How to make biochar and increase soil fertility.

How to make biochar and increase soil fertility. For hundreds of years, rain forest farmers have figured out that you can enrich soil with biochar: charcoal, basically. Wet vegetation is burned, producing little bits of charcoal, which are ground into the soil. Eventually, this creates an incredibly rich,fertile soil. In only the past few years, researchers at universities around the world have realized that the Amazonian technique is replicated in various forms around the world, including West Africa. This new study, led by researchers at the University of Sussex, analyzed 177 sites in Liberia and Ghana and proved that biochar additions, practiced for centuries in these areas, have increased the carbon levels in the soil by two to three times. By living in villages in these countries, researchers described the techniques: ash and bones, along with kitchen waste, are recycled back into the soil. The press release for the study says the practice could help mitigate climate change. What they mean by that is that the biochar method transfers carbon to the soil, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. The infamous slash-and-burn method, in which material like trees and plants are simply burned in open fires, transfers a very small percentage of carbon to the soil, releasing much of it into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. But slash-and-char, in which wet vegetation under a layer of straw is burned into charcoal, is much more efficient, transferring almost half of its carbon content into the soil.more

How to process mango to prevent post-harvest losses.

In central Kenya, the Kambiti East Mango Self Help Group is using clean energy drying technology to reduce post-harvest waste and access new markets for a stronger community economy. Samuel is one of fifteen mango farmers in Kambiti East Mango Self Help Group, located in Murang'a County in central Kenya. Formed in late 2013, this group came together with the help of a local community-based organization (CBO) after struggling to find a market for their fruits. The project centered on decreasing the amount of post-harvest losses by sun drying their mango into mango leather. Samuel Munguti examines a handful of dried mangoes in Kambiti, Kenya. In 2015, Kambiti joined YieldWise – an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation and implemented by TechnoServe in Kenya – with the aim of training more than 20,000 farmers on post-harvest loss prevention techniques, increasing market demand for mango by linking farmers to new buyers and finance, and piloting technologies to improve the storage and shelf life of mango. Through YieldWise, Kambiti's farmers participated in hands-on agronomy trainings to improve the quality of their mangoes. They trained us on how to take care of our mango trees, how to prune, how to harvest and they taught us how to use these fly traps. TechnoServe also connected Kambiti with Village Industrial Power (VIP), a social enterprise startup commercializing innovative clean-energy solutions for rural industries and communities throughout sub-Saharan Africa. As part of a pilot project, VIP provided Kambiti with a mobile power plant, valued at roughly $17,000, which uses agricultural waste as fuel, creating thermal, electrical and mechanical energy to transform crops into higher value products. Super-heated steam produced by this power plant dries these mangoes at record pace, significantly decreasing the amount of loss during the drying process. In fact, 30 kgs of mangoes can be dried within nine hours, whereas sun drying the same weight previously took 48 hours. more

HOW TO GROW A HEALTHY MANGO.

HOW TO GROW A HEALTHY MANGO. As farmers from South Asia to East Africa to Latin America can attest, there is a lot of know-how and hard work behind those sweet and juicy fruits. Packed with vitamins, antioxidants and fiber, the mango is known for its health benefits. But before it ever reaches your shopping cart, what does it take to grow, store and transport a healthy mango? Farmers like Annaziatta Masiku, who depend on mangoes for income, often struggle to grow healthy, high-quality fruit in the face of pests, disease and severe weather conditions. Even after harvesting, they can lose a significant share to spoilage due to improper storage or a lack of reliable buyers. Anna didn't start mango farming until early 2006, when she planted 50 mango trees. As a new mango farmer, Anna lacked knowledge on mango best practices to keep her trees healthy and producing high yields. While Anna was aware of the importance of pruning, she often used a machete to trim her mango trees’ branches. In addition, she lacked key information on fertilizers and pesticides that would reduce post-harvest losses. "After pruning, I didn't know how to dispose of the waste so I would leave it on the ground which resulted in a buildup of weevils which would destroy the fruit," she said. In May of 2016, Anna joined YieldWise, a program funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and implemented by TechnoServe in Kenya, with the aim of training more than 20,000 farmers on post-harvest loss prevention techniques, increasing market demand for mango by linking farmers to new buyers and finance and piloting technologies to improve the storage and shelf life of mango. more

THE BUSINESS SIDE OF CASHEW.

THE BUSINESS SIDE OF CASHEW.The MozaCajú project teaches cashew farmers in northern Mozambique improved commercialization techniques to boost profits from their harvest. Cashew farmers in Mozambique like Alda Filomena André work hard all year to secure a good harvest from their cashew trees. She and her husband have a farm of several hundred trees in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, where a significant portion of the cashew production in the country occurs. In Mozambique, January and February is the time for farmers like Alda to plant new cashew seedlings. In March they are pruning and cleaning their trees. In June and July, they treat the trees for protection from pests and disease. In September they clean them again in preparation for the harvest. Finally, by late October the harvest season starts, lasting through December. After the harvest comes perhaps the most important stage – commercialization. Commercialization is the process of making a harvest available on the market, from the initial collection, storage and aggregation all the way through the final sale of the product. For cashew farmers like Alda, it is the time when they can finally reap the benefits from cultivating cashew. They may work hard all the way up to harvesting the cashew from the trees, but if they do not succeed at commercialization then they will not earn a good profit. Traditionally, cashew farmers in northern Mozambique harvest and sell their cashew nuts all at once. Most commonly, a buyer – some local trader perhaps working alone or on behalf of a factory or warehouse – will come to a cashew producing community with a large scale and will buy as much raw cashew nut as the farmers are willing and able to sell at that time, without much negotiation. Since 2014, MozaCajú, a three-year project funded by USDA and implemented by TechnoServe that connects Mozambican smallholder cashew farmers to markets and factories, has been training cashew farmers in the three northern provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Zambézia on commercialization techniques in order to fill the gap in knowledge and information that has prevented them from maximizing their profits. These trainings are organized into sessions on My Cashew Business (O Meu Negocio de Caju), which covers all aspects of commercialization. The training is given first to promoters, farmers who are known and trusted in their communities and are selected according to specific criteria. These promoters then disseminate the knowledge and information to other cashew farmers in their community, who are formed into groups of 20 to 30 farmers each. A drawing from the MozaCajú Field Manual encourages farmers to sell their cashew in groups in order to negotiate prices. more

ACCELERATING IMPACT FOR ENTREPRENEURS.

