INTSORMIL is a collaborative research support program established in 1979 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that works to improve food security and farm incomes related to sorghum and pearl millet in Africa and Central America. Over its 30 year history, INTSORMIL has provided training to over 1,000 scientists and supported research that has led to successes like developing bristle-headed pearl millet varieties to deter birds from eating crops. While its budget has fluctuated over time, impact studies show INTSORMIL research has significant potential to improve agriculture at regional and national scales through projects in areas like plant breeding, food science, and developing partnerships between scientists.
The “special delivery” truck used for emergency deliveries, kerosene and small bridges .A 1960s vintage van with WI-8-3666 phone number. A big difference from the 10 digits we dial today!The Farmhouse used as the Oehlert Bros. headquarters for 50 years. It was built in 1865 by relatives of the Oehlerts.
The “special delivery” truck used for emergency deliveries, kerosene and small bridges .A 1960s vintage van with WI-8-3666 phone number. A big difference from the 10 digits we dial today!The Farmhouse used as the Oehlert Bros. headquarters for 50 years. It was built in 1865 by relatives of the Oehlerts.
This presentation is an introduction to natural farming and how it is practiced in Hawai’i. It includes the history of farming in Hawai’i as well as the different crops that grow here.
Fifth bulletin of the quarterly publication of Tropical Legumes III (TL III) ...Tropical Legumes III
This is fifth bulletin of the quarterly publication of Tropical Legumes III (TL III) project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and jointly implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in close collaboration with partners in the national agricultural research systems (NARS) of target countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. TL III aims to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in drought-prone areas of the two regions through enhanced productivity and production of grain legumes.
TL III convenes its annual meeting alongside the Pan African Grain Legumes and World Cowpea Conference:Grain legumes are a key source of nitrogenrich edible seeds, providing a wide variety of high-protein products and constituting a major source of dietary protein in the diets of the poor in most parts of SSA. Their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen makes legumes excellent components within the various farming systems. Against this backdrop most developmental partners (including ICRISAT) are pushing the legume agenda forward. The TL III project, lead by ICRISAT, is built directly pon the outputs and momentum of Tropical Legumes I (TL I) and Tropical Legumes II (TL II) projects, but is strategically focused on fewer legumes (chickpea, cowpea, common bean and groundnut) and fewer geographies (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and India’s Uttar Pradesh). With the focus on firming up country work plans, the TL III community convened its first annual meeting at a very opportune time alongside the Pan African Grain Legumes and World Cowpea Conference [one of the signature events of 2016 International Year of Pulses (declared by the 68th UN General Assembly as “International Year of Pulses”)], during 28 February - 4 March, 2016. The conference was held under the theme “Sustainable grain legume systems for food, income and nutrition security in a rapidly changing environment” and thereafter TL III annual meeting provided a platform for all project implementers to review the progress made under TL III and the way forward to ensure the project achieves its desired goal.
Towards a better understanding of custodian farmers and their roles: insights...Helga Gruberg Cazon
This publication is the result of a research collaboration between Bioversity International and the Fundación para la Promoción e Investigación de Productos Andinos (PROINPA). It deals with issues regarding on-farm conservation of agrobiodiversity, which is a poorly addressed field of research in spite of its pivotal role in the maintenance of global crop diversity. Strategic actors in on-farm conservation are those farmers who, for various reasons, distinguish themselves from others by their contribution to conserving crop diversity. We call them ‘custodian famers’, even though the terminology may not be suitable to all social contexts. Understanding who these custodian farmers are, their presence over the territory, the types of crops they maintain, why and how, as well as gaining insights on the cultural, social and economic drivers behind their efforts is, for scientists, a very important step in devising effective on-farm conservation strategies and this booklet is a contribution in that direction. The open-ended interviews and participant observation methodologies provided in this study are helpful in guiding future methodological approaches and advancing our understanding of how the roles of custodian farmers can be better recognized, harnessed and supported by society. This work has been carried out in the framework of a major global UN Project supported by IFAD and the European Commission, which is focusing on the development of innovative participatory approaches for the conservation of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) on farm.
