Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags

The development of PICS bags began in 1987 when Professor Larry Murdock of Purdue University, along with Bean/Cow-pea CRSP, USAID, As of 2007, over 1.75 million PICS bags have been sold in West and Central Africa, ==Objectives==

The PICS project has evolved since its original conception. As such, the project's focus has also evolved to address the need for providing safe, cheap, and effective post-harvest storage solutions to smallholders. PICS1 (Purdue Improved Cow-pea Storage) Active from 2007 to 2011, this phase of the project aimed to create the ideal design for a triple-layer, hermetically sealed, commercially available cowpea storage bag. Another aim was to educate farmers and rural development groups about non-chemical cowpea storage methods and to demonstrate the most effective cowpea storage methods. The project also strove to develop a local supply chain, making them more available for rural farmers, while providing development opportunities for local businesses. This received funding of $11.4 million for 5 years. PICS2 (Purdue Improved Crop Storage) Active from 2011 to 2014, PICS2 sought to expand the original scope of the PICS program. Its goals were to identify other agricultural commodities that suffer loss to insects and other pests during storage, test the PICS bags through collaborative projects with scientists in sub-Saharan developing nations, implement economic analyses to estimate the potential benefits of optimizing the PICS technology for specific commodities, and develop plans to disseminate the technologies for those commodities where they will provide the greatest benefit. PICS3 aims to improve market access, income, and food security for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa by expanding the availability of PICS technology to reduce post-harvest storage loss. ==Use==

This project was first developed in Cameroon, but it has since spread to 23 nations in Africa and Asia. This method creates an airtight environment and seals any insects present in the crop inside the bag. These insects briefly continue to consume oxygen, but as oxygen levels in the bags drop, and CO2 concentrations rise, the insects stop feeding and quickly die, thereby protecting the crop from further damage. Recent studies have shown that bruchids sealed in PICS bags do not die from asphyxiation, but rather from dehydration. This subfamily of Chrysomelidae has the ability to produce water through their own metabolism. However, this process requires oxygen, so when oxygen levels in PICS bags decrease, the orchids lose the ability to produce water and die of dehydration. ==Advantages==

PICS bags can assist smallholders in a few ways. They are an insecticide-free, relatively cheap method of storing cow-peas and other grains. Studies have demonstrated that PICS can be used multiple times for several years without quality loss. Additionally, the storage allows communities to create food reserves during the post-harvest season. Even after several months of storage in PICS bags, the quality of the grain does not decrease. ==Economic development==

The PICS project aims to increase the incomes of smallholder producers. With widespread adoption of PICS bags, global savings of cow-pea harvests were predicted to be worth $500 million USD annually. The additional income provided through the use of PICS bags is expected to allow smallholder producers to invest in their own farming practices and local communities, thereby stimulating local development. ==Disadvantages==

Some disadvantages of this technology are that PICS bags are prone to being stolen and therefore need to be protected. While PICS bags protect cow-peas against damage caused by insects, they do not provide a barrier against intrusion and mechanical damage by mice, rats, or other animals. The environmental impact of PICS bags also remains unstudied. ==Practical information==

To increase the effectiveness of PICS bag technology, the following suggestions should be considered: As studies show, PICS bags work not only by depriving bruchids of oxygen, but also by dehydrating their environment. Therefore, it has been suggested that this technology could be improved by finding additional methods of lowering the moisture content within sealed bags quickly, to facilitate quicker dehydration of pests and insects. Since PICS bags do not provide protection from mice, rats, or other larger animals, any Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) aiming to increase their use should ensure that farmers are taught to store their cowpea harvest in an environment as free of these exterior threats as possible. There is also potential for PICS bags to be improved through the use of an additional barrier that cannot be punctured by animals. Other projects competing with PICS bags to prevent insect-induced post-harvest grain losses are other forms of hermetically sealed containers, such as the Grain-pro bag. An alternative hermetic method of protecting the crop is to store grain inside sealed steel drums. ==References==