ACCELERATING IMPACT FOR ENTREPRENEURS. A newly released report by Emory University and TechnoServe shows that carefully designed accelerator programs can facilitate revenue growth. In recent years, entrepreneurship has become a key focus area for development. Although entrepreneurship and economic development were once considered and promoted separately, they are now seen as two sides of the same coin. Governments, nongovernmental organizations and private investors around the world are channeling their efforts into stimulating emerging-market entrepreneurship. more

Keeping food supply safer using computer software.

Keeping food supply safer using computer software.Food safety research usually involves analyzing live populations of foodborne pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli, but University of Georgia food scientist Henk den Bakker fights pathogens by developing computer software. Graphs are used to find genomic differences between strains of foodborne bacteria. By studying graphs of complete populations of a pathogen, we can look for genetic variation in genomes that help us to fingerprint bacterial strains. This makes it easier to find bacteria with a similar genomic fingerprint, for instance, bacteria involved in a disease outbreak. more

Food safety

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Not to be confused with Food security.

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Food safety
Terms
Foodborne illness Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) Hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls (HARPC) Critical control point
Critical factors
FAT TOM pH Water activity (aw)
Bacterial pathogens
Clostridium botulinum Escherichia coli Listeria Salmonella Vibrio cholerae Cronobacter spp
Viral pathogens
Enterovirus Hepatitis A Norovirus Rotavirus
Parasitic pathogens
Cryptosporidium Entamoeba histolytica Giardia Trichinella
v t e

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illnesses resulting from the ingestion of a common food is known as a food-borne disease outbreak.^[1] This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potential health hazards. In this way food safety often overlaps with food defense to prevent harm to consumers. The tracks within this line of thought are safety between industry and the market and then between the market and the consumer. In considering industry to market practices, food safety considerations include the origins of food including the practices relating to food labeling, food hygiene, food additives and pesticide residues, as well as policies on biotechnology and food and guidelines for the management of governmental import and export inspection and certification systems for foods. In considering market to consumer practices, the usual thought is that food ought to be safe in the market and the concern is safe delivery and preparation of the food for the consumer.

Food can transmit pathogens which can result in the illness or death of the person or other animals. The main mediums are bacteria, viruses, mold, and fungus (which is Latin for mushroom). It can also serve as a growth and reproductive medium for pathogens. In developed countries there are intricate standards for food preparation, whereas in lesser developed countries there are fewer standards and less enforcement of those standards. Another main issue is simply the availability of adequate safe water, which is usually a critical item in the spreading of diseases.^[2] In theory, food poisoning is 100% preventable. However this cannot be achieved due to the number of persons involved in the supply chain, as well as the fact that pathogens can be introduced into foods no matter how many precautions are taken. The five key principles of food hygiene, according to WHO, are:^[3]

1. Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.
2. Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.
3. Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the appropriate temperature to kill pathogens.
4. Store food at the proper temperature.
5. Use safe water and safe raw materials.

Contents

• 1 Issues
• 2 Food contamination
  • 2.1 Physical contamination
  • 2.2 Chemical contamination
  • 2.3 Biological contamination
• 3 Safe Food Handling Procedures (From Market to Consumer)
• 4 ISO 22000
• 5 Incidence
• 6 Regulations by jurisdiction and agency
  • 6.1 WHO and FAO
  • 6.2 Australia
  • 6.3 China
  • 6.4 European Union
  • 6.5 France
  • 6.6 Germany

Economic importance of fungi in commercial agriculture.

Economic importance of fungi in commercial agriculture.Fungi are one of the most significant organisms in the environment. They are hidden from the naked eyes but their effects and impact are very evident and plenty. Learn more about fungi and the economic importance of fungi in commercial agriculture. The economic importance of fungi refers to both the advantages and disadvantages of fungi. Fungi are one of the most important microorganisms in our environment. The play a number of important roles in medicine and in commercial agriculture. The uses of fungi are numerous. They are used in production industries like bakeries and breweries, in food processing, in medicines, etc. . Some fungi found in the soil are beneficial in commercial agriculture because their activities help to maintain soil fertility. Saprophytic fungi in acidic soils with low bacterial activities cause decay and help decompose dead plants and their waste. They take up the complex organic compounds by secreting enzymes. These enzymes convert the complex organic compounds into simpler ones like ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, water, etc. Some of these simpler compounds are absorbed back into the soil to form humus. The rest into the air where they are used again by plants for synthesis. Most saprophytic fungi involved in decay maintain a constant cycle of carbon dioxide which is the very important for plant photosynthesis. Some fungi attach to the roots of some plants and help them in taking up nutrients from the soil. This is known as mycorrhizal association. These plants can only grow to satisfaction when mycelium of the fungal partner is present in the soil. Mycorrhiza present in the soil helps in the development of good soil structure. They join small soil particles together to form bigger ones. more