PICS 2

Overview

(2011 – 2014)The Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS2) project carries out research to explore the usefulness and value of PICS triple bags for controlling storage insect pests of other crops including maize, sorghum, wheat, rice, peanut, common bean, hibiscus seed, mung bean, pigeon pea and bambara groundnut. In addition, PICS bag are being evaluated to determine whether they maintain the viability of the seed for planting and if they minimize mold growth and accumulation of mycotoxins. If PICS bags prove technically effective for other crops they must also be economically feasible and thus likely to achieve widespread adoption and impact. Economic research under PICS2 will assess the cost-effectiveness of PICS triple-layer bags for promising crops. Preliminary economic analyses will be also conducted to estimate the benefits of the technology compared to returns on other storage options and to other investments available in rural areas.The PICS2 project aims to:

1. Identify agricultural commodities or other food products that suffer losses to insects during storage in developing nations for which PICS technology – in the current or modified form – might serve to prevent losses, reduce insecticide use, and add value.
2. Test the technology through collaborative projects with scientists in developing nations, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.
3. Implement economic analyses to estimate the benefits that might accrue if the technology were optimized for the commodity in question and manufactured and adopted.
4. Develop plans to disseminate the technology for those commodities where effectiveness and economic feasibility are evident.

Dissemination will focus on grains, grain legumes, oilseeds and other crop products shown to have high potential to benefit from PICS technology. Potential agribusiness partners will include agricultural input suppliers, sack vendors, millers, food processors and grain traders. Extension partners will include NGOs, national extension services, women’s groups and farmer associations.

Team Members

Management Team

• Dieudonné Baributsa, PICS2 Principal Investigator, Purdue University
• Larry Murdock, PICS2 Co-Principal Investigator, Purdue University
• Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer, PICS2 Co-Principal Investigator, Purdue University
• Heather Fabriès, Program Manager, Purdue University

Entomology and Plant Pathology Researchers

• Larry Murdock, Purdue University, Indiana, USA
• Ibrahim Baoua, INRAN, Maradi, Niger
• Hippolyte Affognon, ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya
• Hari Sudini, ICRISAT, India
• Trust Kasambala, Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi
• Dieudonne Baributsa, Purdue University, Indiana, USA
• Kerstin Hell, Consultant, IITA, Cotonou, Benin
• Charlie Woloshuk, Purdue University, USA
• Scott Williams, Purdue University, USA

Economics Researchers

• Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, Purdue University, Indiana, USA
• Corinne Alexander, Purdue University, Indiana, USA
• Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer, Purdue University, Indiana, USA
• Bokar Moussa, INRAN, Maradi, Niger
• Tahirou Abdoulaye, IITA, Nigeria

Our Partners

USA

• Gates Foundation
• Purdue University
• Department of Entomology
• Department of Agricultural Economics
• Department of Botany & Plant Pathology

West and Central Africa

• Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), Niger
• Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), Sénégal
• Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), Mali
• Seed companies (Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali)
• Grain traders and Farmers
• IITA, Nigeria

East Africa and Southern Africa

• International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Kenya
• Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi
• Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya
• Makerere University, Uganda
• Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique

Asia

• The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) India

Private & Development Partners

Tanzania

• Pee Pee Tanzania Lmt. – PPTL
• Manufacturer/distributor of PICS bags
• National Agricultural Research Institute – NARI
• Lake Zone Agricultural Research Development Institute – LZARDI

Uganda

• Luuka Plastics – Plastic Manufacturer
• Cooperative League of USA – CLUSA
• Uganda Martyr University

Ethiopia

• Summit – SePco – Plastic Manufacturer
• Sasakawa Global 2000 Ethiopia

Malawi

• Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural Resources – LUANAR
• (formerly Bunda College of Agriculture)
• Polypack Plastics – Manufacturer/distributor of PICS bags
• Catholic Relief Services

Zambia

• Polyethylene Products – Manufacturer/distributor of PICS bags
• Catholic Relief Services
• World Food Program – WFP
• Zasaka

Kenya

• Bell Industries Ltd – Distributor of PICS bags
• Caritas Meru
• Caritas Eldoret
• Sorghum Value Chain Development Consortium – SVCDC

Rwanda

• Ecoplastic Ltd – Manufacturer/distributor of PICS bags
• One Acre Fund – TUBURA
• Catholic Relief Services
• Central Institute of Tropical Agriculture – CIAT/N2 Africa

Afghanistan

• Shindland Plastics – Manufacturer of PICS bags
• Noor Brothers – Distributors
• Afghan Agricultural Extension Program Project – AAEP

Nepal

NAF Seed Pvt. Ltd – Distributor of PICS bags

See PICS2 Map