Dr Corinne Alexander was a well-known and well-respected agricultural economist and grain marketing extension specialist at Purdue University, Indiana, USA. NRI staff who knew Corinne were shocked to hear of her sudden death in January 2016, and deeply saddened to lose such a valued collaborator and friend.
Among many other projects, Corinne had worked on the project known as ‘PICS’ – the Purdue Improved Crops Storage bags, which were developed to protect various cereal and legume grains in storage from destruction by weevils. The project included demonstrating the technology of PICS bags to millions of participating farmers in villages across West and Central Africa, where total income increased by USD 255 million over the five years of the project. PICS started with cowpea and was subsequently expanded to include other crops. Another focus was on creating new economic opportunities for local businesses through the production, distribution and sale of PICS bags.
Corinne was part of NRI’s recently-launched project entitled ‘Postharvest loss estimates and risk warnings for sub-Saharan Africa’. Known as ‘APHLIS+’, the project is a collaboration between NRI’s postharvest team including Bruno Tran, Ben Bennett, Tanya Stathers and Jan Priebe, Purdue University and other institutions. The idea behind this strategic collaboration was to bring together postharvest specialists with complementary skills, including Purdue’s economists and nutritionists and NRI’s economists and experts with specialised technical skills in postharvest loss.
Corinne was instrumental in organising an event at Purdue University in early January, which brought together 23 participants from 15 organisations from Africa, Brazil, Europe and USA to discuss the project. Her friendly manner and exceptional organisation meant that the team gelled instantly and ensured a successful, amicable meeting – laying the groundwork for true collaboration on a promising project.
Corinne’s colleagues and friends at Purdue and NRI are determined to ensure the success of this project and to continue collaborating in the postharvest loss arena in honour of Corinne’s memory. We offer our sincere condolences to her family, friends and colleagues across the world.