Banking innovation in agriculture.

Technology has superimposed its presence in major areas of the economy forging growth and development within these sectors. 

The banking sector is a big player in this innovation drive with technology as all other sectors engage their services in terms of payments,transfer and business funding. Banks are making their services,fast and easily accessible to customers as many have platforms that enable mobile banking ,where you can open an account,transfer,make payments for amenities and even buy air time. 

The use of bank cards also makes services faster,the use of self service portals is also a plus to the array of services. The connectivity of these platforms to various industries to provide seamless transaction is where banking innovation comes to play. In agriculture,banking innovation help facilitate easy buying and selling of products by farmers. 

The use of e-wallet makes transaction seamless and super-fast . The banking innovation in agriculture is in partnership with telecommunication giants,with a mixed-match platform to serve farmers through SMS, video, apps e.t.c. 

 The banking innovation is taking root fast and various banks are thinking on how to leverage the age of digital disruption in order to create personalized banking platforms, form effective fintech partnerships and diversify the banks’ digital offerings to improve customer satisfaction , increase retention rates and how to remain competitive in a crowded marketplace. In this digital age how is your bank innovating? 

Cassava as a global livestock feed ingredient.

Cassava known mostly for its starch-rich tubers is a plant that also offers many possibilities to provide other lesser-known feed ingredients for man and livestock. Cassava is a plant that is very tolerant to poor growing conditions as it can be cultivated in regions suffering from poor soil, droughts and even frequent plant diseases. 

Under such conditions, it yields about 13 metric tons of tubers per hectare. Of course, when grown in near-ideal (tropical) conditions, yield can reach up to 80 metric tons of tubers per hectare. Cassava is the second largest carbohydrate-rich crop worldwide, with over 9 million hectares of cultivated land devoted to cassava production in Africa and Asia. 

Global cassava cultivation expands to Asia, Latin America and Africa due to high demands from the human, feed, industrial starch and ethanol industries. Thailand is the largest exporting country for cassava products but surpassed by Nigeria and Brazil, two countries that use their local cassava internally. Nigeria has used cassava extensively as food for man,making different products such as garri,tapioca, cassava chips,starch and flour. 

Cassava has also made an entrance to livestock feed to boost productivity and reduce cost of production by using local feed. Cassava peels and cassava root meal have been explored in livestock with good results,see The cyanide content of the plant is the major reason why many farmers are skeptical about using it but processing reduces the cyanide content and also cyanide content varies with cassava specie making the inclusion in livestock feed safe .

There are two types of cyanogenic glucosides in cassava: linamarin and lotaustralin, the first making up to 93 percent of total. When animals eat the raw cassava tubers or leaves ,they consume the cyanogenic compounds thus releasing the cyanide which is highly toxic to animals causing asphyxia and death. Processing the cassava removes the cyanide thus emphasis is on proper processing, when the cassava peels are sun dried or oven dried, linamarase enzyme is released and this comes into contact with the cyanogenic glucosides and releases hydrogen cyanide (HCN), which is volatile and evaporates, and because sun drying takes longer time span than oven it releases more of cyanide which makes the peels safe. 

 The processing removes as much as 90% by this processing method.The raw cassava pulp contains as much as 200 mg/kg HCN, whereas these levels are reduced to 31 and 27 mg/kg, by oven-and sun-drying, respectively. The whole tuber contains as much 400 mg/kg HCN, with the peel containing as much as 800 mg/kg. 

The leaves are even richer in this compound, containing up to 1,500 mg/kg. There are several varieties of cassava, ranging from 75 to 1,000 mg/kg HCN, and factors such as soil conditions, fertilizer and weather also affect the concentration of HCN, so choosing the variety with the minimum cyanide content will be a factor to jump start the processing for safety. 

 Cassava leaves can also used as feed ingredient but must be dried and milled to create cassava leaf meal, a material rich in protein and fiber but low in energy. The inclusion in feed must be with extra caution because of the very high levels of HCN in raw leaves. 

 The high level of cyanide in leaves can be reduced by proper processing, timing of the harvest and appropriate variety selection. 10 metric tons dried cassava leaf meal can be produced per hectare, this is a significant by-product, suited especially as an animal feed.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels into animal feed.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels into animal feed. Cassava called Manihot esculenta, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. 

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils and Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, while Thailand is the largest exporter of dried cassava. 

