Grain Harvest and Post-Harvest Efficiency Project

More grains with quality. 
Project Information sheet Nº 4
 
July 2005

The National Institute for Farming Technology (INTA) has launched the National Project for Developing and Disseminating Technology to Increase Harvest and Post-Harvest Efficiency and Improve the Quality of Cereal Grains and Oilseeds (PRECOP), which implements research, experimentation and extension activities at a national level in all aspects connected with grain harvesting and post-harvest, with the aim of improving the quantity and quality of their production.

In addition, before the end of the decade, an increase in grain production is expected that could reach 90-100 million tons, which would accentuate the already existing deficit in harvesters, trucks and storage facilities in the country.

Faced with this situation, certain standards that are fundamental in harvest and post-harvest grain handling are seen not being applied appropriately, and this produces a loss of approximately US$1,458 million.

A series of fundamental technical recommendations are therefore proposed to increase efficiency in grain handling, both in harvesting and post-harvest, to reduce losses both in quantity and in quality.

The project is aimed at farmers, agro-industries and rural business people, explaining suitable techniques for making processes more efficient in the different areas of production in which they work. The project covers the Soybeans, Maize, Wheat, Sunflower and Sorghum crops, together with the three other important regional crops of Peanuts, Rice and Beans, without ignoring other crops.

It grew out of demands from the countryside to the institution, motivated by the value of the losses in grain harvesting and post-harvest in Argentina. This Project also aims to respond to means of industrial production that increasingly require quality raw material to transform it into quality foodstuffs.

• All the experimental stations taking part work in Soybeans, Maize, Wheat, Sunflower and Grain Sorghum

• EEA Salta: Responsible for bean cultivation.

• EEA Concepción del Uruguay: Responsible for rice cultivation.

• EEA Manfredi: Responsible for peanut cultivation.

The technology transfer will be based on a strategy of mass communication and dissemination of the technology proposed, throughout the country, by means of first level technicians and regional communicators, distributed in the 14 INTA Experimental Stations, coordinated by the Executive Unit (EEA Manfredi).
 

In Argentina, of every 100 kg of grain ready to be harvested in the main extensive grains, an average value of approximately 13 kg (quantity and quality), are lost for various factors. This loss represents, for the country, a total of US$1,458 million/year of which we aim to recover more than US$290 million/year. In this context, INTA's task is to maintain permanent links between the different actors involved in this subject, generating information and training by use of all possible resources until an appropriate change in technology is achieved. It is also necessary to evolve from grain exporting, to the export of foods with value added. Argentina has the right conditions to develop an agrifoods industry, highly competitive in quality and costs. It is important at this time to speed up this change so that we can significantly increase the inflow of currency and the employment of labor.

 
Crop losses

Coordination: National Institute for Farming Technology. 
Manfredi Farming Experimental Station. 
Tel.: 03572 493039/493058/53/61. 
Ruta Nacional Nº 9, km 636. (5988). Manfredi, Córdoba.