Canada-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) have announced to support three new projects to improve food security in developing countries.
Supported by the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), the projects are designed to prevent livestock diseases and post-harvest fruit losses.
The projects are based on the research conducted during CIFSRF's first phase. The funding will facilitate developing new technologies for small-holder farmers.
IDRC president Jean Lebel said: "With these innovations, farmers will be able to better feed themselves and supply more nutritious food to consumers in developing countries.
"At the same time, we are identifying the most effective ways of taking these food security solutions and achieving large-scale impacts with them."
Researchers from the University of Guelph, Canada, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India, and the Industrial Technical Institute, Sri Lanka, have found that hexanal delays the ripening of mangos.
The team will develop hexanal-impregnated packaging and biowax coatings, to improve the resilience of fruits during handling and shipping as well as expand research to include other fruits.
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, have identified new proteins which can be used in vaccine to protect cattle from pneumonia.
A team backed by CIFSRF has developed a new vaccine to protect livestock from deadly diseases and will conduct field trials of the vaccine. The team will work on a vaccine against African swine fever.
CIFSRF is a $124m fund designed to increase food security in developing countries through research in agricultural innovation and nutrition, and collaborations between researchers and Canadian experts.
Image: Researchers from the University of Guelph, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and the Industrial Technical Institute have shown that hexanal delays the ripening of mangos. Photo: courtesy of kongsky / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