 Cassava can be processed into various products such as garri,tapioca, cake,bread and flakes for human consumption,but the peels can be processed and fed to animals. Cassava peels,used to be an environmental nuisance,because farmers and processors just left heaps on the floor to decompose or they burn them because they did not know how to process or preserve the peels until intervention of CGIAR.

 CGIAR scientists developed a low-tech way of transforming wet cassava peels into high quality, safe and hygienic feed ingredients within eight hours, producing one tonne of high quality cassava peel (HQCP) mash from three tonnes of wet peels. The processing of the peels into feed has a high potential because Africa’s estimated 50 million tonnes of cassava peel waste per year could generate at least 15 million tonnes of HQCP, thus providing alternative animal feed that are cheap ,easily accessible and with a capacity of creating a $2 billion a year industry on the continent.

. The cassava peels can be fed to both ruminants,fish and monogastrics,making it an ideal feed source,locally produced to reduce cost and boost productivity. The processing of the peels depend on the target animals. 

 The cassava peels processing is as follows; 1) peels must be clean and fresh. 2) sorted to remove tubers or big sized lumps/cuts. 3) pour the peels in a grater,and grate 3 times.4) put in sacks stacked on one another in an hydraulic press to dewater the peels. 5) 24hrs later the cassava peel cake is ready and can be fed to cattle, sheep,goat and pigs.

Azolla: the miracle fern and animal feed.

The cost of feed of livestock coupled with climatic changes has pushed farmers to look inwards and promote innovative practices to keep their flock and also create wealth.

 

Azolla: the miracle fern and animal feed.

 Farmers have sought out practices like hydroponics,which they have used to make fodder for livestock and also vegetables for man. see and also  are

Farmers have also embraced aquaponics and aeroponics to grow vegetables and legumes for man and livestock to create wealth and ensure food security.

The race to feed the estimated 9 billion by 2050 and the pressure on land and ecosystem at large has pushed more green initiatives to farmers to cut losses and conserve the environment. 

The Azolla fern is a miracle fern that has been incorporated into agriculture in  India,China, Vietnam e.t.c.  The aquatic plant is easy to cultivate and nurture and requires no extensive preparation/processing before been fed to animals. 

 Azolla can be fed wholly to cattle and pigs without any additional feed as it provides necessary nutrients needed for growth and development. Azolla farming is cheap,easy and readily available for farmers. 

 Azolla is an aquatic fern usually referred to as the miracle fern because its rich in organic nutrients and usefulness  as feed and fertilizer. Azolla contain 25-30 % protein, essential amino acids, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and Beta- Carotene, calcium and iron minerals . 

 Azolla contains phosphorus, potassium, ferrous, copper, magnesium, bio-active substances and it is this what makes Azolla a perfect organic fertilizer.

 Azolla can be used as a cattle feed and research has shown that Azolla helps to increase the milk production. Its also used as a feed to quail, rabbit, fish, duck, pig etc.

When fed to hen on a daily basis, Azolla promotes production of good quality of eggs. Azolla has Anabena that helps to absorb nitrogen, and the nitrogen absorbed is converted to protein and amino acid which is later stored in the leaves. 

 Nitrogen is one main factor that helps in a plant’s growth this makes Azolla, a high standard fertilizer that aid in the growth of a plant. 

 Azolla also act as a mosquito repellent , the dried Azolla is also used as a partial substitute to Groundnut meal in feed compounding. 

When Azolla is produced in excess it can be dried and stored in plastic bags for preservation. The inclusion of Azolla in poultry diet, is the in dried form and added ratio is 5% of normal ration.

Agribusiness: How the Internet of things is solving the issue of food waste.

According to UN FAO data, approximately $1 trillion in produced crops is annually lost post-harvest. This includes the various stages — from farm, to shelf, to fork. Even in technologically advanced regions such as the EU, post-harvest losses for grains and cereals are often more than 10%, with higher percentages seen in developing countries in Africa or in industrialized Asia. 

These losses are incurred during raw material storage, processing — milling, for example — and distribution in the logistics chain. One company that is responding to the challenge of food waste with IoT technology is Centaur Analytics, the first full stack IoT company that provides real-time stored agri-products monitoring and protection solutions. 

