This toolkit showcases some of the technologies scaled by the TAAT program in Benin, especially during its first phase and then in collaboration with a Sasakawa project. It features innovative solutions for rice cultivation, aquaculture, and other commodities. The toolkit highlights equipment, improved crop varieties and best practices, offering a comprehensive resource for enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability.
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Cage Culture: Dive Deep for a Sustainable Leap! Cage Systems for Fish Culturing is a method of aquaculture where fish are grown in floating cages in water bodies like lakes or rivers. The cages protect the fish, allow for controlled feeding, and make it easy to harvest the fish when they're ready. This technology is a cost-effective way to grow fish in a natural, safe, and controlled environment.
Rice-Fish System Boosts Profits, Enhances Lowland Land Use for Food Security and Prosperity The rice-fish farming system emerged as a solution to address various agricultural challenges. It was developed to counter widespread food and nutrition insecurity, the vulnerability of smallholder rice farmers to market shocks due to a lack of diversification, and environmental pollution resulting from excessive agrochemical use. This innovative approach not only enhances food and nutrition security but also boosts smallholder farmers' income through the combined sale of rice and fish. Additionally, the system promotes environmental safety by eliminating the need for agrochemicals, contributing to sustainable and resilient agricultural practices.
Local African aromatic rice The African Aromatic Rice technology helps African farmers grow special and tasty rice that people really like. This rice is in high demand, but not enough of it is grown in Africa right now. This means farmers can make more money, and Africa won't have to rely on importing this rice from other places. It's like a special secret that helps African farmers grow better rice and have a better income.
NERICA: Higher Yields, Resilience, and Profitability for African Farmers. NERICA varieties mark a pivotal shift in African agriculture. Bred by crossing native landraces with Asian rice, they deliver higher yields and robust resistance to pests and diseases compared to conventional varieties. Their innate resilience to nutrient and water limitations makes them a strategic asset for enhancing farmers' productivity and profitability while reducing reliance on staple food imports. With lowland NERICA tailored for valleys and floodplains with sporadic water stress, and upland NERICA ideal for hilltops and elevated plateaus facing more frequent challenges, this technology is reshaping farming landscapes across Sub-Saharan Africa. It empowers farmers with a reliable, high-yielding resource that not only boosts food security but also drives economic stability in the region.
Orange Sweetness, Nutrient Richness, and Farmer's Success - Embrace OFSP! Improved orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) varieties, developed for African farming, boast increased beta-carotene, virus and drought resistance, and high yields. OFSP enhances nutritional security, particularly addressing vitamin A deficiency. It is a versatile staple with applications in various products and animal feed.
High-Performance Breeding Chicken Breed The technology of "Dual-Purpose Chicken for Small-Scale Producers" addresses the limitations of indigenous chickens by introducing specialized breeds capable of both high egg production and meat yield. These improved breeds are cost-effective, disease-resistant, heat-tolerant, and efficient in converting feed. The distribution process involves companies establishing parent stock and hatchery operations, followed by the transportation of day-old chicks (DOCs) to brooder units. These specialized brooder units focus on essential care, including brooding, feeding, and proper vaccination during the initial 30-40 days of the chicks' lives. This technology allows for the wide dissemination of improved dual-purpose chicken breeds to a large number of smallholder farmers. The approach significantly enhances the survival rates of chickens by providing them with a strong start. An excellent example of this technology in action is the African Poultry Multiplication Initiative (APMI), which successfully initiated numerous brooder units in Tanzania and Nigeria. Through this initiative, millions of day-old chicks were delivered to hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers, significantly impacting poultry farming in these regions.
Empowering Aquaculture with Affordable Feeds Formulation and Pelleting of Low-Cost Feeds" plays a pivotal role in enhancing the profitability of fish farming in Sub-Saharan Africa. By locally sourcing ingredients and employing pelleting technologies, this approach significantly reduces feed costs, which typically account for 60% to 70% of a fish farmer's operating expenses. Moreover, pelleted fish feeds are more water-stable, boost nutrient transfer, and are environmentally friendly due to reduced pollution. This cost-effective and efficient method contributes to the sustainability and economic viability of aquaculture in the region.
Hapa Nets for Mass Fingerling Hatchery Production The "Hapa Nets for Mass Fingerling Hatchery Production" technology addresses the constraints faced by the aquaculture industry in Sub-Saharan Africa due to inadequate and inconsistent supply of high-quality fingerlings from improved fish breeds. Predation, uneven growth rates, and high mortality in open ponds limit aquaculture expansion. The introduction of "hapa" nets—small enclosures within ponds—serves to protect brooders, hatchlings, and juveniles from predators, ensuring better management of fish stocks. This technology allows for closer monitoring and adjustment of breeding, feeding, and aeration processes, resulting in improved fertilization rates, uniform growth, reduced mortality, and increased production of fry and fingerlings, thereby ensuring more reliable and stable returns on investment for hatcheries.
Efficient rice threshing and polishing for premium quality grains, boosting income and market access in african communities. This technology greatly improves rice processing in Sub-Saharan Africa. It uses advanced machines like motorized threshers and polishers to replace manual methods. These machines can be easily moved near the fields, reducing transportation costs and increasing processing capacity. They work precisely, getting more rice without damage. This raises the quality and value of the rice, benefiting both small and large-scale farmers. Additionally, using these machines creates job opportunities. This represents a significant step towards modernizing rice processing and improving livelihoods for farmers in the region.
Low cost storage technologies for grain Large post-harvest losses of bean occurs across Sub-Sahara Africa because of improper storage techniques resulting in pest infestation that threatens the food security and livelihoods of farmers. As a result, farmers may opt to sell their produce immediately after harvest when market prices are at their lowest as a risk avoidance strategy. Grain storage pests such as weevils (bruchids) can be controlled by physical, chemical and biological methods. Some of the physical methods include use of hermitic storage bags and containers. The hermetic storage technology for grains avoids grain damage using sealed bags that prevents movement of air and moisture. The bags preserve the quality of grains and obstruct the entry of insects and microbial organisms through depletion of oxygen levels and accumulation of carbon dioxide. These conditions prevent damage by insects like weevils, moths and mites, curb development of fungi like aflatoxin that contaminate the grain, and maintain the taste and color characteristics of food. Hermitic bags allow for storage of grain without the need to apply chemicals.
Reduce milling losses, enhance nutritional and organoleptic quality Parboiling is a process whereby rough rice is steeped in cold or warm water, heated with steam under pressure or in boiling water to gelatinize starch with minimum grain swelling, followed by slow drying. The nutritional, flavor and textural characteristics of parboiled rice are better than non-parboiled counterparts and can match the quality of imported rice making it more appealing to consumers. Traditionally, parboiling is carried out in a cast iron drum with a false bottom for soaking and steaming that is placed on a three-stone fire, which is severely expose processors to air pollution from emissions of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5). These easy-to-build systems are highly suitable for small to medium scale processors in rice growing areas of Sub-Saharan Africa that have poor energy and market infrastructures.
Boost rice yields and save on fertilizer costs through efficient nitrogen management The technology of Deep Urea Placement offers a significant solution to the challenges of nitrogen fertilizer application in Sub-Saharan Africa's rice paddies. By drilling large urea granules or briquettes into the soil, it allows for a slow release of nitrogen into the root zone of rice crops, improving nutrient uptake, soil fertility, and crop productivity. This approach not only enhances grain yield and quality but also leads to cost savings, additional income for farmers, reduced environmental nitrogen losses, and ultimately contributes to food security and reduced dependence on food imports.
Greater yield and uniformity in tilapia farming This practice focuses on cultivating all-male tilapia fingerlings, which are more profitable due to their accelerated growth rate and higher conversion of feed to flesh. This technology is crucial for aquaculture in African countries, offering benefits such as improved growth, higher yields, disease resistance, and adaptability to various environmental conditions.
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