by Reianne Quilloy and Trina Mendoza
Kampot Province, Cambodia — A business forum on loan products and banking services for the postharvest rice sector was conducted on 16-17 June 2012. Thirty-seven participants from micro- financing institutions (MFI), key farmers, cooperative heads, private sector rice processors, and IRRI project staff graced this event.
The forum aimed to 1) increase awareness of the learning alliance partners on loan products and services offered by MFIs to support adoption of improved postharvest technologies and entrepreneurial business models; 2) facilitate learning and exchanges of information amongst farmer entrepreneurs, rural service providers, rice processors, technology suppliers, policy-makers, government agencies, and financial representatives regarding industry opportunities and needs; and 3) discuss ideas and possible next steps for developing actor-specific business plans and links to loan products, banking services, and information from MFIs.
IRRI-ADB Postharvest project experts Alfred Schmidley and Pyseth Meas provided a walk-through of the project, while stressing the importance of scaling out improved postharvest technologies in the business model context by bringing financial institutes closer to the farmers, millers, traders, and service providers. Representatives of the three MFIs also presented information on their respective loan products and services. Group discussions were held as well to answer more queries from the participants.
A more intensive forum will be conducted in mid-August either at Kampong Thom or Prey Veng. In the next series of seminars, top management of MFIs will be invited to be collaborators to help borrowers understand and use a business plan, and identify technical training support needs.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Super Bags to thwart rice wastage now available to Filipino farmers
An airtight, reusable plastic bag that protects stored rice from moisture, pests, and rats, and keeps rice seeds viable, is now available to Filipino farmers in selected retails stores.
IRRI Super Bags reduce losses incurred after harvest that usually stem from poor storage conditions – helping prevent physical postharvest losses that can be around 15%. On top of these losses, farmers also experience loss in quality.
Developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)’s postharvest experts in collaboration with GrainPro Inc., the IRRI Super Bag is meant for small-scale rice farmers to protect the viability and quality of rice stored in their homes.
The IRRI Super Bag is manufactured by GrainPro Inc. and is marketed as SuperGrainbag™. IRRI, through its national partnerships, has verified the benefits of the IRRI Super Bag with tens of thousands of farmers throughout Asia, but acknowledges it is a challenge to bring the bags to millions of farmers in a commercial way.
Philippine farmer Manuel Luzentales Jr. has always wondered how to deal with rats and weevils gnawing their way into his paddy (unmilled rice) stored in ordinary sacks in his house.
After attending a seminar in a nearby town introducing the IRRI Super Bags to farmers in the Philippine Bicol region, he decided to test them.
"Before, a 7-month storage caused my rice grains to break from moisture and pest infestations," Luzentales recalls. "I tested the IRRI Super Bags on my harvest for the second planting season of 2010. After keeping my harvest in the IRRI Super Bags for 10 months, the seeds were 100% viable, and none were wasted."
Engr. Martin Gummert, head of the IRRI postharvest unit, said that the rolling out of economically viable rice postharvest technologies in the Philippines and Southeast Asia involves partners in the public and private sectors. “The IRRI Super Bag is one of the technologies in the front line of this effort,” he explains.
For this purpose, IRRI has initiated and is facilitating national Postharvest Learning Alliances that embrace public and private stakeholders who have an interest in and mandate to establish local supply chains for technologies. Through this Postharvest Learning Alliance, IRRI is assisting in setting up and training local distributors for technologies such as the IRRI Super Bag.
Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.
Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.
“The rollout of the IRRI Super Bag would have been difficult without the help of the Philippines Postharvest Learning Alliance,” explains Engr. Gummert. “These alliances allow cross-sector actors to share information, foster learning, and better address a range of technical and market support needs.”
IRRI has established national Postharvest Learning Alliances in Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The IRRI Super Bag works by blocking the flow of both oxygen and water vapor from the outside to the grain. When the bag is properly sealed, farmers can safely store their seeds for 9–12 months without reducing germination rates. IRRI Super Bags also keep away insects and rats without using chemicals and improve the percentage of whole rice grains recovered after milling by around 10%.
Tom de Bruin, GrainPro’s president and CEO, said that a national retail network with close to 200 outlets will be involved to enable availability of the bags to farmers. “The SuperGrainbag™ is already selling widely used in three continents and is used for storage in an array of other commodities.”
In the Philippines, the key partners are Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)and other Postharvest Learning Alliance members,Catholic Relief Services with its local NGO partners, and the Department of Agriculture’s regional offices in Agusan, Bicol, and Bohol provinces. Other members are local government units in the three provinces, farmer cooperatives, and other NGO partners.
This work is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)-funded Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC).
The Super Bags can be bought in Pacifica Agrivet branches nationwide.