Breadfruit Research and opportunities for Future Commercial DevelopmentAI Publications
African breadfruit (Treculia africana) is a foodcrop tree with enermous potentials for domestic and industrial uses. African breadfruit seeds are highly priced product. Research studies on African breadfruit seeds are mostly basics with limited contribution of information on the commercial opportunities within breadfruit seed industry.This study evaluated the state of research, challenges and prospects of African breadfruit seed industry with the objectives of identifying commercially viable opportunities that should drive future research studies to profit researchers, seed processors and national economy. .Forty-four (44) journal papers comprising of research articles and communications on African breadfruits were randomly selected and reviewed. Other research papers in areas of economic opportunity were also consulted. Focus was on nutritioonal contributions, utilization, research direction, limitations to commercialization and opportunities of African breadfruit seeds. Results showed that research trend in breadfruit seeds is still basic with limited studies on technological advancement for mechanized seed processing, seed propagation and absence of industrial funded studies.Results showed that 13.64%, 47.73%, 18.18%,20.45% were on technology development, chemical composition assays, novel foods/sensory evaluation of formulated Novel foods and supplementation studies respectively. Some product specific machines have been developed for mechanized dehulling of African breadfruit seeds but still at the point of prototypes. These prototypes could be refined through entrepreneurial investments for enhanced efficiency .Few studies (4.05 %) were on commercialization of African breadfruits. The low awareness about the commercial profile of African breadfruit is attributable to fewer available research information on commercial profile of African breadfruit. Globally market opportunities exist for African breadfruit seed oil as domestic oil, bio-lubricants, bio fuels, whole seed meals for confectionaries and animal feedstock.African breadfruit seed flour has important diet therapy properties for the management of some physiological stress conditions. Purpose driven translational studies are expedient to exploit these opportunities. Government, research institutes, universities and entrepreneurs have critical roles for commercial advancement of the breadfruits industry.
Technical Efficiency of Cricket (A. domesticus and G. bimaculatus) Production...Premier Publishers
Technical efficiency measures the effectiveness of an enterprise given the available resources at disposal and how well it transforms these resources to get maximum output. This study therefore investigated the technical efficiency of cricket, A. domesticus and G. bimaculatus, production at JOOUST cricket farm using parametric approach. Stochastic frontier analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the farm between 2015-2017. Maximum likelihood estimates results indicated that labour, cotton wool and feed had significant effect on the technical efficiency of cricket production at 1% and 5% significant levels respectively. Species had significant positive (P<0.05) contribution to inefficiency while scale of production and experience had significant negative contribution to technical inefficiency at 5% and 1% significant level respectively. Production in the farm was characterized by decreasing returns to scale implying that labour saving technologies combined with proper feeding rates and cheap alternative to inputs such as cotton wool should be considered. In addition, production scale should be expanded to contribute to efficiency through the benefits of economies of scale. However, further research should be done on allocative efficiency to permit a rational and comprehensive economic efficiency conclusion.
First edition of the Cassava Weed Management Project newsletter also known as the Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria.
Traditional Processes of Food Fresh and Dried Fruits Production and Storage i...ijtsrd
Humans and animals have always had hard time for surviving. Their lives have been threatened on adverse ways, including the consumption of unhealthy food and in situations where food safety is not guaranteed. An example of such threaten on human life in third world countries like Afghanistan is due to the lack of awareness about healthy food, their productions, preservations, and consumptions. There are types of food which can easily get infected by fungi and those fungi are called Aflatoxin, and they are harmful to both humans and animals. Such types of harms nowadays threat the lives of Afghan citizens as they are producing types of food fresh and dry fruits that can be easily infected by Aflatoxin. This paper investigates Aflatoxin fungi and the substances that easily get infected with it and how they produce toxins in humans and animals food. The findings from the present study helps us know the harm as well as ways of preventing fungi in most Afghan fruits and can avoid eating food that are contaminated with Afalatoxin. Obaidullah Alimyar "Traditional Processes of Food (Fresh and Dried Fruits) Production and Storage in Afghanistan and Their Impact on Humans' Health" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-4 , June 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd31581.pdf Paper Url :https://www.ijtsrd.com/biological-science/biological-system/31581/traditional-processes-of-food-fresh-and-dried-fruits-production-and-storage-in-afghanistan-and-their-impact-on-humans%E2%80%99-health/obaidullah-alimyar
This presentation is an introduction to natural farming and how it is practiced in Hawai’i. It includes the history of farming in Hawai’i as well as the different crops that grow here.
