**3. Methods and technologies for the conservation of agricultural products**

The Burkinabe government's efforts to promote agriculture that can stem food insecurity have earned the support of agricultural research to solve the problems that plague the sector. Thus, results of the research include not only the implementation of cultural methods but also crop conservation techniques to reduce postharvest losses and ensure availability of products. However, to cope with the problem of crop losses, the actors concerned use various techniques both traditional and modern to overcome the difficulties. Of a general nature, the drying of the harvests is a known practice but applies only according to the products. For cereals such as maize, millet, sorghum, and rice, farmers opt for exposure to the sun processing and the use of inert matter (ash and limestone) and repellent plants for their conservation [15].

Modern methods of conservation to reduce postharvest losses use products such as chemical insecticides (chlorpyrifos-methyl, pirimiphos-methyl, bioresmethrin, and deltamethrin) [16]. The transformation of certain products by drying from existing innovations such as solar drying equipment and storage warehouses makes it possible to preserve these products.

Among the conservation technologies, we find in the villages the granary that can store large quantities of crops. Designed from local materials such as animal dung straw, the attic is still used in rural areas to keep crops. For fruits and vegetables such as potato and onion, many producers use bags made from local materials such as straw. There is also the use of hangar and roofs and even houses to keep crops. Other technologies have been developed by local innovators. The innovators in Burkina Faso are mostly professionals (women and men) in the private sector working in workshops, small- and medium-sized industries, or small- and medium-sized enterprises, where they design, produce, and market new technologies. The main technological innovations for onion and potato conservation are the Klimax Z multipurpose fresh loft and the Tilgr-Baore storage box. The next section describes these two conservation innovations of agricultural products.

#### **3.1 The Klimax Z multifunctional attic**

The innovation Klimax Z still called the cool attic is a multipurpose solar cold room. **Figure 2** shows this innovation.

**53**

*Local Techniques for Crop Conservation in Burkina Faso: Analysis of the Valorization Status…*

This storage infrastructure is designed and promoted by a young Burkinabe innovator. For its innovation, it benefits at the national level from the support of the Ministries of Scientific Research Energy, Youth Training and Professional

. It comes

The Klimax Z innovation has a capacity ranging from 6 to 60 m3

**3.2 The box of conservation of the onion and the potato: the Tilgr-Baore**

The Tilgr-Baore innovation is more specific to onion and potato conservation unlike Klimax Z, which takes into account a wider range of products. The glimpse of

The Tilgr-Baore box is a technology designed by a producer in the northern region of Burkina Faso. The designer of this technology is the head of an association ATPOY (Association Tickwende Yatenga Onion Producers) with the financial support from the Office of Cooperation Switzerland (BUCO) and GEDES-Burkina (the General Services a private consulting and engineering company). This innovation makes it possible to dramatically reduce the losses associated with traditional storage. It is a significant opportunity to overcome the problems associated with the conservation of onion and potato. The Tilgr-Baore storage box has a storage capacity of 7–10 tonnes and preserves the product for about 1 year. This innovation is made with local building materials (mainly straw) compared to cement storage warehouses. This makes the Tilgr-Baore box more accessible to onion and potato

in two forms: the positive cold room (2–15°C) for the conservation of fruits vegetables and milk and the negative cold room (up to −10°C) for preservation of fish and other commodities. With a lifespan of at least 15 years, its cost of realization varies between 6 and 12 million CFA francs according to the minimal

The Klimax Z can be installed in the markets for sellers of fruit and vegetables, meats, and fish, or it can be installed in the production sites (farm plots). This innovation can be exploited both in rural and urban areas. The exploitation of Klimax Z can be individual or collective. Associations or groups of actors such as producers and sellers in the markets can exploit it by proceeding by renting Klimax Z storage lockers. The shelf life of the potato lasts up to 9 months. In 2016 the Klimax Z was patented by the African Industrial Property Organization (OAPI) by PV Patent No.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85179*

Integration, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

*The Klimax Z. Source: The promoter, 2018.*

17824 PV No. 1201600096 of January 22, 2016.

this innovation is presented in **Figure 3**.

and large formats.

**Figure 2.**

*Local Techniques for Crop Conservation in Burkina Faso: Analysis of the Valorization Status… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85179*

**Figure 2.** *The Klimax Z. Source: The promoter, 2018.*

*Agricultural Economics - Current Issues*

ficiency of local production [13].

it possible to preserve these products.

**3.1 The Klimax Z multifunctional attic**

room. **Figure 2** shows this innovation.

