INPhO - News - Brèves - Noticias (2000)

06 October 1999

• Redesign

  The homepage of the "Programa Regional de Postcosecha" in Nicaragua has been up-dated and redesigned. In the left part of the first page you find a navigation area which guides you through the subjects of the page. Topics as "Ventajas del silo", "Cómo llevar el silo a su país", "Documentos" and "Medioteca" can be found there. Also all issues of the journal "Al Grano" are available as fulltext.

09 September 1999

• FAO press release

  Have a look at the latest FAO press release concerning post-harvest topics and the formation of PhAction, the global post-harvest forum.

• Australian Processed Food and Beverage Industry

  At this site you can find a large number of export/import statics, market prices but also processing and food safety information of the asian pacific region. Visit the Australian Processed Food and Beverage Industry to have direct links to the statics but also click your way back to the homepage of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia for more general information.

26 August 1999

• Redesigned INPhO Link Database

  As of today you find a redesigned version of the INPhO Link Database in the web. The Link Database is collaborative approach of many FAO groups and allows access to INPhO links but also links from other FAO projects can be searched.

  If you have any ideas, suggestions or you experience any problems with the new Link Database please let us now.

• Finally under control:

  the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus no longer is a threat to maize farmers in the subtropical regions of West Africa. The first worldwide success in biological control of a post-harvest pest, the larger grain borer, was achieved in the Republic of Benin and in Togo by its natural enemy, the predatory beetle Teretriosoma nigrescens. A research project in the framework of GTZ's Post-Harvest System Approach proved that T. nigrescens is highly efficient in suppressing P. truncatus populations both in grain stores and in the pest's natural habitat. This document by Heinrich Schneider, PhD, presents * results of a three-year monitoring period of predator and prey * insight into immigration and colonization behaviour of P. truncatus and T. nigrescens * the limits of effective prey control: the predadtor-prey system of P. truncatus and T. nigrescens. The document "Impact Assessment of T. nigrescens" is available as a pdf file on the homepage of the University of Hannover.

• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
  Position Announcement

  Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Fellow
  Markets and Structural Studies Division
  (Ref. 99-120)

  The Markets and Structural Studies Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is seeking an economist to work as either a Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Fellow, depending on qualifications. The incumbent will work on a new research program in Policies to increase income and reduce poverty through postharvest activities and agrofood based rural industrialization. This is a two year, fixed-term, renewable appointment which is contingent upon the award of two Vietnam projects.

  Responsibilities: Under the guidance of the program leader, the Fellow will be involved in methodology development for analysis of policy options related to improvement of postharvest systems and agrofood based rural industrialization. Moreover, the successful candidate will be involved in country studies including: a) an analysis of postharvest systems and agroindustry detailing the organization of marketing, the institutions involved, the employment and income levels of different groups of the population involved in these activities, and the linkages with trade, prices, and technology; b) an analysis of alternative policy options to accelerate income growth of the rural poor through improved postharvest system and agroindustry activities; and c) a synthesis of the country studies, general conclusions and implications for other countries. The fellow will assist with other research activities such as design and implementation of market, enterprise, and household surveys; the preparation and timely submission of project proposals, progress and summary reports; author or co-author research reports, articles, and books; and supervise research support staff. In addition to research activities, the successful candidate will also be involved in outreach activities, including capacity building and training of policy researchers and analysts in developing countries and sharing results through workshops, conferences and publications.

  Requirements: Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Development Studies or a related discipline; research experience in postharvest systems, agrofood processing, and rural industrialization in developing countries; familiarity with applied economic modeling and econometrics; survey work experience; willingness to travel and be outposted to foreign countries for short-term assignments (1-3) months; ability to prioritize work and handle multiple tasks under tight guidelines; demonstrated team-playerattitude; and excellent communication skills.

  Preferred Requirements: Previous experience in Asia

  IFPRI offers a stimulating, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits. Please send a detailed letter of interest summarizing the relevance of your experience to IFPRI's needs, curriculum vitae, and the names of at least three references to: IFPRI, Human Resource Services, Ref: 99-120, 2033 K St., NW,
  Washington, DC 20006, USA. Fax (202) 467-4439. Email: A.Howard@cgiar.org. Position will remain open until a qualified candidate is identified.

  IFPRI is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. IFPRI therefore encourages female and developing country professionals to apply.

  IFPRI is one of the international agricultural research institutes organized under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The mandate of IFPRI is to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting world food needs in ways that conserve the natural resource base, with particular emphasis on low income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. Contact our web site at www.ifpri.org for more information.

28 July 1999

• Summer literature

  Just in time for the summer INPhO provides you with a lot of new literature. You can find about 30 new documents in 3 languages and from several institution in the Virtual Library.

14 July 1999

• Launching of a global post-harvest forum:

  A new global post-harvest forum was officially launched on 25th June 1999 at the Natural Resources Institute headquarters, Chatham, UK. PhAction was established through discussions between members of the Group for Assistance on Systems relating to Grain After harvest (GASGA) and five International Agricultural Research Centres*.