Fifth bulletin of the quarterly publication of Tropical Legumes III (TL III) ...Tropical Legumes III
This is fifth bulletin of the quarterly publication of Tropical Legumes III (TL III) project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and jointly implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in close collaboration with partners in the national agricultural research systems (NARS) of target countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. TL III aims to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in drought-prone areas of the two regions through enhanced productivity and production of grain legumes.
TL III convenes its annual meeting alongside the Pan African Grain Legumes and World Cowpea Conference:Grain legumes are a key source of nitrogenrich edible seeds, providing a wide variety of high-protein products and constituting a major source of dietary protein in the diets of the poor in most parts of SSA. Their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen makes legumes excellent components within the various farming systems. Against this backdrop most developmental partners (including ICRISAT) are pushing the legume agenda forward. The TL III project, lead by ICRISAT, is built directly pon the outputs and momentum of Tropical Legumes I (TL I) and Tropical Legumes II (TL II) projects, but is strategically focused on fewer legumes (chickpea, cowpea, common bean and groundnut) and fewer geographies (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and India’s Uttar Pradesh). With the focus on firming up country work plans, the TL III community convened its first annual meeting at a very opportune time alongside the Pan African Grain Legumes and World Cowpea Conference [one of the signature events of 2016 International Year of Pulses (declared by the 68th UN General Assembly as “International Year of Pulses”)], during 28 February - 4 March, 2016. The conference was held under the theme “Sustainable grain legume systems for food, income and nutrition security in a rapidly changing environment” and thereafter TL III annual meeting provided a platform for all project implementers to review the progress made under TL III and the way forward to ensure the project achieves its desired goal.
Towards a better understanding of custodian farmers and their roles: insights...Helga Gruberg Cazon
This publication is the result of a research collaboration between Bioversity International and the Fundación para la Promoción e Investigación de Productos Andinos (PROINPA). It deals with issues regarding on-farm conservation of agrobiodiversity, which is a poorly addressed field of research in spite of its pivotal role in the maintenance of global crop diversity. Strategic actors in on-farm conservation are those farmers who, for various reasons, distinguish themselves from others by their contribution to conserving crop diversity. We call them ‘custodian famers’, even though the terminology may not be suitable to all social contexts. Understanding who these custodian farmers are, their presence over the territory, the types of crops they maintain, why and how, as well as gaining insights on the cultural, social and economic drivers behind their efforts is, for scientists, a very important step in devising effective on-farm conservation strategies and this booklet is a contribution in that direction. The open-ended interviews and participant observation methodologies provided in this study are helpful in guiding future methodological approaches and advancing our understanding of how the roles of custodian farmers can be better recognized, harnessed and supported by society. This work has been carried out in the framework of a major global UN Project supported by IFAD and the European Commission, which is focusing on the development of innovative participatory approaches for the conservation of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) on farm.
Breadfruit Research and opportunities for Future Commercial DevelopmentAI Publications
African breadfruit (Treculia africana) is a foodcrop tree with enermous potentials for domestic and industrial uses. African breadfruit seeds are highly priced product. Research studies on African breadfruit seeds are mostly basics with limited contribution of information on the commercial opportunities within breadfruit seed industry.This study evaluated the state of research, challenges and prospects of African breadfruit seed industry with the objectives of identifying commercially viable opportunities that should drive future research studies to profit researchers, seed processors and national economy. .Forty-four (44) journal papers comprising of research articles and communications on African breadfruits were randomly selected and reviewed. Other research papers in areas of economic opportunity were also consulted. Focus was on nutritioonal contributions, utilization, research direction, limitations to commercialization and opportunities of African breadfruit seeds. Results showed that research trend in breadfruit seeds is still basic with limited studies on technological advancement for mechanized seed processing, seed propagation and absence of industrial funded studies.Results showed that 13.64%, 47.73%, 18.18%,20.45% were on technology development, chemical composition assays, novel foods/sensory evaluation of formulated Novel foods and supplementation studies respectively. Some product specific machines have been developed for mechanized dehulling of African breadfruit seeds but still at the point of prototypes. These prototypes could be refined through entrepreneurial investments for enhanced efficiency .Few studies (4.05 %) were on commercialization of African breadfruits. The low awareness about the commercial profile of African breadfruit is attributable to fewer available research information on commercial profile of African breadfruit. Globally market opportunities exist for African breadfruit seed oil as domestic oil, bio-lubricants, bio fuels, whole seed meals for confectionaries and animal feedstock.African breadfruit seed flour has important diet therapy properties for the management of some physiological stress conditions. Purpose driven translational studies are expedient to exploit these opportunities. Government, research institutes, universities and entrepreneurs have critical roles for commercial advancement of the breadfruits industry.
Technical Efficiency of Cricket (A. domesticus and G. bimaculatus) Production...Premier Publishers
Technical efficiency measures the effectiveness of an enterprise given the available resources at disposal and how well it transforms these resources to get maximum output. This study therefore investigated the technical efficiency of cricket, A. domesticus and G. bimaculatus, production at JOOUST cricket farm using parametric approach. Stochastic frontier analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the farm between 2015-2017. Maximum likelihood estimates results indicated that labour, cotton wool and feed had significant effect on the technical efficiency of cricket production at 1% and 5% significant levels respectively. Species had significant positive (P<0.05) contribution to inefficiency while scale of production and experience had significant negative contribution to technical inefficiency at 5% and 1% significant level respectively. Production in the farm was characterized by decreasing returns to scale implying that labour saving technologies combined with proper feeding rates and cheap alternative to inputs such as cotton wool should be considered. In addition, production scale should be expanded to contribute to efficiency through the benefits of economies of scale. However, further research should be done on allocative efficiency to permit a rational and comprehensive economic efficiency conclusion.
First edition of the Cassava Weed Management Project newsletter also known as the Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria.
Traditional Processes of Food Fresh and Dried Fruits Production and Storage i...ijtsrd
Humans and animals have always had hard time for surviving. Their lives have been threatened on adverse ways, including the consumption of unhealthy food and in situations where food safety is not guaranteed. An example of such threaten on human life in third world countries like Afghanistan is due to the lack of awareness about healthy food, their productions, preservations, and consumptions. There are types of food which can easily get infected by fungi and those fungi are called Aflatoxin, and they are harmful to both humans and animals. Such types of harms nowadays threat the lives of Afghan citizens as they are producing types of food fresh and dry fruits that can be easily infected by Aflatoxin. This paper investigates Aflatoxin fungi and the substances that easily get infected with it and how they produce toxins in humans and animals food. The findings from the present study helps us know the harm as well as ways of preventing fungi in most Afghan fruits and can avoid eating food that are contaminated with Afalatoxin. Obaidullah Alimyar "Traditional Processes of Food (Fresh and Dried Fruits) Production and Storage in Afghanistan and Their Impact on Humans' Health" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-4 , June 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd31581.pdf Paper Url :https://www.ijtsrd.com/biological-science/biological-system/31581/traditional-processes-of-food-fresh-and-dried-fruits-production-and-storage-in-afghanistan-and-their-impact-on-humans%E2%80%99-health/obaidullah-alimyar
1. Jamie Klein
History of INTSORMIL EDIT THIS
Draft 4
August 19, 2010
“Who in the room has been trained through INTSORMIL?” Bruce Hamaker
asked’ his voice amplified by microphone to fill the large conference room.
Seventeen people raised one hand, some jokingly raised two. Some of them were
American, and some were from Burkina Faso and other countries in West Africa. It was
the first day for the INTSOMRIL West Africa meeting at the Hotel Palm Beach in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and the seventeen scientists with raised hands had either
received training or earned an academic degree because of INTSORMIL.
In its 30 years of existence, INTSORMIL has helped hundreds of other students
and scientists earn advanced degrees, helped farmers in Africa and Central America plant
and grow sorghum and other grains and program scientists have plans to continue
working toward international food security, including food sciences efforts like making
bread or beer from sorghum.
Headquartered at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s east campus,
INTSORMIL offices are surrounded by agricultural and math and sciences buildings.
Nebraska squirrels run by the building in the summer and white snow usually falls thickly
in the winter. INTSORMIL has been at UNL since 1979, when the Collaborative
Research Support Program was established.
Several INTSORMIL staff members work out of the building, like Dr. John Yohe
the program director, and Joan Frederick, the program manager. Some INTSORMIL
scientists work at UNL, but other scientists work at seven U.S. universities including
Kansas State University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Texas A&M
2. University and West Texas A&M University. Scientists at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and several countries in Central America and Africa also collaborate with
INTSORMIL.
Dr. Yohe, who has been program director for 22 years, said scientists and staff
have worked hard for the last 30 years.
