ADM Cares supports 5 projects through ADMI for 2020-21
Five postharvest loss-related research projects totaling nearly $158,000 were recently selected for funding through ADM Cares, ADM’s social investment program, which directs funds to organizations that drive meaningful social, economic, and environmental progress around the world.
All five proposals accommodate the new realities of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the way we share information and interact with each other.
- Scaling postharvest technology adoption in India through digital platforms – ADMI will partner with Grow Indigo, a digital ag platform in India, to enable last-mile adoption of better postharvest management technologies by farmers in different regions in India. This project will help retailers and farmers learn about and access postharvest technologies through online retail platforms, even when face-to-face interactions are difficult or impossible.
- Piloting durable household hermetic storage systems in Bangladesh – Hermetic storage is valuable for smallholder farmers, but plastic bags are restricted in Bangladesh. ADMI will work with Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) to train local manufacturers in production of improved metal storage bins in two different sizes. Researchers will then modify the designs based on user feedback, and share with the national ministry of agriculture and others.
- Towards improved storage capacity and practices for small- and medium-sized traders: Delivering quality soybean in Ghana – The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) plans to develop a grain and seed handling training manual, online course and training workshop for soybean traders in northern Ghana. SIL will also conduct a gender assessment to understand how gender affects local storage constraints and practices. SIL will also work with the Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Losses (PHLIL) to gain information about appropriate storage and moisture measurement solutions for use in the manual, course, and workshop.
- Postharvest loss prevention training and outreach through the Postharvest Loss Experimental Training Hub at Njala University, Sierra Leone – AgReach will work with the PHL Experimental Training Hub to expand its existing programs to reach more farmers and students. Planned activities include a learning event/workshop at Njala, outreach events in local villages to reach more than 1,000 farmers, and engagement at Njala with instructors to incorporate PHL learning and experiences into the College of Agriculture and the School of Technology curricula.
- Understand and educating women farmers on Marketplace Social Sustainability Literacy in the era of climate change – The Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative will move in a new direction with social sustainability literacy for women farmers. SMI will work with personnel already in the ground in at least three countries (one each in Latin America, Africa, and Asia) to conduct interviews that inform the final educational product. The final product will also experiment with delivery through Zoom, WhatsApp or audio-only conference calls as local conditions dictate.
ADMI and our partners appreciate the ongoing support from the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and ADM Cares.
I am an assistant lecturer at Fayoum university and researcher in the economics of food losses and waste reduction in developin countries.
What should we do to participate in the following project?
Understand and educating women farmers on Marketplace Social Sustainability Literacy in the era of climate change – The Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative will move in a new direction with social sustainability literacy for women farmers. SMI will work with personnel already in the ground in at least three countries (one each in Latin America, Africa, and Asia) to conduct interviews that inform the final educational product. The final product will also experiment with delivery through Zoom, WhatsApp or audio-only conference calls as local conditions dictate.