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Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags
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Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags
Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags (formerly known as Purdue Improved Cow-pea Storage bags) are bags developed by scientists at Purdue University to store grain and seeds. They use hermetic storage technology to reduce loss of post-harvest cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) due to bruchid infestations in West and Central Africa.
A PICS bag consists of two layers of polyethylene liners and a layer of woven polypropylene. Each layer is closed separately to create a hermetically sealed container for harvested grain. This oxygen-deprived environment kills Bruchidius atrolineatus larvae, the cow-pea weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus), and some other post-harvest pests.
The development of PICS bags began in 1987 when Professor Larry Murdock of Purdue University, along with Bean/Cow-pea CRSP, USAID, and BIFAD, sought a solution to combat orchard infestations of cow-pea harvests in Cameroon.
As of 2007, over 1.75 million PICS bags have been sold in West and Central Africa, and demonstrations of their use have been conducted in 31,000 villages. As of 2023, the project has been funded with $11.4 million (USD) by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The PICS project has evolved since its original conception. As such, the project's focus has also evolved to address the need for providing safe, cheap, and effective post-harvest storage solutions to smallholders.
Active from 2007 to 2011, this phase of the project aimed to create the ideal design for a triple-layer, hermetically sealed, commercially available cowpea storage bag. Another aim was to educate farmers and rural development groups about non-chemical cowpea storage methods and to demonstrate the most effective cowpea storage methods. The project also strove to develop a local supply chain, making them more available for rural farmers, while providing development opportunities for local businesses. This received funding of $11.4 million for 5 years.
Active from 2011 to 2014, PICS2 sought to expand the original scope of the PICS program. Its goals were to identify other agricultural commodities that suffer loss to insects and other pests during storage, test the PICS bags through collaborative projects with scientists in sub-Saharan developing nations, implement economic analyses to estimate the potential benefits of optimizing the PICS technology for specific commodities, and develop plans to disseminate the technologies for those commodities where they will provide the greatest benefit. Funding was $1.1 million for 30 months.
The third phase of the program began in April 2014, and is ongoing as of 2024. The program is currently funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation also funded the initial PICS1 and PICS2 projects. PICS3 aims to improve market access, income, and food security for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa by expanding the availability of PICS technology to reduce post-harvest storage loss.
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Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags
Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags (formerly known as Purdue Improved Cow-pea Storage bags) are bags developed by scientists at Purdue University to store grain and seeds. They use hermetic storage technology to reduce loss of post-harvest cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) due to bruchid infestations in West and Central Africa.
A PICS bag consists of two layers of polyethylene liners and a layer of woven polypropylene. Each layer is closed separately to create a hermetically sealed container for harvested grain. This oxygen-deprived environment kills Bruchidius atrolineatus larvae, the cow-pea weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus), and some other post-harvest pests.
The development of PICS bags began in 1987 when Professor Larry Murdock of Purdue University, along with Bean/Cow-pea CRSP, USAID, and BIFAD, sought a solution to combat orchard infestations of cow-pea harvests in Cameroon.
As of 2007, over 1.75 million PICS bags have been sold in West and Central Africa, and demonstrations of their use have been conducted in 31,000 villages. As of 2023, the project has been funded with $11.4 million (USD) by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The PICS project has evolved since its original conception. As such, the project's focus has also evolved to address the need for providing safe, cheap, and effective post-harvest storage solutions to smallholders.
Active from 2007 to 2011, this phase of the project aimed to create the ideal design for a triple-layer, hermetically sealed, commercially available cowpea storage bag. Another aim was to educate farmers and rural development groups about non-chemical cowpea storage methods and to demonstrate the most effective cowpea storage methods. The project also strove to develop a local supply chain, making them more available for rural farmers, while providing development opportunities for local businesses. This received funding of $11.4 million for 5 years.
Active from 2011 to 2014, PICS2 sought to expand the original scope of the PICS program. Its goals were to identify other agricultural commodities that suffer loss to insects and other pests during storage, test the PICS bags through collaborative projects with scientists in sub-Saharan developing nations, implement economic analyses to estimate the potential benefits of optimizing the PICS technology for specific commodities, and develop plans to disseminate the technologies for those commodities where they will provide the greatest benefit. Funding was $1.1 million for 30 months.
The third phase of the program began in April 2014, and is ongoing as of 2024. The program is currently funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation also funded the initial PICS1 and PICS2 projects. PICS3 aims to improve market access, income, and food security for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa by expanding the availability of PICS technology to reduce post-harvest storage loss.