  The role of the new forum will be to raise the profile of post-harvest research and development and accomplish greater impact in the post-harvest sector. This will be achieved through the development and delivery of innovative post-harvest systems in collaboration with a range of public and private sector partners, in developing countries. By fostering better links between farmers and markets PhAction will enhance rural livelihoods and secure access to safe food supplies for all.

  The forum seeks to expand the level of representation by including major regional research bodies, key NGOs, agribusiness centres and entrepreneurs to gain a more global membership and include partners with a range of skills that are required to meet the post-harvest challenges into the next millennium.

  For further details contact Rick Hodges or Albert Bell at the PhAction secretariat. Forthcoming information and announcements will be released through the INPhO website http://www.fao.org/inpho/ and through a dedicated PhAction newsletter, which will be published in September 1999. To receive this newsletter contact s.ferris@imul.com.

  * GASGA members include the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Centre de Co-operation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Deutsche Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and Natural Resources Institute (NRI).

  * International Agricultural Research Centre members include Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), International Potato Centre (CIP), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

• Trends in Post-Production Technology
  Find the presentation "Trends in Post-Production Technology" held by Mr. Morton Satin, Service Chief Agro-Industries and Post-harvest Management Service, FAO, during the "Seminar on Appropriate Post-Harvest Technologies for Horticultural Crops" in the Virtual Library.

6 July 1999

• Small Grants Fund - Third Call for Proposals
  The International Development Research Centre, IDRC, is pleased to announce the third call for proposals to be submitted for consideration for financing from the Small Grants Fund of the Global Collaborative Post-Production Research Network.
  The Small Grants Fund provides seed money aimed at developing prefeasibility or exploratory research that strengthen linkages of appropriate organizations in developing countries with a range of advanced research organizations, development agencies, and industrial companies.
  Please have a look at the offical call, the guidelines and format for presentation of proposals.

4 June 1999

• New in the Virtual Library
  The GTZ publications "La protection intégrée des denrées stockées est une affaire rentable!" and "Gender-Orientation in the Post-Harvest Sector - Pointers for Identifying Gender-Specific Aspects in the Post-Harvest Sector" (english, french, german) are included in the Virtual Library.
  Both publications give decision making support in the field of post-harvest systems.
• Also find the GASGA Bulletin d'Information No 21 now in french.
• GASGA Executive Seminar 10:
  CGIAR Post-harvest Research and GASGA: Working for effective post-harvest Systems
  (In the page of contents click on the chapter you wish to read)
• Asian and Pacific Centre for transfer of Technology (APCTT)
  APCTT promotes transfer of technology to and from small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and the Pacific. APCTT undertakes consultancy assignments in various technology transfer related areas (institution building, human resources development, studies, business partnership development).
• Ministerio de Agricultura, Peru
  Go to "Estadisticas Agrarias" to find yearly, monthly and even daily marketprices! Besides this you find detailed information on planting and harvesting of all important peruvian crops.
  Also a list of publications of the ministry can be found on the website.
  All in all this is a well organized and useful site.
• Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) Peru
  ITDG trata de proveer soluciones prácticas y productivas a la población rural y urbana de escasos recursos, mediante la implementación de proyectos que incluyen la ejecución de obras, la provisión de información, asesoría técnica, entrenamiento y capacitación. En el Perú, trabaja a través de sus Programas de Agro-Procesamiento, Desastres, Energía, Riego y Vivienda, y las Areas de Investigaciones y Comunicaciones.
• Instituto de Desarrollo Agroindustrial (indda)
  at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru
  El Instituto de Desarrollo Agroindustrial es el organismo a través del que la Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina se vincula con los sectores Productivos, Agroindustriales y Exportadores del Perú; asesorando y promoviendo su desarrollo mediante la investigación, aplicándola en sus más diversos niveles, contando con la infraestructura física así como capacidad humana y tecnológica necesarias, además del apoyo de organismos nacionales e internacionales, que ven al INDDA como un Instituto integrador que logra una efectiva cooperación técnica hacia todo el sector Agroindustrial.
  MISION: Desarrollar y fomentar la agroindustria en el Perú.

10 May 1999

• For Entomologists who work on (Beetles) and others who are interested in Insects, Beetle collecting, Wildlife and Nature: you can find a great collection of information at http://www.coleoptera.org/. The information is not particularly well structured but it is following the Coleoptera as a topic quite strict, so you might find some exciting bits in there.

26 March 1999

• The INPhO Cookbook - Processing for Profit
  The INPhO cookbook is online !!!
  In this collection you can find almost 800 recipes for the traditional preparation of local produce. They are searchable by countries and regions, dish types, preparation time and keywords. It also provides a help including weight calculator, abbreviation explainations and several conversion tables. At this point we want to thank everybody who contributed to the cookbook.
• The publication Utilising root crops, which is stored in the INPhO virtual library is now also available dynamic version.
  