In 1984, Dr. Earl Yang, the first INTSORMIL program director, retired. At that
time, INTSORMIL contacted Yohe, who worked for USAID as a project officer at the
time, and asked if he would consider moving to Nebraska to be the program’s director.
Another man came in for a few years, but by 1988 Yohe was named director.
According to its website, INTSORMIL’s vision is “to improve food security,
enhance farm income and improve economic activity in the major sorghum and pearl
millet producing countries in Africa and Central America.”
INTSORMIL also has other goals—like working and maintaining relationships
with master’s or doctorate students. The program has trained 1,152 collaborating
scientists, which include U.S. students and other students from around the world
INTSORMIL funded research has led to several success stories.
About 20 years ago in Zambia, farmers told Zambia Agricultural Research
Institute scientists (many who collaborate with INTSORMIL) about their problems with
birds in the fields, said Percy Muuka, a plant breeder with ZARI. Pesky birds would
come to their fields and peck away pearl millet grain, depleting much of the yield.
Farmers challenged ZARI scientists and plant breeders to help them find a better
way of dealing with birds. At first, plant breeders suggested farmers in the same area
plant pearl millet at the same time—this way the birds would eat a little bit of grain from
3. each field and not deplete one farmer’s yield. All the while, plant breeders were
conducting research to develop another way to control the birds, Muuka said.
This research led to the creation of a pearl millet that grows with bristles in the
panicle. Now when birds try to peck out the grain, the bristles poke their eyes. The bird
may try again, but will soon grow irritated and find something else to eat. The ZARI
scientists met the farmer’s challenge.
Yohe said Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, an agronomy professor at Purdue University and an
INTSORMIL scientist, contributed greatly to INTSORMIL’s mission with his research
on striga.
Striga is a major parasitic weed of sorghum and pearl millet in Africa, and even in
India and other parts of the world where sorghum is grown. In the late 1950s, striga also
attacked corn. There was a striga outbreak on corn in North Carolina and the area was
quarantined. Corn products couldn’t be exported in or out, Yohe said.
Ejeta’s work earned him the World Food Prize in 2009.
Other scientists, like Dr. Loyd Rooney at Texas A&M University and Bruce
Hamaker at Purdue University are working with national programs in West Africa on
processing and marketing of sorghum food products. Sorghum and pearl millet both are
traditional historic crops in Africa. Sorghum and pearl millet both have their origins in
Africa.
A section here about INTSORMIL’s budget changes over the years and how that
has affected how many countries they have done research in or where their research has
been focused. INTSORMIL is funded in five-year increments. Yohe said he and his
4. staff are anticipating INTSORMIL will be funded for another five years, from Sept.
30, 2011 to Sept. 29, 2016.
From 2006 to 2011 INTSORMIL experienced a 33 percent reduction in its
budget. But in the past year, beginning September 30 of 2009 USAID gave INSTORMIL
the ability to increase their budget, which has allowed more research in West Africa. But
with inflation, the program hasn’t been able to restore all of its previous research
endeavors.
An economic impact study done by Battelle Technology Partnership Practice :
The Business of Innovation in 2006 said, “INTSORMIL is presently having a significant
impact through projects at the pilot or individual village level—the next step must be to
roll these impacts out to regional and national scales.”
Battelle is comprised of a team of analysts and practitioners in technology-based
economic development, according to its website. They analyze and assess the impact and
direction of technology programs and services.
INTSORMIL scientists have worked in plant breeding, plant pathology,
entomology, food science and realization.
“We’ve done a lot of unique things over the years. We’ve had some really
outstanding science,” Yohe said.
INTSORMIL’s next focus is visibility. Bruce Hamaker, an INTSORMIL
coordinator for West Africa, said one of the first steps toward a more recognizable
program is making INTSORMIL’s logo prominent on INTSORMIL products—like bags
of grains or INTSORMIL-bought vehicles.
5. At the West Africa conference, scientists discussed other ways to market
INTSORMIL’s work, which included discussing a report being written for non-scientists
about INTSORMIL.
Hamaker also talked about the history of INTSORMIL in West Africa. He said
projects started in Niger and Mali in the early 1980s and training was the main
component in the two countries. The program has since grown to include germplasm
transfers, creating striga resistant sorghum lines and deep-rooted relationships between
principle investigators and their collaborators.
“That’s very unusual, I should say, for a development project to last that long,”
Hamaker said.