**products**

the market is supplied irregularly, which has a significant impact on prices. The price of the kilogram of the potato drops sharply in times of plenty (150–200 FCFA/ kg in February–March). A few months later, there is a rapid rise in price when the product becomes rare (between 500 and 700 FCFA/kg). At this point, it is the importation (from Mali and Europe) that intervenes to compensate for the insuf-

The analysis of the onion and potato market pattern indicates that these two vegetable crops have identical production cycles. Almost all production is put on the market at harvest to avoid the losses that could result from poor conservation of products. Postharvest losses are highly dependent on the technologies used for storage and conservation. The example of the onion indicates that losses can reach up to 50% when production is not stored in any infrastructure [14]. The proportion of losses due to storage greatly reduces the profit margin of agricultural producers. The need to improve conservation techniques and the choice of appropriate structures is essential for the actors in the sector. However, what are the methods and technolo-

gies for the conservation of agricultural products in Burkina Faso?

**3. Methods and technologies for the conservation of agricultural** 

The Burkinabe government's efforts to promote agriculture that can stem food insecurity have earned the support of agricultural research to solve the problems that plague the sector. Thus, results of the research include not only the implementation of cultural methods but also crop conservation techniques to reduce postharvest losses and ensure availability of products. However, to cope with the problem of crop losses, the actors concerned use various techniques both traditional and modern to overcome the difficulties. Of a general nature, the drying of the harvests is a known practice but applies only according to the products. For cereals such as maize, millet, sorghum, and rice, farmers opt for exposure to the sun processing and the use of inert matter (ash and limestone) and repellent plants for their conservation [15]. Modern methods of conservation to reduce postharvest losses use products such as chemical insecticides (chlorpyrifos-methyl, pirimiphos-methyl, bioresmethrin, and deltamethrin) [16]. The transformation of certain products by drying from existing innovations such as solar drying equipment and storage warehouses makes

Among the conservation technologies, we find in the villages the granary that can store large quantities of crops. Designed from local materials such as animal dung straw, the attic is still used in rural areas to keep crops. For fruits and vegetables such as potato and onion, many producers use bags made from local materials such as straw. There is also the use of hangar and roofs and even houses to keep crops. Other technologies have been developed by local innovators. The innovators in Burkina Faso are mostly professionals (women and men) in the private sector working in workshops, small- and medium-sized industries, or small- and medium-sized enterprises, where they design, produce, and market new technologies. The main technological innovations for onion and potato conservation are the Klimax Z multipurpose fresh loft and the Tilgr-Baore storage box. The next section

The innovation Klimax Z still called the cool attic is a multipurpose solar cold

describes these two conservation innovations of agricultural products.

**52**

This storage infrastructure is designed and promoted by a young Burkinabe innovator. For its innovation, it benefits at the national level from the support of the Ministries of Scientific Research Energy, Youth Training and Professional Integration, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Klimax Z innovation has a capacity ranging from 6 to 60 m3 . It comes in two forms: the positive cold room (2–15°C) for the conservation of fruits vegetables and milk and the negative cold room (up to −10°C) for preservation of fish and other commodities. With a lifespan of at least 15 years, its cost of realization varies between 6 and 12 million CFA francs according to the minimal and large formats.

The Klimax Z can be installed in the markets for sellers of fruit and vegetables, meats, and fish, or it can be installed in the production sites (farm plots). This innovation can be exploited both in rural and urban areas. The exploitation of Klimax Z can be individual or collective. Associations or groups of actors such as producers and sellers in the markets can exploit it by proceeding by renting Klimax Z storage lockers. The shelf life of the potato lasts up to 9 months. In 2016 the Klimax Z was patented by the African Industrial Property Organization (OAPI) by PV Patent No. 17824 PV No. 1201600096 of January 22, 2016.

## **3.2 The box of conservation of the onion and the potato: the Tilgr-Baore**

The Tilgr-Baore innovation is more specific to onion and potato conservation unlike Klimax Z, which takes into account a wider range of products. The glimpse of this innovation is presented in **Figure 3**.

The Tilgr-Baore box is a technology designed by a producer in the northern region of Burkina Faso. The designer of this technology is the head of an association ATPOY (Association Tickwende Yatenga Onion Producers) with the financial support from the Office of Cooperation Switzerland (BUCO) and GEDES-Burkina (the General Services a private consulting and engineering company). This innovation makes it possible to dramatically reduce the losses associated with traditional storage. It is a significant opportunity to overcome the problems associated with the conservation of onion and potato. The Tilgr-Baore storage box has a storage capacity of 7–10 tonnes and preserves the product for about 1 year. This innovation is made with local building materials (mainly straw) compared to cement storage warehouses. This makes the Tilgr-Baore box more accessible to onion and potato

**Figure 3.** *Presentation of Tilgr-Baore. Source: The promoter, 2018.*

producers in rural areas. It keeps up to 98% of production. The cost of making this innovation amounts to 1 million CFA francs. Given this cost, the exploitation in association or in a group of both producers and sellers is recommended [14].