IRRI Super Bags reduce losses incurred after harvest that usually stem from poor storage conditions – helping prevent physical postharvest losses that can be around 15%. On top of these losses, farmers also experience loss in quality.
 |
Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.
|
Developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)’s postharvest experts in collaboration with GrainPro Inc., the IRRI Super Bag is meant for small-scale rice farmers to protect the viability and quality of rice stored in their homes.
The IRRI Super Bag is manufactured by GrainPro Inc. and is marketed as SuperGrainbag™. IRRI, through its national partnerships, has verified the benefits of the IRRI Super Bag with tens of thousands of farmers throughout Asia, but acknowledges it is a challenge to bring the bags to millions of farmers in a commercial way.
Philippine farmer Manuel Luzentales Jr. has always wondered how to deal with rats and weevils gnawing their way into his paddy (unmilled rice) stored in ordinary sacks in his house.
After attending a seminar in a nearby town introducing the IRRI Super Bags to farmers in the Philippine Bicol region, he decided to test them.
 |
| Mr. Manuel Luzentales shares his Superbag story |
"Before, a 7-month storage caused my rice grains to break from moisture and pest infestations," Luzentales recalls. "I tested the IRRI Super Bags on my harvest for the second planting season of 2010. After keeping my harvest in the IRRI Super Bags for 10 months, the seeds were 100% viable, and none were wasted."
Engr. Martin Gummert, head of the IRRI postharvest unit, said that the rolling out of economically viable rice postharvest technologies in the Philippines and Southeast Asia involves partners in the public and private sectors. “The IRRI Super Bag is one of the technologies in the front line of this effort,” he explains.
For this purpose, IRRI has initiated and is facilitating national Postharvest Learning Alliances that embrace public and private stakeholders who have an interest in and mandate to establish local supply chains for technologies. Through this Postharvest Learning Alliance, IRRI is assisting in setting up and training local distributors for technologies such as the IRRI Super Bag.
Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.
Farmers' investment is protected by keeping stored rice grains viable, and kept away from destructive pests and other causes of physical losses like moisture.
“The rollout of the IRRI Super Bag would have been difficult without the help of the Philippines Postharvest Learning Alliance,” explains Engr. Gummert. “These alliances allow cross-sector actors to share information, foster learning, and better address a range of technical and market support needs.”
IRRI has established national Postharvest Learning Alliances in Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The IRRI Super Bag works by blocking the flow of both oxygen and water vapor from the outside to the grain. When the bag is properly sealed, farmers can safely store their seeds for 9–12 months without reducing germination rates. IRRI Super Bags also keep away insects and rats without using chemicals and improve the percentage of whole rice grains recovered after milling by around 10%.
Tom de Bruin, GrainPro’s president and CEO, said that a national retail network with close to 200 outlets will be involved to enable availability of the bags to farmers. “The SuperGrainbag™ is already selling widely used in three continents and is used for storage in an array of other commodities.”
In the Philippines, the key partners are Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)and other Postharvest Learning Alliance members,Catholic Relief Services with its local NGO partners, and the Department of Agriculture’s regional offices in Agusan, Bicol, and Bohol provinces. Other members are local government units in the three provinces, farmer cooperatives, and other NGO partners.
This work is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)-funded Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC).
The Super Bags can be bought in Pacifica Agrivet branches nationwide.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Philippines: IRRI and partners install community dryer in Bukidnon
Up in the mountain ranges of Impasugong, Bukidnon, rice farming is a challenge. Farmers deal with rainy weather all throughout the year, making grain drying a difficult task. To ease their problem, nongovernment organizations Kaanib Foundation, Inc. and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) worked with the Asian Development Bank-funded IRRI Postharvest Project and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and helped install a reversible airflow flatbed dryer for the community.
On 20 June 2012, a turnover ceremony was held in Kalabugao Village and was attended by local government representatives, CRS program manager Terry Tuason, and marketing project coordinator, Lionel Mendoza, PhilRice engineer Dexter Ona, Kaanib Foundation director Imelda Esteban, and IRRI communication specialist Trina Mendoza.
The construction of the facility was completed in May and is now ready for use in time for the June-July rice harvest season in the uplands of Bukidnon. Engineer Ona demonstrated the operation of the dryer, and trained some members of the community on the operation and maintenance of the dryer.
“With the installation of the dryer, the quality of their rice will increase, and they can therefore ask for a higher price in the market,” says Anthony Hendrix, municipal agro-enterprise facilitator of Kaanib.
IRRI funded the manufacturing cost of the dryer blower and assisted CRS and their local NGO partner in establishing a new business model using a business plan for the dryer. This assistance was provided by the ADB-funded IRRI Postharvest Project that brings multistakeholder partners for introducing improved technologies and business models for reduced postharvest losses and increased farmers’ income.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
IRRI moisture tester commercialized
Many inquiries and orders for the previous version showed that the moisture tester has huge potential to finally provide affordable means to measure moisture content in village postharvest operations. Farmers will benefit from making more informed decisions regarding safe storage. By being able to quantify the moisture content, they will be in better negotiating positions when they sell their paddy to traders.
