About me
PROFILE OF SENA DANIEL AHIABOR
Sena Daniel Ahiabor is a Sustainable Food Systems Resource Specialist or Post-Harvest Specialist, Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, Environment & Nutrition Sciences/Postharvest and Consumer Science, Tuskegee, Alabama.
He is an agronomist by profession and has the flair for problem solving and development of agricultural programs/inputs especially for Small-Scale and Limited-Resource Farmers. Sena is D.I.Y. loaded and has the passion for Creative Arts. He worked in various agricultural establishments in Small and Medium Scale in Oensingen and Niederbipp, Switzerland (Europe) and in Ghana. He also has the specialty in Arid Agriculture in Anloga, Volta Region of Ghana where farming is done along the Atlantic Ocean Coast in beach sand employing Tube Well Irrigation which was pioneered by his household for the community and beyond. He is also into Food Processing and in 2013, his Agro-Food processing company was adjudged the best Small Scale Agro-Food Processing Company by the government of Ghana. In Ghana, he had twice won research grants from the Trellis Fund Project, University of California-Davis in 2016 and 2018.
Sena left Ghana for further studies after a challenge with his company and works with Carver Integrative Sustainability Center, Tuskegee University, Alabama. He has also been developing inputs especially in value addition to harvested farm produce and small farm implements and the specialty also in building Solar Dryers, Zero Energy Cool Chamber (ZECC), etc. He currently had developed three farm inputs (Patents pending) one of which was adjudged the best D.I.Y. Small Farm Innovation Challenge, 2023 being hosted by Community Alliance with Family Farmers of California, Davis to help especially the Small-Scale and Limited-Resource Farmers worldwide in their hands washing for Good Agricultural Practice.
1. The Mobile Hands-Free or Elbow Operated Hand Wash Station (The Winning D.I.Y innovation for 2023): A collapsible, mobile, non-piped and non-sewer system Hands-Free Wash Station with water recycling for other crops irrigation. It uses less water to wash hands than the piped system ones. It is compact, less expensive to build and for outdoor and communal uses wherever hand washing is required close to people. Its use is void of cross contamination of hands during opening or closure of faucet as the arm or elbow is used instead of the hand. During manual harvesting of farm produce, it could be placed close to harvesters, and it is environmentally friendly. Other places where it is being used are close to Children's Playgrounds, placed close to RV Vans, Mobile Toilets or Toilets without Vanity Systems, entrance to church premises, Farmers Markets, Durbar Grounds etc.
2. The Multi-Purpose-Use Station: This is also a collapsible, mobile versatile station for use by Small-Scale and Limited-Resource Farmers for harvested farm produce sorting, grading, bubble washing and packaging all in one after harvesting. It is also converted as a farm bench and top washable-wall protected workshop/repair bench. It also safeguards workers health facing each other when working on it without compromising their health status during this era of the Covid-19 pandemic.
3. The Simple but effective vegetable samples grader or monitor for grading selected vegetables in the field for their desired diameters and lengths prior to harvesting or during sale by farmers or purchase by clients for desired grade(s).
4. Sena hopes to increase this list with time. He dreams of collaborating with the USDA in these his specialized fields. He is ready for collaboration especially in training people in his developed products and advising on products development worldwide. Sena takes inspiration from the ants who have no leader but know when food is available and store it against the lean season so as not to go hungry. His quote is “The future belongs to those who take good initiatives, for the they go the extra mile.”
