Abstract: Millions of smallholder farmers in low-income countries are highly vulnerable to food-supply shocks, and reducing this vulnerability remains challenging in view of climatic changes. Restrictions to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic produced a severe supply-side shock in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, including through frictions in agricultural markets. We use a large-scale field experiment to examine the effects of improved on farm storage on household food security dur...
Abstract: Increased demand for animal protein has motivated the search for more efficient livestock production systems. In recent years, there has been growing interest to incorporate insect meal as an alternative source of protein to fish/soybean meal in chicken feed for improved nutrition, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits. Black soldier fly larval (BSFL)-based feeds has been shown to increase egg production in a cost-effective manner. However, poultry consumers perception toward...
Abstract: This work demonstrates how an integrated approach can be used for controlling Larger Grain Borer (Prostephanus truncatus) in maize (Zea mays L.) using solar disinfestation followed by hermetic storage in Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags. PICS bags work by sealing grains in an airtight environment for long-term pest-free storage. In order to provide safe food with no inputs of chemical pesticides, the combination of solar disinfestation and the PICS bagging is likely to be a...