They develop and market end-to-end solutions for the Internet of Things, focused on the quality and safety of stored goods. Their mission is to dramatically increase post-harvest yields and eliminate waste from farm to shelf. Storing crops is a tricky process. 

Most farmed crops are stored in massive quantities in big metal containers like silos, an environment that is susceptible to a range of challenges like moisture, temperature and insect infestation. Traditionally methods of managing these challenges have involved farmers physically visiting their silo or storage container in person by testing each one individually — not an exact science — and provide treatments. Insect infestation is particularly problematic. 

 As well as eating crops, insects increase the moisture levels within the storage containers, which can further spoil the crops. Bantas explained that treatment typically involved a fumigants such as phosphine which is administered over a set number of days, typically up to a week. 

 Fumigation is used for all kinds of crops: tobacco leaves, flowers, grain, rice , feeds, fruit fresh, died and so on, people have been fighting this product with fumigating gases but it has been without monitoring,which is where the problem lies. 

 The problem is that while fumigation can eradicate the problem, if the temperature of the container is too low, the dosage is incorrect or the duration of treatment too short, it can harden they insects and they mutate and grow into something stronger, making treatment ineffective. continue

Smart Agriculture: Ending poverty with mobile phones.

Phones have been identified as a valuable tool to fight poverty. The use of phones can revolutionize the fight against poverty. Street trading is a common phenomenon in Africa, where various commodities are sold at traffic stops,interjections and street corners. Today,the story is different,as the commodities now include recharge cards. This shows the fast adaptability , and increasing importance of mobile phone technology in Africa. 

 There is the passion for joining the phone revolution and the information age that it brings into the nooks and crannies of the world. Mobile phone technology is not restricted to urban areas any more,but even the rural suburbs are cashing in on the vibe.

Phones in the hands of farmers could actually help to achieve the food security goal as valuable information about smart agriculture can be disseminated easily. 

Echbee vet ventures has a phone-a-farmer initiative ,that continue There is another arm of the outfit that dishes veterinary tips to farmers,see.

The platform works on this model ,see.Currently,the platform is expanding to reach more zones and also talking with foreign partners to promote technology exchange,to promote smart agriculture. Self Help Africa, an international development organisation working in agriculture, has been using this model of information revolution the fight against poverty. In Malawi, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Zambia, Self Help Africa is now partnering with a range of mobile network providers to provide free, on-demand farming information across a range of crops to farmers. 

Farmers dial into the service and, using touch-tone technology, access a voice message about a specific crop or farming practice. Partnering with network providers has an additional advantage because there will be an influx of customers to the platform, agribusiness partnership to promote food security will be developed,training schemes and empowerment programmes will also be developed to further boost productivity.

 A platform for agriculture with various stakeholders will be gigantic porter of buying,selling,training,exporting hub and tech--exchange to ensure our food for all goal with smart agriculture.

The need for open data in agriculture and nutrition to ensure food security.

New data-driven solutions in agriculture and nutrition are increasingly being seen as a way to tackle the estimated population explosion. It is estimated that the population of the world is expected to double and the increase will definitely result in more food production. The Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) initiative seeks to support global efforts to make agricultural and nutritional relevant data available, accessible, and usable worldwide. The three and a half year initiative funded by the UK Department for International Development will focus on building high-level policy support for open data in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors GODAN encourages collaboration and cooperation among existing agriculture and open data activities, and brings together stakeholders to solve global challenges. 

GODAN is about impact, it’s about finding the open data practices that work and using them to advocate for more open data in agriculture and nutrition. The initiative is using a data revolution to drive innovation in agriculture and nutrition, which ultimately means improved livelihoods for farmers, especially those in the developing world, and the ability for more people to feed themselves.more This is where telecommunication comes into play, the higher the number of farmers that are connected on a network/platform ,the more data is generated and information disseminated easily. The issue of data is key to any economy, if people,farms, markets,hospitals,stores can not be identified in terms of location,size and capacity then no meaningful planning can be set in motion and definitely no budgetary allocation to cater for that sector. Phones with easy connectivity are a vital tool for growth in agriculture. 

The possibilities are endless and its sad that most farmers in the developing countries are still not connected,the issue of disease surveillance,disease control ,animal health services and pricing of products can easily be rectified by connection of farmers on the network. 

The recent outbreak of anthrax in Yamal could have been curtailed and not escalated as it is now,where many are infected ,and a record of a child' death. The authorities have said they have to bury about 150 corpses a day, all because there was a bridge in communication, the herd man involved had to walk for 5 days to notify authorities of the disease incidence,this delay caused exposure of some many people and also consumption of infected animals. 

 Precision agriculture which is the modern farming ,also works on this premise.The data generated are sent through phones over a reliable network,most of the information generated from the farm,the animals,the soil and environment are all relayed through phones,and the corrective measures also through this platform making response time fast and production effective. 

I believe this is the time to start counting,numbers rule the world. The number of people at risk of hunger in the developing world is estimated to grow to more than a billion people by 2050,but sadly these people are not connected on any network. 

 Mobile connectivity that is expected to drive growth and development along side digital inclusion is still very low among rural communities. The 2016 Mobile Economy report for Africa, which was released by GSMA during the GSMA Mobile 360 Africa event in Dar Es Salaam, , showed that at the end of 2015, 46 per cent of the population in Africa, subscribed to mobile services, which is equivalent to more than half of a billion people. Africa’s three dominant markets are Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa, together accounted for about a third of the region’s total subscriber base.This shows there is so much to be done to ensure all facets of the economy is connected through data sharing, data analysis and networking at various levels to ensure the food security goal.

Urban Agriculture : Cricket farming is the latest money code.

The art of insect rearing for commercial purposes originated from the Netherlands, but has now spread to different parts of the world including Africa.. Crickets are black or brown insects that belong to the class insecta, order Orthoptera and genus Acheta. They are categorized into two groups; house cricket and field cricket. These creatures are the latest money code in agriculture.

Crickets is independent of climate change. Farmers are able to rear them throughout the year and thus their profitability is ensured. This cheap startup has found its share in urban agriculture,the crickets can be raised in-house,outdoors in bucket,crates or bowls. The relative ease of raising these creatures coupled with the health benefits derived has made the cricket ,food of the future. Crickets have a higher feed conversion ratio converting most of their feed into protein. The insect has a high protein value an advantage that is tapped in area of malnutrition. Crickets are a rich source of fats, especially the polyunsaturated fatty acids ,they also contain minerals such as iron and zinc. Crickets can be used directly as food or ground into flour to fortify other foods. 

Cricket flour can be used as an ingredient to make products such as biscuits, cakes, porridge, chapati and mandazi. For example cricket farmers in Bondo have been incorporating cricket flour to make different confectioneries. Farmers in Kenya utilize buckets where female adults lay fertilized eggs under a wet cotton wool. After a month, the eggs hatch into nymphs that feed on vegetables, soy flour and water.It takes three months for crickets to mature into adult stage. An adult cricket weighs about 0.5- 1.5grammes. 

 Harvesting of the mature crickets is by emptying into boiling water for about 5 minutes. These are then cooled in cold water before being dried in a solar drier to a moisture content of below five per cent. This reduces the growth of bacteria and molds, making them have an extended shelf-life and safe for human consumption. MORE

How drones are changing agriculture.

Drones aren’t new technology by any means. Now, however, thanks to robust investments and a somewhat more relaxed regulatory environment, it appears their time has arrived—especially in agriculture. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—better known as drones—have been used commercially since the early 1980s. Today, however, practical applications for drones are expanding faster than ever in a variety of industries, thanks to robust investments and the relaxing of some regulations governing their use. Responding to the rapidly evolving technology, companies are creating new business and operating models for UAVs. Drone technology will give the agriculture industry a high-technology makeover, with planning and strategy based on real-time data gathering and processing. PwC estimates the market for drone-powered solutions in agriculture at $32.4 billion. Following are six ways aerial and ground-based drones will be used throughout the crop cycle: 1) Soil and field analysis: Drones can be instrumental at the start of the crop cycle. They produce precise 3-D maps for early soil analysis, useful in planning seed planting patterns. After planting, drone-driven soil analysis provides data for irrigation and nitrogen-level management. Read

Agriculture and robots.

The future is really wrapped around technology to ensure food security and safety .In the world today, robots have been assigned more tasks than you imagine.Robots are gradually taking over jobs performed by man and a report shows that by 2025 robots will put humans out of work. They are already employed in various industries from administration to agriculture.

 Robots in agriculture ease labor force,ensure expected performance as the case in precision farming. The ability of robots to blend seamlessly with any organization and task makes them indispensible. Nadine, a "receptionist" at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is friendly, and will greet you back. Next time you meet her, she will remember your name and your previous conversation with her. She looks almost like a human being, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair. She smiles when greeting you, looks at you in the eye when talking, and can also shake hands with you,and she is a humanoid. See 

The role of robots in agriculture and by extension food security has been redefined by a Japanese company that is set to open the world’s first “robot farm”, as agriculture joins other sectors of the economy in attempting to fill labor shortages created by the country’s rapidly ageing population.

Spread, a vegetable producer, said industrial robots would carry out all but one of the tasks needed to grow the tens of thousands of lettuces it produces each day at its vast indoor farm in Kameoka, Kyoto prefecture, starting from mid-2017. 

 The robots will do everything from re-planting young seedlings to watering, trimming and harvesting crops. The innovation will boost production from 21,000 lettuces a day to 50,000 a day, the firm said, adding that it planned to raise that figure to half a million lettuces daily within five years.

The seeds will still be planted by humans, but every other step, from the transplanting of young seedlings to larger spaces as they grow to harvesting the lettuces, will be done automatically,” said JJ Price, Spread’s global marketing manager. Read

Genetically improving sorghum for production of environmentally friendly biofuel.

The bioenergy crop sorghum holds great promise as a raw material for making environmentally friendly fuels and chemicals that offer alternatives to petroleum-based products. Sorghum can potentially yield more energy per area of land than other crops while requiring much less input in terms of fertilizer or chemicals. New research examines how genetic improvement of specific sorghum traits, with an eye toward sustainability, could help maximize the usefulness of sorghum as a bioenergy crop.The researchers They highlight disease resistance, flooding tolerance and cell wall composition as key targets for genetically improving sorghum for sustainable production of renewable fuels and chemicals. Genetically improved sorghum will not only help with food security but also

GENETICALLY MODIFIED BULLS TO BOOST FOOD SECURITY.

 The coolweirdo.com shows how genetic selection and experiments with the Belgian Blue has produced a humongous species of bulls packed with muscles and meat.

The reason these animals are getting so big is due to a very big genetic defect of a faulty myostatin gene, which is responsible for the gigantic size and double muscling.

  This amazing super species of cattle is known to have more than 40% additional muscle mass. They gain weight very fast, and produce high protein milk for their calf. Exploiting the rapid growth rate may provide an inroad to food security.

TECHNOLOGY AND POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand's poultry industry is keeping a close eye on emerging technology which could stop male chickens in the egg industry having to be killed. The layer hen industry breeds about three million hens a year and about the same number of male chickens. The wrong breed for eating, these chicks are killed when they are a day old either by gassing or being instantly killed in a machine with a blade. Although the practice meets animal welfare standards, egg producers say they would be keen to embrace new genetic marker technology, which would identify the chick's sex before it hatched "or any sign of consciousness, which some people have some issues with". German scientists have developed a new technique which could be commercially tested as soon as next year. "In-ovo sexing" involves analysing chemical biomarkers to determine the sex of a chick on the ninth day of incubation. Australian scientists are looking at another method involving gene marking and Canadian researchers are also at work on the problem. In the United States this week, the United Egg Producers pledged to stop the mass culling of male chicks by 2020, or as soon as it was "economically feasible," according to animal welfare group Humane League, which sparked the talks. "Male chicks are useless to the egg industry, so industry disposes of these newborns in the most brutal of ways," Humane League's Aaron Ross said. In Australia, where six million male chicks are culled each year, caged-egg farmer Bede Burke in Tamworth said the industry was "excited" by the innovations. "Killing half your chickens and disposing them is a massive cost, and in ovo sex determination solves part of the problem," Burke said. Richard Rayner, chief executive of Specialized Breeders Australia, said he welcomed innovations to eliminate the "unfortunate side effect of the layer chicken industry". "It's not so much a cost issue, as it's an ethical and consumer perception issue. It's not a welfare issue as they do get killed humanely, but an ethical one," he said. In New Zealand, Brooks said roosters from layer hens - hens breed for eggs - could not simply be used for meat because poultry farms used different breeds for eating. Previous innovations to improve birds' welfare had been quickly adapted here, such as beak trimming, which was now done with a infra-red beam. "We're a tiny, tiny industry. We had 110 million meat chickens last year, that's a fifth of the size of Mississippi State [in the US]...but nevertheless we're seen as innovative."] Culled from NZFarmer.

CAMEL,GENES AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

The findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the dromedary camel has their genetic diversity shaped by ancient trade routes. Scientists examined DNA samples from more than 1,000 one-humped camels. Despite populations being hundreds of miles apart, they were genetically very similar.Scientists explained that centuries of cross-continental trade had led to this "blurring" of genetics. One of the team, Prof Olivier Hanotte, from Nottingham University, explained that what made the dromedary so biologically fascinating was its close link to human history. They have moved with people, through trading So analyzing dromedaries, can help find a signature of our own past. In search of this signature, the researchers compared samples of DNA - the carrier of genetic information - from populations across the camels' range. Our international collaboration meant we were able to get samples from West Africa, Pakistan, Oman and even Syria. The domesticated dromedary was adopted as a beast of burden around 3,000 years ago and, well into the 20th Century, trade caravans that sometimes consisted of thousands of animals, would transport goods across the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Prof Hanotte explained: "People would travel hundreds of miles with their camels carrying all their precious goods. And when they reached the Mediterranean, the animals would be exhausted. "So they would leave those animals to recover and take new animals for their return journey." This caused centuries of genetic "shuffling", making dromedaries that are separated by entire continents remarkably similar. Crucially, this has also ensured that the animals maintained their genetic diversity - constantly mixing up the population. This means that dromedaries are likely to be much more adaptable in the face of a changing environment. Climate change, is characterized by rising temperatures, more extreme weather patterns and more areas becoming less suitable for livestock, .The dromedary will be our better option for livestock production - of meat and milk. These could replace cattle and even sheep and goats that are less well-adapted. read more from BBC NEWS.

HOW TO GENERATE DATA FOR FOOD SECURITY USING APPS, PHOTOS AND FOOD PRICES.

A San Francisco-based startup has sent out data collectors armed with just an Android phone, to harvest real-time economic data as and where it happens. From the price of onions in Indian cities to delayed infrastructure projects in rural China,


Premise data is, for the first time, giving governments, investors and NGOs an accurate glimpse of what is happening on the ground.

 In the Butantã branch of Extra, the Brazilian supermarket chain, in the western suburbs of São Paulo, Sandra Morais, 37, is taking photos of bags of rice.

She's not some retail Instagrammer or an obsessive foodie, but one of 25,000 data collectors that a San Francisco-based startup called premise.

 The aim is to ascertain which products are available , at what price and quantities available and location available to facilitate proper planning .

 Premise was founded in 2012 by an American former investment analyst, David Soloff, now 46, who realized that a large amount of developing-world economic data, on which big institutions were basing their risk and funding decisions, was significantly out of date by the time it reached their desks.

HOW TO PRODUCE MEAL WORMS AT HOME.

A research from Bard College in New York state, states that beef is among the most environmentally troubling products to farm. This is because it requires 160 times more land per calorie than wheat, rice and potatoes, and creates 11 times more greenhouse gases. Inspired by a study of industrial meat production, Katharina Unger has found an answer: mealworms, which contain a similar amount of protein content to red meat. The Austrian industrial designer has developed a desktop hive, the, LIVIN Farm Hive, that lets you harvest protein grown on your desk. The device, which is 61 cm tall and resembles a chest of drawers, is designed to sit on a kitchen worktop and produce 200g to 500g of mealworms per week. Mealworm pupae are put into the top and develop into beetles in a drawer below. These breed and lay eggs that fall into the next drawer down the stack. Once they hatch, the worms drop down as they mature, ending up the bottom of the hive, ready to be frozen and then prepared. See

FOOD SECURITY.

Food security refers to the availability of food in required quantities,quality and the ease of access. The accessibility can be categorized on basis of affordability, availability and ease of purchase. 

The onus of food security is on producers,their rate of production coupled with the price has a lot of impact on the way food is accessed. 

 The agricultural sector is weighed down by so many factors that makes production unstable and inaccessible.

These factors are: 

 1) Inadequate land for growing crops and rearing livestock.

 2) Cost of production . 

3)Storage /processing 

4) Transportation. 

 Land is the basic capital needed for production,hence the value it adds to production cost cannot be overemphasized.

The production of food to cater for the growing population can only be achieved if other methods of production are practiced. 

 Food security will entail using innovative measures to produce crops and rear animals.The use of genetics hampers on this production methods by using seed improvement and modified seeds and also new planting techniques such as hydroponics.

This will not only ensure a rapid harvest but also reduce the cost of production as many crops can be planted in a column in smaller spaces. 

 The issue of using genetically superior breeds also valuable in livestock,if superior breeds are reared more products will be accessed from them within a shorter time at reduced cost of production.

 Feeding accounts for about 75% of production cost,thus if cheaper methods of feeding are embraced then more products will be available.

The use of fodder system is a good initiative with health benefits not only for the animals but also for man. 

The inclusion of greens into diet such as water hyacinth,seaweeds and even watermelon has shown increase body weight within a short time .The use of insects and worms also have added benefits to growth and development of the animals.

 Feed fermentation is also another method to reduce cost of feeding as the animal will require about 1/2 of the original ration in fermented form,and also the feed will be a source of probiotics thus maintaining intestinal health and preventing diseases which invariably reduces costs as antibiotic inclusion is not necessary.Substitution of local feed stuff in feed rations also reduce cost.

Fermentation in poultry feed results in bigger eggs with thick shells and chicken with bigger carcass weight. 

   Storage and processing methods also play a role in food security, with better processing techniques more food will be stored and less food lost and discarded as waste.    Innovations such as extraction/extrusion machines, milling machines, klins for drying e.t.c coupled with proper packaging and storage will extend shelve-life of products.

 Transportation: this factor can hinder all other factors of production if the products need to travel long distances before they are available for sale.This can be adjusted by strategic locations of production points near markets.

  The transportation chain must provide easy access from farm to stores or from farm to processing and storage centers. The growing population will require innovations to ensure that more food is produced,its readily available and affordable.

Soilless farming an avenue to food security.

Soil-less farming could help developing countries with little arable land and harsh for agriculture climate, such as Qatar, to become self-sufficient in terms of their produce. Relying on advanced hydroponics and multi-story vertical growing, the proposed system uses nutrient-enriched water to produce approximately a hundred times more yield compared to when the crops are grown on a conventional farmland of the same size. The hybrid setup, devised by Nik-Othman Abdullah, biotechnologist at Malaysia University of Science and Technology, is described in his Methods paper, published in the open-access peer-reviewed journal Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO). The proposed vertical-horizontal regulated soil-less farming is theoretically capable of increasing the domestic produce on such a scale that the country. This type of soil-less farming could provide reliable quantity as well as quality of the crops. Grown indoors, where they would be constantly monitored by personnel with good technical and scientific knowledge, the produce would be less affected by factors such as atmospheric conditions, contamination or pests. The plants would be supplied with the calculated amount of nutrition they need, as well as the exact amount of light and gas exposure. Being grown in a sterile environment and not treated with fertilizers, pesticides, and other harsh chemicals, the crops would not only look visibly identical, but would also be cleaner, fresher, healthier, tastier and richer in nutrient content. They would also grow faster and bigger. Plants would not waste energy in root tissue production because nutrients in pure form will be provided to the plants instead of the plant stressing to search for the nutrients," explains the bio-technologist. "Therefore, plants grow evidently 50% faster and bigger. This type of farming platform can be constructed basically in any location. It can be set up almost anytime and everywhere, in a greenhouse, warehouse, inside a building. This in-house farming is viable in urban areas as well,where more of the available land is for infrastructure.This platform is a model of the hydroponic system described in earlier posts. #food security # hydroponic system # food safety.

AGRIBUSINESS: TURMERIC AS A NATURAL ALTERNATIVE TO ANTIBIOTICS.

The rising global population comes with an increasing demand for food such as meat as a source of protein. Other than diminishing farm land for agriculture use to produce food, consumer concerns about food quality and safety are key issues. 

Therefore, the resulting challenge for the international feed and animal husbandry industry is to realize sustainable global livestock production strategies for efficient production and safe food for the consumers. 

 Since 2006 antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in livestock feeding have been prohibited in the European Union. South Korea is one of the first Asian countries that restricted the use of AGPs in 2011. Contrary to the valid use of antibiotics for prevention and treatment of pathogenic infections to prevent diseases, animals are still administered antibiotic growth promoters in feed. 

The increasing consumer demand for meat results in more intensive meat production which implies that today more antibiotics are sold for animals than for humans, as is the case in the US. As a consequence, the improper application of antibiotics leads to residues in meat which enter the human organism and cause a higher risk of resistance towards antibiotics. 

 Antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) are being reduced in leading countries all over the world, thus the interest for natural alternatives arose. New strategies come with new principles…

 How swine can benefit from ‘quorum quenching’ and ‘ar-turmerone’? 

The essential oil turmeric contains ar-turmerone, a phytogenic compound that can exert antioxidant effects. Phytogenic feed additives are an excellent source in the feed for bio-available antioxidants . Various phytogenic compounds can function both directly (by scavenging free radicals actively) and indirectly (by the excretion of enzymes) antioxidant effects. 

 One of such compound is ar-turmerone, contained in the essential oil of turmeric. Due to having an aromatic function ar-turmerone can scavenge and directly stabilize free radicals very well. On the other hand ar-turmerone has a keto group in its molecular structure which enables it to react with the sensitive sulphhydril group of Keap1 and to up-regulate endogenous antioxidant and phase II enzymes. 

The various farm trials showed that all phytogenic feed additives increased the total antioxidant capacity, measured using Trolox Equivalent. The antioxidant Capacity, in the jejunum, representing the early small intestine, 2 to 4.5-fold. In addition, also Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant capacity in the liver, as an peripheral organ was strongly improved 2 to 3.5 fold. Phytogenic feed additives distinctly improve the total antioxidant capacity of an organism. 

The up-regulation of phytogenic additives in the intestine protects the organism against oxidative stress (intestinal barrier function). To find exact solutions to the increasing global population and consumer demand for high quality and safe food while saving the environment might not be as easy when looking for and evaluating alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. 

Natural, standardized and proven scientifically and commercially phytogenic products offer vast potential for efficient animal production and safe food for the consumers. Source;pig progress.

How to use Atovi as fertilizer and seed treatment.

Corn ranks next to rice as the staple crop in the Philippines,and the high cost of farm inputs like seeds and fertilizer is one of the burdens of many farmers. Now, the cost of pesticides hurting farmers, and the very low quality of corn produced because of more than 20 harmful insects damaging the whole life cycle of these pests. Tracing back the reason why these insects enjoy damaging the corn plant, the answer pin-points to the problem of absorption and utilization of nutrients. This is how Atovi works on the plants: 1) increase the population of beneficial microorganisms in the soil.2) drives away insects, promote fast and healthy growth of plants .3 )makes the whole cellular structure of the plant firm and thick.4) more rows of good kernels .5) strong tolerance against diseases.6 )increase harvest. How to use the technology in Corn production: Corn kernels (seeds) must be soaked first in water with the technology for two and a half hours (2 ½ hrs.) before sowing it. Dilution: 1 tbsp Atovi : 1 liter of water. The dilution can be used many times for soaking. If there’s excess mixture (water & atovi), it can be use to condition the soil where it will be planted. Water the planting hole with the said mixture to prevent corn maggots from eating the seeds. For two (2) weeks, spray Atovi in the afternoon (preferably 5pm) every other day. Dilution: 2 tbsp. Atovi : 1 Gallon of Water (4 liters) or 1 kg. Atovi : 1 Drum of Water. After transplanting, maintain the application of Atovi every late afternoon weekly and stop two (2) weeks before harvest time, using the same dilution stated in No.2. This procedure will make the whole cellular structure of plant including the corn kernels (fruit) very firm to prevent insects from damaging them. For plots, be sure to cultivate the soil one (1) week before transplanting for good soil aeration, better results can be achieved if manure (fecal waste) from animals is used . Atovi will be used as organic fertilizer during land preparation,but if not, one can use ordinary animal manure from animals not taking Atovi but before incorporating them into the soil, spray them with Atovi every other day for one (1) week to hasten the manure decomposition and makes them organic fertilizer. In any case, don’t forget to spray Atovi on the plot to energize the beneficial bacteria in the soil, exterminate harmful microorganisms and insect pests, eradicate weed seeds, and achieve the 3-week organic soil state. In spraying Atovi, make sure to wet the underside of leaves, and or, water the plant base/root zone for fast effect. Simple tips: Always maintain clean corn field. Remove rubles, or any trash where insects thrives. The use of atovi in planting crops not only guarantees a bumper harvest,but the harvest time is shorter making entry into the market earlier than usual. more