Back in the 1980s Larry Murdock traveled to Cameroon and realized something shocking. Their grain was suffering tremendous losses due to insects called weevils. That’s when he came up with the idea of PICS, or Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags.

11/19/2015

The triple-bag technology created at Purdue University to help African smallholder farmers store their crops after harvest also enabled farmers in Sierra Leone to protect their seeds when the Ebola outbreak disrupted agricultural markets.

11/17/2015

Lagos — Sometimes the best solutions can appear to be so simple that it's hard to imagine why they weren't invented centuries ago. Take the so-called PICS bags, big plastic storage sacks made of triple-lined plastic that can hold up to 90 kilograms of cowpeas or other farm produce.

11/2/2015

A seminar to highlight the health benefit and cost effectiveness of using chemical free grain storage bags was held on Tuesday by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for farmers, traders and other stakeholders.

9/23/2015

Professor Joan Fulton of the Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business has called on farmers to adopt appropriate means to store their grains after harvest to reduce post-harvest losses and improve food security.

8/26/2015

Effective storage of grains such as maize, beans, cowpea, groundnuts and rice has always been a major challenge to smallholder farmers, not only in the country, but the rest of Africa. Grains are mostly destroyed by pests and insects within three months of storage due to the lack of proper storage methods for farmers and food dealers.

8/24/2015

Purdue's Distinguished Professor of Entomology, Larry Murdock, has traveled to Africa 60 times to help farmers deal with pest control issues. Today's video and story features his most recent trip, a 10-day tour of Burkina Faso.

8/15/2015

Based in Kenya, AflaSTOP is investigating storage devices that will prevent the growth of aflatoxin-producing mold during storage and exploring drying technologies that will help farmers reduce grain moisture from current levels at 15-18 percent to a safer 13.5 percent.

8/11/2015

Farmer groups in various communities in the districts of Kailahun, Kenema, Koinadugu and Kambia have expressed a need for the new seed Purdue Improved Crop (PICS) bags for secure storage of seeds and grain.

06/24/2015

I wish all of my friends could experience this event which is organized by my friend Dr. Clementine Dabire to enhance the lives of women in Burkina Faso by helping them to store and otherwise benefit from better food.

05/02/2015

Last year, Tanzania had exciting news: a bumper harvest of corn. But even as farmers were celebrating — corn is a staple eaten at almost every meal — much of the crop had already been spoiled, having grown moldy or been infested by insects and rodents.

05/01/2015