Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Potatoes for India

Article: India is a country of extremes: terrible poverty and great wealth. Millions do not have enough to eat, even though India grows enough food. The problem isn't one of poor farming but poor distribution. For instance, India's biggest crop is the potato; India is the second largest producer of potatoes in the world (after China)! The problem is that potatoes are harvested in the winter. Local farmers sell what they can and the excess are sold to distributors, who store them in cold-storage warehouses and sell them back to the local population at elevated prices later on in the year. What is a solution? 
One solution is extending the shelf life of potatoes in the hands of local farmers. Israel is doing research to help solve this problem. Perhaps Israeli solar energy technology could help: farmers could build small storerooms with solar panels to generate electricity for refrigerators and keep the storage rooms cold. A scientist in India is looking for ways to collaborate with Israel to find a solution. 
What solutions do you have? 


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