Compared to previous versions, which were made by two small cottage industry-type workshops in Los Baños, Philippines, the new unit is equipped with improved electronics and manufactured using state-of-the-art processes byNanodevice Technologies, Inc., an electronics manufacturer in Manila. Manufacture quality is therefore greatly improved. The company also applies quality control procedures and provides a warranty, which was not the case with the older units.
The moisture tester is kept as simple as possible to keep cost down and, hence, does not have a digital display. Three small lights indicate whether the paddy needs to be dried (above 14% moisture content), is safe for storage for milling purposes (12-14% moisture content), or is safe for seed storage (less than 12% moisture content). Within a range of 10-16%, the moisture content can be determined within a 1% range by observing the pattern of the lights. Accuracy within this range is comparable to that of a digital resistance-based moisture meter that typically costs USD 200-400.
It is always a big challenge to take the next step from having viable research results towards a commercially viable product because of the initial investment needed for adaptive R&D needed for mass production. With the moisture tester, IRRI faced a chicken and egg problem: manufacturers of electronic equipment shy away from these investments if they do not have proof of an available market. To develop the market, on the other hand, one needs a certain amount of initial units to demonstrate its potential.
By pooling resources from the IRRI Postharvest Project (funded by the Asian Development Bank), Irrigated Rice Research Consortium's PostproductionWorkgroup (funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), and other sources, IRRI was able to place an initial order of 350 units. This enticed Nanodevice to do the adaptive R&D to replace expensive circuits imported from developed countries by cheaper components from China and redesign the electronics for a more automated production.
Due to the small volume of the initial order and the development cost, the price tag is still relatively high. The 350 units will be used strategically to further develop the market for a bigger-sized order. Some units will be sold at the IRRI Riceworld Bookstore at a subsidized price of $55, maintaining the price of the previous version. According to some initial quotations for further orders, however, the price will go down to around $35 once orders reach 10,000 units. Further streamlining and improvements (e.g., investing in a mold for a custom housing) could lead to an even lower price.
Individual units for demonstration and evaluation purposes can be purchased at the IRRI Riceworld Bookstore. For bulk orders, please contact Nanodevice Technologies, Inc. (Unit 104 Oxford, #20 Evangelista St., Santolan, Pasig City, telephone numbers +63 2 477 1379 or telefax +63 2 470 6485.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Philippines: Business case writeshop takes off in Butuan City
A Business Case Writeshop for Learning Alliance Partners was conducted last March 27-28, 2012 at Butuan city, Agusan del Norte, Philippines. The event was attended by partners from various villages of Bututan City who participated in the hermetic storage trial.
The group was able to write one business case from the a completed, six-month trial of Ms. Marilyn Aranas, the Chairperson of Sto. Niño Multi Purpose Cooperative.
To view the report and highlights of the event, you may access the report here.
The group was able to write one business case from the a completed, six-month trial of Ms. Marilyn Aranas, the Chairperson of Sto. Niño Multi Purpose Cooperative.
To view the report and highlights of the event, you may access the report here.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Philippines: More Learning Alliance activities rolled out in Butuan
by Reianne Quilloy, Trina Mendoza, and Rica Flor
The Postharvest Learning Alliance (LA) members in Butuan, Agusan del Norte met and conducted more activities in time for the town's harvesting season. Typhoon Ramon left the participants unfazed as about 40 people signed up for the Training on Reversible Airflow Flatbed Dryers and Hermetic Storage Systems in PhilRice RTR, Agusan del Norte last October 11 and 12. The project team from IRRI and PhilRice took turns to orient the Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs), farmer-leaders, and farmers' group cooperative members about the latest postharvest initiatives in the Philippines. Farmer participants lauded this effort wherein these new technologies can benefit big and small holder farmers in Agusan.
Shortly after the training, the LA technical working group (TWG) held its quarterly meeting at Amontay Beach Resort, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte last October 13, 2011. Partners who attend this meeting are those who have direct interest on hermetic storage. Rica Flor, the Project’s impact specialist facilitated the discussion between PhilRice, GrainPro, IRRI, DA-RFU, Caraga State University and Santo Niño Multipurpose Cooperative (SNMPC). Case study write-up, including trial protocols and data collection tools was introduced. One of the outputs of this meeting was a draft business case study for Super bags and cocoons which successfully demonstrated an increase in profit of a farmer-user.
