Adaptation of BAU-STR Dryer for Postharvest Loss Reduction and Livelihood Improvement of Underserved Communities

Project Information

Title of Project: Adaptation of BAU-STR Dryer for Postharvest Loss Reduction and Livelihood Improvement of Underserved Communities

Sector: Agriculture & Food Security

Country: USA, Bangladesh

Lead Institution: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Co-PI Institution: Bangladesh Agricultural University

Partner(s): Unnayan Shahojogy Team (UST), NGO

Final Budget: $150,000

Project Length: 1 year

Research Objective:
Postharvest food loss and waste (FLW) is one of the key challenges in global agri-food, with potential effects on food security, natural resources, and human health. Insufficient drying facility is one of the predominant drivers for postharvest FLW. The socially disadvantaged, those with limited resources, and small-scale farmers in underserved developing and developed countries cannot access expensive drying technologies i.e., advanced mechanical/industrial dryers, and are mainly dependent on sun drying methods. It is essential to introduce appropriate and cost-effective drying technology to underserved communities for improving their livelihood by reducing postharvest FLW and increasing income. The BAU-STR grain dryer that was developed at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), under the Feed the Future and USAID-funded “Post-Harvest Loss Reduction Innovation Lab-Bangladesh” project is cost-effective and proven women-friendly mechanical batch dryer. This proposed research aimed to adapt the BAU-STR dryer to the solution of postharvest FLW reduction and thus mitigate the impact of FLW on the livelihoods of underserved communities.

Project Description:
The project activities involved dryer construction, field test, techno-economic study, community-level training and demonstrations, gender inclusion, local and regional workshops, training of trainers, journal and extension articles, and professional programs. A convergent mixed methods research design will be used to collect, analyze, and interpret the data for a broad understanding of the adaptation of the BAU-STR dryer to separate and mixed groups in underserved communities. The expected direct results that will be achieved immediately after implementing the project activities are cost-effective and gender-friendly mechanical drying system appropriate for men and women in underserved communities, scientific publications, extension and outreach materials, technical and training manuals, gender-based technology profile, hands-on experience, and experiential learning of students, etc.

The project outcomes will help to i) bridge the knowledge gap on postharvest practices among underserved communities, increase the leadership and decision-making skills for sustainable agricultural skills and solutions, and enhance the skills of researchers, scientists, extension workers, and students in agricultural technologies; ii) apply the improved fundamental or applied knowledge, and increase the application of appropriate and cost-effective drying technology among underserved communities; iii) reduce postharvest FLW, increased agricultural productivity, and livelihood of underserved communities, and provide appropriate and less expensive agricultural practices; iv) develop curriculum and lab facilities of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) Agricultural Engineering program.

Embedded Research Translation Product: BAU-STR dryer, field demonstration, dryer training workshop, One webinar (as a closing event), New course

Embedded Research Translation Audience: Socially disadvantaged farmers, agricultural professionals, extension and farm service agencies, faculty, students, private sector agricultural machinery manufacturer, business entrepreneur

Outputs: The project outputs intended are a completed FGD interview questionnaire/checklist, a standard operating procedure for the BAU-STR dryer, a techno-economic performance feasibility report of the dryer, a training module for users and trainers, extension bulletins and conference posters, Scientific publications, reports/theses, etc.