Fighting Asia's postharvest problems

If you’re a rice farmer anywhere in Asia, you are likely to experience high postharvest grain losses. Total losses from harvest to market can reach 30–50% in value, which means that, conservatively, farmers are losing around US$30 per ton of rice harvested. For an average four-member farming family, an additional $30 can go a long way.

Studies by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have found that postharvest losses occur mainly because of spoilage and wastage at the farm level, delay in drying, poor storage, poorly maintained or outdated rice mills, and losses to pests throughout the postharvest chain. These losses result in lower quality rice for consumption or sale, smaller returns to farmers, higher prices for consumers, and greater pressure on the environment as farmers try to compensate by growing more rice.

The PPWG
With the urgent need to solve postharvest problems in developing countries, the Postproduction Work Group (PPWG) was formed in 2003 under the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium’s (IRRC) Phase II. By the end of the first year, the PPWG established partnerships with stakeholders from the public and private sectors in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Now, with the IRRC in its third phase, the PPWG continues to pursue its objectives of increasing farmers’ incomes through improved postharvest management and technology, and building a network of trained postharvest researchers and extension workers, including stakeholders from the private sector. We showcase below some of the benefits arising from these activities.

Safe seed storage with the Super Bag
Farmers in Palembang, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia, can attest that the IRRI Super Bag is an inanimate superhero in its own right. Typically, farmers store three bags of seeds with 70 kilograms (kg) each for their own fields. The hot, humid conditions cause the germination ability of farmers’ seeds to drop quickly. When they finally use the seeds after 5–6 months of storage in their homes, often less than 50% germinate in the fields. By comparison, upon using the Super Bag for seed storage, farmers were able to maintain germination rates above 90% and reduce the amount of seeds required. The Super Bag allows cereal grains and other crops such as coffee to be stored safely for extended periods of 6–12 months. One farmer reported that he sold an additional 70 kg of seeds in the market, earning him an additional income of $9. A Super Bag costs only $1 and can be reused (as long as it is not punctured), cutting back on cost per harvest.

Lao PDR farmer shows seeds in a Super Bag inside the granary where he also stores his grains for consumption. (Photo by M. Gummert)

The PPWG now focuses on evaluating hermetic storage systems with farmers (Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar) and rice millers/traders (Vietnam, Myanmar, and Indonesia). Samples from farmers’ trials taken for milling and trials with rice millers have proven that hermetic storage also increases head rice (i.e., seed is at least 75% of premilled length) recovery significantly.

Better quality and price through mechanical dryers
One of the main culprits for quality deterioration of seeds is delayed or improper drying, especially when rice is spread in the open to dry under the sun. Mechanical dryers are the only way to assure high-quality products, especially in the wet season with frequent rains and high relative humidity.

At Nong Lam University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the PPWG trained dryer manufacturers from Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia on manufacturing and performance testing of dryer components (see Postharvest information and technology exchange: lessons learned from Vietnam in RIPPLE, Vol. 1, No. 1).

A manufacturer in Lao PDR who attended the training built low-cost, farm-level dryers that he plans to demonstrate and promote in key provinces throughout the country. In Cambodia and Vietnam, farmers’ groups and cooperatives are installing their own flat-bed dryers. Another training participant from the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association (MRPTA) produced various dryer prototypes, a low-cost dryer with a 1-ton batch capacity for the farm level, and flat-bed dryers with up to 4-ton batch capacity for the commercial sector. The MRPTA enthusiastically visits different provinces in Myanmar to demonstrate these dryers to farmers and millers (see At a glance: postharvest activities in Myanmar in RIPPLE Vol. 1, No. 3).

Mechanical dryers add cost to the drying process. To minimize drying cost, a new rice hull furnace was developed in Vietnam as an alternative to kerosene burners used in most rice dryers. The PPWG assists national partners in continuous adaptation of the drying systems to local conditions and farming systems to provide appropriate drying technology options for farmers, traders, and rice millers, and to help manufacturers produce commercially viable machines.

Decisions based on market information
Knowledge is power and, for farmers, knowledge on up-to-date market information can empower them in making informed decisions on what to produce, where to sell, and what quality grade to achieve to maximize their returns from rice harvests. Farmers’ knowledge on markets and paddy quality also puts them in a better negotiating position when they deal with local middlemen.

In a project funded by the Asian Development Bank and the IRRC, extension workers in Vietnam and Cambodia collect market information in different villages and provincial and national capitals. In four pilot villages in Vietnam and eight in Cambodia, village market boards have been put up to keep farmers informed about market information. The PPWG also collects baseline and annual data on rice markets in Lao PDR, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

Farmers in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, get the latest market information via village market boards. (Photo by M. Gummert)
 

Debut of the low-cost moisture meter
Determining moisture content is the most critical aspect in maintaining rice grain quality. Unfortunately, most commercial moisture meters are priced steeply at more than $200.

IRRI has developed a low-cost moisture meter that costs only $30 (Philippines) to $50 (Cambodia) (See Introducing the farmer-friendly moisture meter in RIPPLE, Vol. 1, No. 3). These moisture meters have been distributed by the PPWG to pilot villages in Cambodia and Vietnam, and to partners in the national agricultural research and extension systems, where farmer groups can easily share them for their postharvest management decision making.

PPWG rides high into 2007
In addition to the PPWG’s achievements, country-specific training programs have also been developed in 2006 and will continue in 2007 as the PPWG further strengthens its postharvest network to promote information exchange among countries. Training materials and postproduction e-learning courses will be translated for different countries, having started in 2006 with Vietnam and Cambodia. National outreach programs such as the Prima Tani program in Indonesia will be supported to include postproduction technologies and management options. Dissemination of market information through modern information communication technologies will be pilot-tested in some Cambodian villages.

The year 2006 proved to be a successful one for the PPWG and the IRRC, with a promise of more triumphs in 2007.

Trina Leah T. Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org) and
Martin Gummert (m.gummert@cgiar.org)

Country Outreach Programs archive