AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES
In the agricultural industries sector, AGSI’s activities focus on economic insects, fibres of plant and animal origin; hides and skins; waste management; the production and use of appropriate and cost-effective supplies of renewable energy, industrial water resources and disabled people. Activities which promote employment and income generation in the agricultural industries sector of communities are promoted by the Service. Training courses, roundtable meetings and workshops are conducted to facilitate development in the agricultural industries sector of member countries, and supporting materials in the form of technical bulletins, training manuals, and publications prepared by the Service, are used for information dissemination
ECONOMIC INSECTS
Apiculture and sericulture are agro-industries which provide great promise for income-generating activities in developing countries.
Apiculture- Apiculture is an important area of agro-industry for the production of honey and other by-products and for environmental protection. It is an income-generating activity which provides farmers with pollinators for agricultural crop production and forestation.
AGSI has been involved in executing more than 40 projects in 35 countries in order to assist FAO's member countries in apiculture development. Specific areas of work include bee management, the varroa mite and its diseases, and honey processing. TCP projects on apiculture development are currently being conducted in Uganda, Argentina, India, Iraq, the Philippines, Syria, and Paraguay.
Varroa mite and its related diseases have posed major obstacles to apiculture development in these developing countries. AGSI is currently in the process of developing a global integrated strategy through a newwork to be established within the framework of FAO.
The Service is also actively involved in conducting
various training courses at the field level through field projects (UNDP, TCP
and Trust Fund projects) and has published several training manuals. Slides
and demonstration videos are utilized in training and have been distributed
for training in over 50 countries. (Click
here for a publication listing on apiculture)
(Click here for
a case study on beekeeping for small enterprise development)
Sericulture- is now emerging as one of the most promising agro-industries for income generation, and for improving the living conditions of small farmers in the rural areas of developing countries.
Over the past ten years, AGSI has been involved in executing more than 20 projects geared toward sericulture development in 15 countries. FAO/UNDP TCP projects on sericulture development are currently underway in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, the Phillipines, Thailand and the Ivory Coast.
The Service is also actively involved in conducting training and has published a number of training manuals in collaboration with institutions working on the subject. Plans are currently underway for the publication of a manual on Silk Reeling and Testing (further details in a future update). Slides and demonstrative videos are utilised in training and have been distributed for training in over twenty countries.
In order to keep abreast of the increasing interest of developing countries in sericulture development, AGSI has established a global sericulture development strategy, designed to support sericulture development in member countries. (Click here for a publication listing on sericulture)
FIBRES OF PLANT AND ANIMAL ORIGIN
The processing of fibres into woven materials can be found throughout the world, wherever crops and animals are farmed. AGSI has been involved with the development of fibre industries over many years, and has recently provided technical assistance to a regional project in India and in Sri Lanka to improve the processing technologies available for coir production - with bleaching, softening, dyeing, printing and drying. Funded by the Common Fund for Commodities and implemented by national counterpart Organisations in both countries, the project is scheduled to be completed in mid-1998.
A workshop on ‘Wet Processing of Coir Fibres’ was held in India in 1997, with more than 120 participants. Proceedings of the workshop are currently in preparation (more details in a future update). Upon the request of the Federal Government of Nigeria, a new project will consider the rehabilitation of kenaf production in Nigeria.
A recently published bulletin ‘Harvesting of Textile Animal Fibres’ describes fibres production from some of the more unusual animals (yak, camel and alpaca) that are reared for their meat, milk, fibres or energy. The bulletin also provides an up-date on sheep shearing technology. (Click here for a publication listing on fibres of plant and animal origin)
HIDES AND SKINS
Hides and skins from domestic livestock are among the most valuable agricultural products to enter international trade. Markets for finished leather products are largely fashion dependent.
AGSI has enjoyed regular contact with industrial developments in the hides and skins sector over the years. The Organisation making full use of the expertise available from centres of international repute, such as the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai India. Training at the CLRI was conducted in 1997 on behalf of an FAO-funded project currently underway in Ethiopia, to determine the effect of treatment of the skin diseases of goats on leather quality.
The recently published AGSI Bulletin ‘Hides and Skins for the Tanning Industry’ describes the technologies required to maximise value to the producer.
(Click here for a publication listing on hides and skins)
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Considerable opportunities exist for the profitable recycling, processing and re-use of agricultural and agro-industrial wastes. Activities which reduce the levels of waste, enhance opportunities for waste recycling and reuse, promote novel uses for waste, and which may assist communities with employment and income generation are encouraged by the Service.
Agricultural Waste- Date production and processing is a major industry in many countries of the Middle East. Six countries of that Region contribute to more than 70% of world date production. These countries however fail to take advantage of the downstream industries that can be developed to utilize the bye-products of date processing. A 1997 publication Prospects of Date Palm By-Products & Residues Utilisation in the Near East Region describes the outcome of a study undertaken to encourage private sector interest in the industries that can be exploited for waste and residues utilisation.
A recent study undertaken by a contractor in Turkey has identified the use of agricultural residues as a source of industrial raw materials and produced a text that may be published later in the year in the form of an AGSI bulletin (more details in a future update). An AGSI bulletin on agro-industrial/agricultural wastes in Myanmar, is currently in preparation (further details in a future update).
Urban Waste - The Service has participated in city cleaning programmes, provided information to enable urban food and fuel producers to make further use of urban waste within their agricultural programmes, and assisted with peri-urban agro-industries, sanitary and water planning. Current work underway includes the preparation of an AGSI bulletin on the use of market waste from Kirillipone Market in Colombo Sri Lanka as a source of energy. The text of this document is based on techniques developed by the National Research & Development Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka (more details in a future update).
(Click here for a publication listing on waste management)
RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS
The sustainability of human development is based on the sustainability of the energy systems that are introduced and exploited. All developments within the context of the agro-industries systems with which AGSI is involved are based on the use of appropriate and cost-effective supplies of energy.
Biomass and Alternative Technologies- The Service has an active role in the provision of information and hardware for the use of solar-, wind- and water- powered energy sources. All activities relevant to renewable energy technologies are undertaken in conjunction with the FAO Energy Group - an ad hoc grouping of Services within the Organisation that monitors the energy sector.
AGSI undertook a mission on behalf of the OECD Paris, to explore the potential for the use of renewable fuel in Hungary. This mission identified significant opportunities for biomass and geothermal investment. Findings of this mission are published in the IEA bulletin ‘Energy Policies - Hungary - 1994 Survey.’
Bio-Hydrogen- Innovation during recent years - and particularly since the oil supply crises of the late 1970s - has highlighted numerous promising areas of development for the production of sustainable energy sources into the next millenium. The production of hydrogen by photosynthetic microorganisms is considered to be one of the more promising and sustainable biological means of producing this cleanly combustible fuel.
An AGSI bulletin entitled Renewable Biological Systems for Alternative Sustainable Energy Production is currently in press.
Micro-Algae- Microalgae comprise a vast group of photosynthetic, heterotrophic organisms which have an extraordinary potential for cultivation as energy crops. These organisms are of particular interest in the development of future renewable energy scenarios. Certain microalgae are effective in the production of hydrogen and oxygen through the process of biophotolysis while others naturally manufacture hydrocarbons which are suitable for direct use as high-energy liquid fuels. The AGSI document entitled Microalgae describes microalgalculture for the production of hydrocarbons suitable for use as high-energy liquid fuels.
Biogas- AGSI has worked with a number of projects involving biogas over the years and produced a number of publications on the subject.
(Click here for a publication listing on renewable energy)
INDUSTRIAL WATER RESOURCES
Most agro-industrial activities requires substantial amounts of fresh water for cooling, cleaning, transformation/processing and for the removal of industrial waste. After use the water is normally returned to the natural water cycle, but it is often contaminated with organic and/inorganic materials which can be a source of pollution and a substantial risk to public health.
Preparation of a bulletin describing the interdependence of the four main components of the waste water sector, viz. agro-industries, water supplies, public health and sector linkages, and the way in which these components impact upon the communities involved with development opportunities, competition for potable water, urbanisation, employment and income generation is currently underway (more details in a future update).
AGRO-INDUSTRIES AND DISABLED PEOPLE
There is virtually no information available on the relative numbers of disabled people in rural populations and the constraints faced by them within their communities, notwithstanding the effort made by domestic governments and NGOs and bi-lateral and international donor organisations in recent times to identify the people involved and their level of need.
AGSI participates fully within an ad hoc Disabled Peoples Group within the Organisation, and currently has a programme geared toward enhancing the employment of disabled people in rural food industries. The focus will be on "post-production".
A Round Table meeting organised by the Organisation in Bangkok during 1997, focused attention on the Disabled People, in support of the Asia & Pacific Decade of Disabled People 1993-2002. Proceedings of the meeting have been published (Click here for more information).
Four country ‘Case Studies’ covering Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam & Thailand have also been prepared. An AGSI bulletin entitled ‘Agro-Industries & Disabled People’ is currently in press (more details in a future update).