Project assistance completion report : UAF/GRTSM [University of Agriculture, Faisalabad/Grain Research, Training and Storage Management (Cell)] project activities, July - August, 1994

The UAF opened a Personal Ledger Account for GRTSM Cell activities into which Rs. 200,000 of the required Rs. 500,000 was placed; appointed eight professional staffers; and renovated the building, including grain storage research laboratories, which houses the Cell. The laboratories now serve as the Cell's training and research center. In addition, the GRTSM Cell initiated a biannual publication of the "Grain Storage Management Newsletter;" a two-semester diploma course in Grain Storage Management, which was completed by nine students and covered the theoretical and practical aspects of grain storage management; one-day workshops for the Punjab Food Department staff working in the Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, and Sahiwal districts and the Gujranwala division to demonstrate techniques of fumigation under polyethylene cover, and to discuss problems related insect pests, rodent pests, and fumigation techniques, and the magnitude of storage losses; and three workshops, in collaboration with the National Rural Support Program, for 60 male and female farmers to apprise them about insect pests and preservation methods of their domestic wheat stocks. A number of research projects are in progress and cover: monitoring the resistance of stored grain insect pests to phosphine and grain protectants; ecology of grain storage losses; comparative studies on traditional and supervised fumigation; determination of phosphine dosage for effective insect control under polyethylene cover; physical quality of grain and insect management in Bini Shell; the physical characteristics of wheat in Punjab; comparative assessment of different storage structures; economics of bulk handling of wheat; and qualitative and quantitative evaluation of Aflatoxin in stored wheat samples. Unfortunately, the GRTSM was not able to organize any of the three planned annual seminars or carry out bulk grain handling operations (USAID equipment was temporarily housed in the workshop of the Farm Machinery Department). However, efforts are being made at UAF's Post Graduate Research Station to establish a field laboratory for bulk handling and storage of food grain and for training in bulk handling operations. The following lessons were learned. (1) When a new course oriented toward a specific technology is to be introduced in a university, it could be managed properly by a separate cell established by the university. (2) Short-term financial assistance provided to a university should be used for training and short-term research rather than for long-term research, results of which may not be available until after the project is completed. (3) The outreach training program is useful for addressing the problems faced by the grain handling agencies since it demonstrates the results of research related to the problem. (4) The UAF was unable to utilize the bulk grain handling equipment for training because it possessed neither sufficient food grain nor large enough bulk storage facilities.