The last activity was the Video Production Training for Learning Alliance Partners which was held on October 14. For this activity, project communication specialists Trina Mendoza and Reianne Quilloy took turns into facilitating the session with 40 information officers and staff from the CARAGA Region, Davao City, and DA- RFU 13. Reianne presented the importance of making videos and basic information, while Trina presented the basic principles of scriptwriting and Digital Green.
In the afternoon, the participants conducted a hands-on exercise in Digital Green. The participants were able to successfully follow the process of creating storyboards and produced short edited videos that showcased their creativity, innovativeness, and sense of humor.
Ms. Rebecca Atega of DA-RFU 13 and one of the learning alliance partners in Agusan, took the initiative to organize the three activities. The efforts are part of the outputs of the ADB-IRRI Posthavest project to address the postharvest challenges in Asia, including the Philippines. More learning alliance activities are expected to pour into the CARAGA region, as the project’s efforts in reducing postharvest losses through technology innovations, best management practices, and intensive information dissemination are slowly coming to fruition.
The Postharvest Learning Alliance (LA) members in Butuan, Agusan del Norte met and conducted more activities in time for the town's harvesting season. Typhoon Ramon left the participants unfazed as about 40 people signed up for the Training on Reversible Airflow Flatbed Dryers and Hermetic Storage Systems in PhilRice RTR, Agusan del Norte last October 11 and 12. The project team from IRRI and PhilRice took turns to orient the Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs), farmer-leaders, and farmers' group cooperative members about the latest postharvest initiatives in the Philippines. Farmer participants lauded this effort wherein these new technologies can benefit big and small holder farmers in Agusan.
 |
| Engr. John Eric Abon of PhilRice conducts lecture on Reversible Airlow Flatbed Dryer |
Shortly after the training, the LA technical working group (TWG) held its quarterly meeting at Amontay Beach Resort, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte last October 13, 2011. Partners who attend this meeting are those who have direct interest on hermetic storage. Rica Flor, the Project’s impact specialist facilitated the discussion between PhilRice, GrainPro, IRRI, DA-RFU, Caraga State University and Santo Niño Multipurpose Cooperative (SNMPC). Case study write-up, including trial protocols and data collection tools was introduced. One of the outputs of this meeting was a draft business case study for Super bags and cocoons which successfully demonstrated an increase in profit of a farmer-user.
The last activity was the Video Production Training for Learning Alliance Partners which was held on October 14. For this activity, project communication specialists Trina Mendoza and Reianne Quilloy took turns into facilitating the session with 40 information officers and staff from the CARAGA Region, Davao City, and DA- RFU 13. Reianne presented the importance of making videos and basic information, while Trina presented the basic principles of scriptwriting and Digital Green.
In the afternoon, the participants conducted a hands-on exercise in Digital Green. The participants were able to successfully follow the process of creating storyboards and produced short edited videos that showcased their creativity, innovativeness, and sense of humor.
Ms. Rebecca Atega of DA-RFU 13 and one of the learning alliance partners in Agusan, took the initiative to organize the three activities. The efforts are part of the outputs of the ADB-IRRI Posthavest project to address the postharvest challenges in Asia, including the Philippines. More learning alliance activities are expected to pour into the CARAGA region, as the project’s efforts in reducing postharvest losses through technology innovations, best management practices, and intensive information dissemination are slowly coming to fruition.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Philippines: IRRI postharvest staff participate in farmcasters meeting in Agusan Province
Curbing postharvest losses through information is in the front line of the IRRI-ADB project, Addressing the Pre-and Postharvest Challenges in the Rice Supply Chain.
Information officers, farmcasters, regional agricultural engineers, and staff members of some local government units were introduced to advocacy efforts of the project made through various activities, technologies, and adaptive research in project sites in the Philippines and Asia.
Members of the project team from IRRI and PhilRice served as resource speakers during the 3rd Quarter Meeting of Regional and Provincial Information Officers and Farmcasters at Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, on 19-20 July 2011.
Caesar Tado, IRRI-ADB project country coordinator, and Trina Mendoza and Reianne Quilloy, communication specialists at IRRI, took turns elaborating on the objectives and activities of the project.
Danilo Unson, on behalf of the provincial agriculturist, said that reducing postharvest losses could be an important driver of the Philippines’ goal to achieve rice self-sufficiency in 2013.
Information officers, farmcasters, regional agricultural engineers, and staff members of some local government units were introduced to advocacy efforts of the project made through various activities, technologies, and adaptive research in project sites in the Philippines and Asia.
Caesar Tado, IRRI-ADB project country coordinator, and Trina Mendoza and Reianne Quilloy, communication specialists at IRRI, took turns elaborating on the objectives and activities of the project.
Danilo Unson, on behalf of the provincial agriculturist, said that reducing postharvest losses could be an important driver of the Philippines’ goal to achieve rice self-sufficiency in 2013.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)