$500 million to help rollout new storage facilities technologies

BY KENNETH SIMBAYA

Africa Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

The Rural Urban Development Initiative (RUDI) and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will spend at least $500million in implementing the three portable storage solutions of hermetic cocoons, metal silos and purdue improved cowpea (pics bags) to small scale farmers in Tanzania.

Speaking at Ibumila village on Tuesday, RUDI Chief Executive Officer Abel Lyimo said the three year long technologies being tested at Ibumila village in Njombe Region enable agriculture produce to be preserved up to more than ten years without the use of chemicals.
Lyimo said through Rockefeller Foundation RUDI and AGRA will ensure that small scale farmers buy the technology and use it for their own benefits that would also ensure the availability of food in the country.

He said AGRA will collaborate with the government to ensure that the technology is viable and adopted by small scale farmers.

“We want to make sure that more than 100,000 farmers are brought together in order to buy and use the technology. This will guarantee the availability and quality food produce, enabling produce to fetch good market both locally and at international market” he said.

He said RUDI will work with the government, agro-dealers and stakeholders in all the Regions in the country to ensure that the technology is adopted by farmers.

On his part, GrainPro, Inc Regional Manager Eastern Africa Badi Maulidi said such a technology ensures that moist conditions, a major cause of aflatoxin in agricultural produce are prevented.

He said the project aims to build farmers’ capacity to store their produce by introducing them to newly technologies that is easy to use.

On their part farmers at Ibumila village said there has been an increased food production in the recent years through the support from RUDI on the best farming practices including storage mechanism trainings.

Speaking on behalf of farmers, a representative from AMCOS, a farmer’s organization Elitha Mliso said RUDI’s help has enabled them not only to increase produce but also gain knowledge of post harvest loses.

Mliso however said his organisation is faced with lack of warehouses for food storage, limited market access for their produce, lack of quality seeds and also lack of awareness to farmers’ associations.

“We sold around 424, 972 tonnes of maize to NFRA and 543, 073 other tonnes to international organizations this year alone, he said, adding however that around 500 tonnes of maize has still not yet been sold due to lack of market”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN