AGRIBUSINESS:Should tomatoes go in the fridge?

AGRIBUSINESS:Should tomatoes go in the fridge?The influence of storage on the flavor of ripe tomatoes. There is much debate about the correct storage of tomatoes.

Should tomatoes be in the fridge or kept at room temperature? Researchers investigated whether there are differences in the flavor of ripe tomatoes depending on how they are stored, taking into account the chain of harvesting from farm to fork.

 No difference was found: the variety of tomato is much more important. How to make money from tomatoes.

"It is the variety of tomato in particular that has an important influence on the flavour. Therefore, the development of new varieties with an appealing flavour can be a step towards improving the flavour quality of tomatoes," says Larissa Kanski, lead author of the study.

How to can tomatoes the easy way.

How to can tomatoes the easy way. Canning tomatoes is a method of preservation as well as value addition to prolong shelf-life and increase sales.

Tomato processing .

Tomatoes are healthy fruits with massive health benefits as they are rich in lycopene, a carotenoid with antioxidant properties, which is responsible for the deep red color of tomatoes. Food rich in lycopene will give antioxidant and is often associated with boosting our immune system by removing free radicals from our bodies thus decreasing the risk of stroke, lowering our bad cholesterol levels and preventing artery hardening. The tomato market is large and a lot needs to be done to prevent the losses currently experienced from farm to market. Investors in the chain can actually tap into value addition in the form of processing the fruit into other products that are also equally beneficial in terms of health and wealth. This is how to process tomatoes to extend shelf-life to increase profit and cut waste.

FARMERS ROLE IN REDUCING MALNUTRITION AND OBESITY.

obesity and malnutrition have become serious problems in the developing world.High calorific food and poor cuts of meat high in fat are more available, and people do not need to work physically as hard to produce it.Professor Jonathan Rushton, of the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London, called it a "wicked problem".You have significant numbers of people who are undernourished and an increasing number of people who are overweight...It's an indication that something is not right with our system.Professor Robyn Alders, University of Sydney "If we feed our pigs ad lib they will get too fat to stand up, but we are doing that to ourselves," he said at a conference at Sydney University, called Resetting the Australian Table: Adding Value and Adding Health.Professors of sociology, economics, veterinary science and foreign aid, paediatricians, soil scientists, and plant breeders, gathered to nut out the problem at interdisciplinary level. "You have ongoing significant numbers of people who are undernourished and an increasing and significant number of people who are overweight," she said."It's an indication that something is not right with our system."Global average meat consumption has nearly tripled in 50 years and people are increasingly disconnected from its production."It's probably been given a boost since the 1960s with increased productivity from grain based systems," said Professor Rushton."So our grain crops started to be more productive, which have gone into pigs, poultry and cattle systems."If you look at the growth in production of meat, we've gone from 25 kilos consumption of meat to 62 kilos per person per year globally. "There's a disconnect between the urbanised population and food systems."Professor Rushton said just as farmers care about what they feed their animals, they should care about how their food is processed."Food production is driven by powerful companies, driven by profit motives, which need to have more social responsibility," he said."Urbanised consumers are dependent on a food system they know very little about. Chicken has been marketed as a healthy, low fat meat, winning the National Heart Foundation's tick of approval and Australian consumption has doubled to 43 kilos per person a year.But Dr Dixon she told the conference that "we are contradictions" and are buying the wrong chicken.Coated in batter and deep fried, chicken's goodness was undone . Read more here;http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-20/obesity-and-malnutrition-need-joined-up-thinking/6710870

POULTRY VALUE CHAIN

 POULTRY VALUE CHAIN.  PROVIDING MORE PROTEIN FOR THE NATION.  OBJECTIVE .  Provision of animal protein which is essential for growth and development.  Source of revenue generation.  Promote entrepreneurship.  Employment opportunities.  JUSTIFICATION OF PROJECT.  The dietary intake of protein according to nutritionist is 0.8g/kg body weight.  56g/day is required for men and 46g/day for women but there is a deficit.  According to the FAO the average intake is below recommendation, so more protein(animal sources) should be incorporated in diet. Eggs and chicken will makeup for the deficit.  An egg a day, keeps the doctor away.  POULTRY PRODUCTION.  Birds reared for meat and eggs are referred to as poultry.  These include cockerels, broilers, layers and turkey.  Ducks, guinea fowls and quails  Birds to be reared are raised within a time line so that profit can be realized from the venture .  PRODUCTION OVERVIEW.  The scale of project could be small, medium or large, depending on the number of birds and space.  Adequate housing is paramount to success of the venture. This could be temporary or permanent structures, but which must be well ventilated and rodent proof.  PRODUCTION OVERVIEW( 2)  Feeders, drinkers and lighting equipment are provided.  Healthy birds sourced from reputable hatcheries.  Birds are properly housed and good quality feed and adequate quantity are provided.  Essential vaccination and medication are provided.  Strict bio security measures enforced.   METHODOLOGY.  The project will encompass production(rearing) ,processing and packaging.  It will be a year long project, divided into phases so as to make money at specific periods in the year.  Broilers reared and marketed at 42 days,this phase is the 42-dayturn over. Investors with limited funds can access this chain at this level.  METHODOLOGY (2)  Layers reared for eggs starts at about 21 weeks of age, and some breeds can lay up to 300 eggs in a year. The layers could be sold out after a production cycle.  Cockerels mature at 5 months,this can be reared towards a festive period to increase revenue.  Turkeys can also be reared twice in a year ,and also targeted towards festive season.  PRODUCTS. Eggs and chicken are sold for profit.  Feathers from the birds are processed and used as accessories, home décor, mats and fashion accessories. This will also generate revenue.  The waste generated from the birds can be channeled to a digester, to produce electricity.  The blood waste and gut waste can be processed and incorporated into animal feed.  PROJECT COST AND ESTIMATE.  Land depends on size and location.  Laying pens..7.6mx7.6m @# 900,000.  Cages units @#70,000  Farm implements such as wheel barrow, shovel, bucket and water drums. @ #35,000.  Day old chicks ranging from #180-250.  Feed; this accounts for 70% of production hence it will be advisable to have a feed mill that will cater for the birds.  REARING COST . Brooding @25# per chick.  Vaccination/medication @ #40 per chick.  Labour…#7,500 .  Feeders/drinker depending on type and model. Polythene sheets and cardboards@ # 3000.  Broiler..0-3 weeks requires 100g of feed/chick/day.  REARING COST( 2)  Broiler at 4-7weeks require..180g of feed/chick/day.  Layers----o-8weeks requires 60g of feed/day/chick.  9-20 weeks require..90g of feed/day/chick.  Then from 21 weeks require 120g of feed/day/chick.  Water is made available at all times.  PROCESSING AND PACKAGING.  RECOMMENDATIONS.  Healthy birds must be procured.  Bio security measures instituted.  Employment of interested workers.  Good working conditions for workers.  Advertisement of processing plant to expand market.  Good water source and proper waste disposal methods.  A mini processing plant can be attached to live bird markets to process birds. This is another investment opportunity.  Conclusion.  The poultry value chain is a very lucrative venture with rapid return of investment.  Investors could actually invest in short term aspect such as broiler production.  The long term investors will go for layers/egg production.  The seasonal investors will look into cockerels and turkeys.

Breeding pigs for profit.

Pigs   are mono gastric animals usually bred for commercial purposes. The raising of pigs is for reproduction, fattening and sale. Pigs properly managed and housed in a clean environment reproduce at a fast rate and bring about good return on investment.
 
                                       Breeds of pigs.
   There are various breeds of pigs available such as land race,large white,Duroc and Hampshire. The indigenous breeds available have been crossed over time with exotic breeds such that some of their traits are passed down.

   The cross with indigenous breeds ensures that the pigs are hardy and are stable in this environment. Pigs must be chosen for high productivity, sexual soundness, rapid growth,good mothering ability and excellent health and breeding soundness.

                                         Selection of stock. 
 When setting up a farm, your stock must be chosen from proven sources with excellent health and breeding records.
 Boars, to be chosen must be from a sow with high reproductive capacity at least 8 -10 piglets/litter. The boar must be active with 10-12 rudimentary teat. The boar must be from a disease-free stock, with no record of lameness .
 The boar must have well developed feet with uniform curve at the back and must be long in length. The boar must be selected from stock with well developed sex organs.
 The boar must be at least 8 months to be suitable for service.

                                                           Gilts. 
 These are virgin females, they must be selected from fast growing weaners. The gilts must have good body conformation, strong legs and feet. The gilts are selected from sows with good mothering abilities and high farrowing rate of 9-11 piglets/litter.
 The gilts must not have any defects such as inverted teats,or fat deposited at the base of their teats. 

                                                          Housing.
 A piece of land of about 120×60 ft can house about 400 full grown pigs.    The land should be fenced to keep out predators.
There must be a borehole to supply water on the farm . The pens are solid structures with dwarf walls that have metal gates,the floors are cemented but roughened to prevent falling of pigs. Houses should have in built feeding troughs and feeding troughs.

                                                               Feeding.
 Pigs are to be fed a balanced ration for optimal growth, development and reproduction. The ration should not be fatty to prevent the pigs from depositing fat to produce fatty pork instead of lean meat. Feed can be sourced locally or commercial feed can be purchased. Feed ingredients are as follows,maize,p.k.c, wheat bran, brewers waste,full fat soya,vegetables, fishmeal, with salt and minerals.

                                                             Breeding. 
Boars are put to work at about 9 months of age when they are sexually matured. Gilts are mated at about 8 months, the gilts are growing and also feeding their fetuses, thus the nutrition must be such to cater for the growth and development of the fetuses, the gilts are flushed 3 weeks to the mating by increasing feed intake.
     When the gilt is on heat and ready for mating stands to pressure and allows the boar.The mating is down twice at 24hr interval.The gestation period is113 days,the sow is moved to farrowing pen 2 days to expected delivery. The farrowing house must be warm and have extra floor covering to prevent damage to knees and feet of piglets.

The piglets are exposed to colostrum immediately after birth.The sow milk does not contain enough iron so iron injection must be given to the the piglets.

                                                    Management of piglets. 

They should be started on creep feed at about 9 days, this is high in protein and stimulates rapid growth. The piglets have 2 teeth on the upper and lower jaw, that have needle points that can damage the udder, this must be clipped
   .Boars that are to be fattened must be castrated to remove the smell taint from the pork when sold.Tail tip is cut to prevent tail biting..  Deworming and antibiotic treatment are given at stipulated times.