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ProjectPalm Dates Value Chain Development in Egypt - TCP/EGY/3603 2020
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No results found.Egypt’s varying climatic zones make it the perfect countryfor growing different varieties of dates. Date palms cantolerate arid conditions and require a relatively smallamount of water, making them an ideal crop for this areaof the world. Dates are a crucial part of the local diet inEgypt, and date by-products, such as bars, blocks, syrupsand pastes, are processed in factories and sold for localconsumption. For these reasons, the date palm tree isexpected to maintain a dominant place in Egyptianagriculture in the future.Despite being ranked the top date producing country inthe world, Egypt’s export contribution to the internationaldate market is low. Food safety issues and a lack ofinternational quality standards (e.g. size, appearance,colour, texture and freedom from defects) contribute toEgypt’s low date exports. Other problems that occurduring growth and post-harvest (e.g. sunburn, skinseparation, sugar migration and fermentation) along withdifficulty managing the Red Palm Weevil (RPW), a majorpest for date palms, are other factors that negativelyimpact Egypt’s date exports. This project sought to buildthe capacity of actors across the value chain through aseries of training sessions for date growers, collectors,traders, packers and processors. It also established a pestmanagement programme for RPW. -
Book (stand-alone)Spirulina: a livehood and a business venture 2011
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No results found.Spirulina is a micro-algae and as such has been growing naturally in our environment for millions of years, it is a tough plant able to withstand harsh growing conditions, in fact the micro-algae cell never really dies it goes dormant when weather conditions are not favourable, and as soon as these change and the environment is once again suitable for growth, spirulina begins growing and reproducing again. Naturally growing spirulina can be found in high alkaline lakes and in general it is said that where flamingos are, spirulina is sure to be found. The Mexicans where the first to discover its wonderful health properties and in the 16th Century the Aztecs around Lake Texcoco were known to feature it on their dinner tables. In the 1940’s a French phycologist discovered spirulina to be growing in Africa; Lake Chad and the lakes of the Rift Valley in Eastern Africa were the main areas where spirulina thrived. The Kenembus tribe of Chad harvest the algae from the lake and dry it in the su n in a cake shape form, which is locally called “dihe”. This is sold to the markets and has become a staple diet for some of the communities living around Lake Chad. In a study on the correlation between poverty and malnutrition 10 countries were taken as examples. Of those 10 countries 9 were found to have a direct link between poverty and malnutrition – Chad was the only country that was poor but had no malnutrition. Modern day technology allows us to grow spirulina in man-made machines called Photo Bio-Reactors (PBR) – these machines are ideal to grow the algae in conditions where the natural habitat would otherwise not permit the cell to normally grow. Although briefly mentioned in this study PBRs are not ideal to grow and harvest spirulina in the ESA-IO region for primarily two reasons. Firstly the initial start-up costs are too high – and although most PBRs promise high yields in micro-algae production in reality only some are able to achieve those promises. Secondly most of the region is favourable to spirulina growth without the use of expensive machines and it can be cultured and harvested fairly easily in man-made basins and ponds. Spirulina is a highly nutritious natural substance, which has in recent years gained, once again, interest in both developing and developed countries. It is very in high protein content; yields 20 times more protein per acre than soybeans, 40 times more than corn, and over 200 times more than beef make it an ideal food supplement for ever yone. More awareness needs to be raised so that people understand what spirulina can do, its high protein, vitamin, mineral and micro-nutrient properties are good for both the ill (HIV/AIDS), malnourished children and infants and for the health conscious. In some cases spirulina has been incorrectly marketed as a medicine giving people, particularly the ill, false hope – in fact spirulina is a food supplement whose main benefit is the boosting of the immune system. -
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