If we can prove that the plans we developed are profitable for these farmers, we can use this model to help other smallholder farmers in other regions of Myanmar,” said Martin Gummert, IRRI’s postharvest expert. “MyRice has demonstrated effective postharvest technologies. This is an opportunity to sustain the use of technology that is already tested and found technically feasible. At the same time, this will help other farmers increase the value of their rice by providing access to the technologies.”
Using this approach, which is similar to leasing, IRRI can demonstrate the viability of the business model without the need for an upfront investment. Such an investment is an unrealistic requirement for farmers who have to take considerable risks when trying a new technology.
The farmer groups, which are also LA members, and Dr. Myo Aung Kyaw from the Pioneer Postharvest Development Group, discussed mechanisms to manage the equipment.This Group is one of IRRI’s key partners in Myanmar. They also formed groups to assign roles and responsibilities to ensure proper maintenance of the equipment as well as a practical business plan that provides services to potential clients.
The farmer groups will validate and fine tune the initial business model developed during the April 2016 harvesting season.
Through the LA, MyRice will provide the technical assistance and advice on managerial issues that might occur during the piloting.
“If we can fully develop a business model for at least for one technology, we can use the data as a benchmark to develop more business models for other postharvest technologies that will cater to other interested farmers or farmer groups in Myanmar,” Gummert said.
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