BDU,US Universities joint venture on postharvest

BDU: Bahir Dar University’s President along with staff from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences sat with a group of researchers from different universities in USA to discussion a project on post harvest grain loss minimization in Ethiopia.

Briefing the delegates on Bahir Dar University and its premises, the President of Bahir Dar University, Dr. Baylie Damtie, has indicated that BDU is eager to work with the team in areas of research and academic capacity building as well.

In Ethiopia, the project will be conducted in collaboration with institutions that are centers of agricultural studies. Bahir Dar University is one of the higher institutions in Ethiopia that has been chosen to partner with the project team.

The project will be conducted with the aim of revolutionizing postharvest loss management in Ethiopia based on technological identifications and surveying of four commodities.

The work of the project will also focus on promoting small scale businesses, participatory projects, capacity building, and training postgraduate students.

Proposals will be produced jointly with local universities. Other avenues of collaborations between Ethiopian and US Universities would also be explored.

USAID selected four countries in the world to invest 8.5 million USD on the project of minimizing post harvest grain loss. Ethiopia is one of the beneficiaries of the project.