Post-Harvest Losses: NSPRI Delivers 1,000 Hermetic Drums to Borno State

The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) says it has delivered no fewer than 1,000 hermetic drums to smallholder farmers in Borno to reduce the burden of post-harvest losses. NSPRI said the gesture would as well enhance the source of livelihood of the farmers and ensure food security and sustainability. Prof. Lateef Sanni, Executive Director of NSPRI, disclosed this to the Newsmen at the second Post-harvest Connect Conference and Exhibition and National Cassava Conference in Abuja.

Prof. Sanni noted that the Institute had a lot of interventions on post-harvest losses including tomato crate, hermetic drums and NSPRI Dust (a non-chemical solution). He identified the Institute’s overall mandate as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of post-harvest handling and storage of agricultural commodities, thereby enhancing food security and reducing losses. “We have quite a lot of interventions that people do not know, like tomato crate for instance, which took us almost one and half decade to get it right.“NSPRI Dust a non-chemical solutions for storage, hermetic drums and we just delivered one thousand of that to Borno State for smallholder farmers,” he said.

According to him, there are quite a lot of solutions from other Research Institutions. “What we are trying to do now is how we can harmonise and gather everything to be able to scale up post-harvest solutions,” he said. Prof. Sanni identified post-harvest solutions as a responsibility of all and sundry. He said the organisation was working with all the agricultural development agencies in each state. According to him, new players are coming on board, like private extension agents that can also reach the grassroots apart from the state agricultural programme. He identified private sector as key in addressing the nation’s huge post-harvest challenge, urging private players to come on board with their technology.

NSPRI, a Federal Government Institute, has the mandate of conducting research into post-harvest handling and storage problems of agricultural commodities to reduce losses and improve food security. It develops and fabricates post-harvest handling equipment and storage structures to enhance the quality and safety of agricultural produce. It also disseminates research findings and technologies to farmers, industrialists, produce handlers and inspectors.