• GASGA Newsletter No.22
  some of the topics are
  • GASGA meeting in Rome
  • Food security training in Southern Africa
  • Grain storage management for the tropics on your PC - a new concept in training from the Natural Resources Institute
  • Replacing methyl bromide in developing countries - the GTZ approach
• New Agriculturist
  The new edition (99-1) of "New Agriculturist" is now on-line.
  It includes
  • Debate: 'GMOs';
  • Perspective: Ethnoveterinary medicine;
  • Focus on: 'Nuclear agriculture'
  as well as the latest News, book reviews, courses and conferences.
• The International Postharvest Email List
  is an e-mail list of about 450 postharvest people (predominantly researchers) from around the world. The discussion is on pertinent postharvest topics, questions, conference anouncements, job offers etc. When you email the list (postharvest@marc.cri.nz), your email goes out to all who are subscribed. This is a rapid mean of contacting a wide range of postharvest personel and is thus excellent for international anouncements.
  The language of the list is English.
  It is administered by Dr Allan Woolf of the Postharvest group of HortResearch, New Zealand (a Goverment Research Institute).
  For information on URL and subsciption please send an to postharvest@marc.cri.nz or AWoolf@hort.cri.nz
• Programa Regional de Postcosecha
  is a development cooperation programme operating in Central America which is reducing post-harvest losses in basic foodstuffs, such as maize, beans, rice and sorghum, through the use of appropriate storage technology. The objective is that small-and-medium scale producer families always have good quality grains available for consumption and possible sale. According to studies carried out by the programme, post-harvest losses range between 10 and 20 percent and their reduction is seen, therefore, as a way to combat poverty.
  Visit the project's homepage.
• ITC Matchmaking for Exporters and Importers on fresh fruit and vegetables
  Both websites, Marketplace and MarketAG, are supported by the International Trade Center (ITC).
  • Marketplace is asking its users (Importer) to register for free whether Exporter have to pay a fee to include their data. At this stage there is only a few data included (main focus on Africa and Asia) but it is a promising concept. It provides an extremly userfriendly and comprehensive presentation.
  • MarketAg is following the concept of linking www-available information in a well structured way. For this reason they have a lot of information available shortly after their launch. The presentation is easy to understand and to follow. You can add your website on-line in their link list.

17 February 1999

• Two more full-text documents are available in the Virtual Library:
• The impact of postharvest research
• Integrated Management of the Larger Grain Borer

14 January 1999

• The Third Joint FAO/WHO/UNEP International Conference on Mytcotoxins Conference will be held in Tunis, Tunisia, 3 - 6 March 1999
• The Rockefeller Foundation provides the Directory of Selected African Research Networks .
• The NF-2000 (Non-Food Network) website Database is now available without restriction. All password protection has been removed. Everybody can register and will receive regular information about NF-2000 activities, publications and updates to the website.
• The CIGR-FAO Global Network on Agricultural Engineering is opened. It is a joint activity of the International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR) and the Agricultural Engineering Branch (AGSE) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The network consists of six e-mail discussion groups corresponding to the six sections of CIGR. The global network has a controlled subscription, the listowner is AGSE of FAO. Each single list in the network is moderated by the chairperson of the respective section or a moderator appointed by him/her. With this step we hope to guarantee the quality of the lists and stimulate the professional discussions. The 3 e-mail discussion groups of the CIGR-FAO Global Network which are most relevant for the post harvest sector are:
  • CGIR-FAO-Build-L: CIGR-FAO Global network discussion group on optimization and design of animal, crop and horticulural buildings and related equipment.
  • CGIR-FAO-ProcQual-L: CIGR-FAO Global network discussion group on physical properties of raw (food and non-food) materials and processing technologies.
  • CGIR-FAO-SystMngm-L: CIGR-FAO Global network discussion group on farm management, working methods and systems.
  The other groups can be found at: FAO Email Conferences
• Announcement: March 8th-12th, 1999
  Florida Postharvest Horticulture Institute and Industry Tour
  Institute - March 8th - Reitz Union, University of Florida, Gainesville
  Industry Tour - March 9th - 12th, 1999 - Statewide
  Costs: Institute $80 Tour $200 (before Feb. 21st)
  ( Institute - Fee includes a reference notebook & luncheon)
  (Tour - Transportation is included, but meals and hotels are extra)
  The Postharvest Institute will feature leading experts presenting the latest practical information for maintaining postharvest quality of fruit (tropical and subtropical), vegetables and ornamental crops destined for domestic and export markets. The Postharvest Industry Tour will provide an opportunity to experience first-hand the latest technologies for handling and shipping of subtropical and tropical fruits, warm and cool season vegetables and ornamental crops. For more information contact
  Steve Sargent ( 352) 392-1928 ext. 215 sasa@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu
  Abbie Fox (352) 392-1928 ext. 235 ajfox@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu