Chapters 8.5

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8.5 - Improving grain storage to delay sales until commodity prices are high


Grant Larizza, University of Guelph, Canada

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Suggested citation for this chapter.

Larizza,G (2022) Improving grain storage to delay sales until commodity prices are high. In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org

Introduction

Improving storage, specifically in regards to grains, is absolutely essential to increase profits for smallholder farmers. Poor storage causes decay in the grain, which means the product must be sold before this occurs or later at a lower quality. Either of these options means that a farmer has to sell their grain at a lower price. The focus of this chapter will be on how improved grain storage can be adopted and can help farmers to sell when commodity prices are high. This will be accomplished through a critical analysis of different storage methods as well as practical links to get started.

How Improved Grain Storage Can Be Adopted by Smallholder Farmers

Grain is susceptible to different kinds of insects such as the grain borer, maize weevil, and red flour beetle (Dowell et al., 2017). These are common pests that can infiltrate storage areas for grain and eat the harvest. Grain losses due to these pests are very high in developing countries and therefore need to be addressed using viable solutions. One of the most effective methods of improving grain storage in order to combat these insects is through controlling the atmosphere around grain (Dowell et al., 2017). This means lowering the oxygen or raising the carbon dioxide levels within the storage areas (Dowell et al., 2017). These conditions are met within the hermetic technologies discussed below.

Increasing carbon dioxide levels is relatively simple. It can be accomplished by adding composting materials into the grain storage area (Dowell et al., 2017). The decaying compost will raise the carbon dioxide levels so that insect activity is either reduced or nearly stopped altogether due to the death of the pests (Dowell et al., 2017).

Creating a low oxygen, air-tight (hermetic) environment is another method that can be effective at stopping different pests. This can be accomplished with glass jars, metal containers, Ziploc bags or even plastic bags (Dowell et al., 2017). In terms of effectiveness, glass jars and metal containers rank the highest among the items listed above (Dowell et al., 2017). Another strong option is the GrainPro grain storage bag. These are vacuum sealed bags that protect from insect infestation as well as maintain the quality of its contents (www.Grainpro.com). These are much more effective than Ziploc or plastic bags and have a relatively low cost (Dowell et al., 2017). Similarly, Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bags are also highly effective at preventing insects as well as keeping the quality of grain high. These bags will retain the quality of its contents as well as resist against disease (Sudini et al., 2015). Toxin accumulation is noted to be significantly lower in PICS over its cloth counterpart (Sudini etal., 2015).

Another viable option is the use of treated bags or bed nets to stop pests before they enter the grain area. Treated bed nets are readily available online and are an effective method at stopping insects from entering grain storage. The most effective way of using these bed nets is as a netting over top of an existing container filled with grain (Dowell et al., 2017). A study has shown that after one month, there were zero insects found within the grain (Dowell et al., 2017).

How Improved Grain Storage Helps Smallholder Farmers

While the points above demonstrate how different practices can be adopted, the other important topic to delve into is how these methods help smallholder farmers. Specifically, 50-60% of cereal grains are lost in the storage process in developing countries due to inadequacies (Kumar et al., 2017). With hermetic storage, this number can be reduced to 1-2% (Kumar et al., 2017). As well, poor storage conditions negatively affect micronutrients in the grain. All of these points demonstrate the need for better storage conditions for grain.

Aside from the positive nutrient benefits, these methods aid farmers in reaping a better profit. One of the biggest issues smallholder farmers currently face is timing in regards to selling grain. When grain storage is poor, the profit received by the farmer will be low due to grain being diseased or destroyed. Furthermore, farmers are forced to sell their grain at whatever the current market price is because they will lose too much if they attempt to wait (Luo et al., 2022). At harvest time, supply will be very large and commodity prices will drop, meaning the farmers will make much less (Luo et al., 2022). Improving grain storage means smallholder farmers can store grain until prices are high and then make the most profit (Luo et al., 2022). For example, within Canada, farmers store their grain within metallic grain silos and keep checking commodity prices until they increase enough for a good profit (Jayas et al., 2003).

Critical Analysis/ Cost-Benefit

While the points mentioned above demonstrate the benefits of improving grain storage, a critical analysis must be completed in order to evaluate the real-world application of these methods.

To begin, the method which uses composting material to increase carbon dioxide levels has zero cost due to the fact that composting materials are found readily on a farm. This can include any plant matter, from decaying leaves to banana peels. The results seem to show that this method is highly effective in terms of pest resistance and cost (Dowell et al., 2017).

Treated bed nets also seem to be an effective option considering the material is readily available within developing countries due to high insect levels affecting humans directly (Dowell et al., 2017). They can also be purchased from Alibaba.com for prices ranging of $1.98 USD - $2.30, depending on the quantity ordered (www.alibaba.com). The corresponding labour cost should be very low as all that is needed is to receive the material and cut it into bag like shapes.

Other storage methods such as glass jars or metal containers do well in terms of protecting against diseases and pests for seeds destined for replanting, but are too small to contain any significant amount of grain for food (Dowell et al., 2017). Making up for this with many containers would take up too much space as well as heavily increasing cost.

Hermetic storage bags are the other method, including GrainPro or PICS bags, are very effective due to the low oxygen conditions they create (Dowell et al., 2017). GrainPro bags are about $0.05 USD/kg and can be ordered from their website (www.grainpro.com) while PICS bags are between $2-4 USD depending on the region (Dowell et al., 2017; www.PICSnetwork.org). Notably, PICS bags are available at many dealers within Africa, and the specific locations can be found on their website (www.PICSnetwork.org). Although hermetic bags are an effective solution to improving grain storage, there have been some observed negatives. Insects can penetrate the bags from the outside which means the bags can get infested and ruin the low oxygen conditions (Dowell et al., 2017). One way to combat this is through raising the bags on pylons (www.grainpro.com). This height will stop certain pests from being able to attack the bags from ground level. Aside from insect prevention, storing grain off the ground serves other benefits. Rainwater and moisture collect on the ground which serves as a breeding area for insects (Zeigler et al., 2021). Keeping away from heavy rainwater collection areas as well as elevating the grain will help prevent the possible damages that could occur.

The economics of grain also play an important role in the selling process. Currently, maize prices have increased by 64% over the course of one year within Southern Africa (FAO, 2022). This means farmers who had to sell early, lost much of this price increase. More generally, however, grain prices are lowest at harvest and much higher late in a dry season or after planting in the subsequent rainy season; good grain storage could take advantage of such price increases. As discussed, oversupply during the harvest season causes a supply and demand imbalance (Luo et al., 2022). Being aware of this as well as commodity prices are both essential to a smallholder farmer but not always viable as markets can be far away. This is where an intermediary (e.g. friend or family member in the city) would be beneficial as they can provide a farmer with updates on market prices via SMS messages or voice calls or personal visits. The intermediary would have to be compensated so some of the profit would be diminished. Currently, farmers will sell their grain through middlemen which removes the hassle of transportation (Woodhouse et al., 2017). Overall, this is negative as a farmer will almost always be selling at a lower price if they do not know the market value.

In conclusion, these observations show the value of improving grain storage. These techniques can be implemented at a relatively low cost and will save smallholder farmers money in the long run.

Picture Based Lesson to Train Farmers

Click on the image to access a higher resolution image as well as lessons adapted for different geographic regions.

http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/9.5e.s.a.pdf (South Asia Post Harvest Instructions)

http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/9.5e.s.a.pdf (East/Southeast Asia Post Harvest Instructions)

http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/9.5subsaharan_africa_carribean.pdf (Sub-Saharan Africa/ Caribbean Post Harvest Instructions)

http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/9.5latin_america.pdf (Latin America Post Harvest Instructions)

http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/8.6n._africa_middleeast.pdf (North Africa and Middle East Post Harvest Instructions)

https://www.fao.org/3/t1838e/T1838E12.HTM (Long and Short Term Storage Methods for The Purpose of Drying)

References

1. Dowell, F. E., & Dowell, C. N. (2017). Reducing grain storage losses in developing countries. Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, 9(1), 93–100.

2. GrainPro. (n.d.). GrainPro. https://www.grainpro.com/grainpro-vacuum-bag

3. Kuyu, C. G., Tola, Y. B., Mohammed, A., Mengesh, A., & Mpagalile, J. J. (2022). Evaluation of different grain storage technologies against storage insect pests over an extended storage time. Journal of Stored Products Research, 96, 101945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2022.101945

4. Luo, Y., Huang, D., Han, Y., & Wu, L. (2022). Storage losses, market development and household maize-selling decisions in China. China Agricultural Economic Review (ahead of print) https://doi.org/10.1108/caer-10-2021-0201

5. Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS). (n.d.). PICS. https://picsnetwork.org/

6. Who Approved African 75d/100d Direct Sell Long Lasting LLIN Treated Nylon Mosquito Net Bed Canopy (n.d.). Alibaba. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/WHO-Approved-African-75D-100D Direct_1600485613553.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.7c0228c8sNNuIs

7. Ziegler, V., Paraginski, R. T., & Ferreira, C. D. (2021). Grain storage systems and effects of moisture, temperature and time on grain quality - A review. Journal of Stored Products Research, 91, 101770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101770

8. Kumar, D., & Kalita, P. (2017). Reducing Postharvest Losses during Storage of Grain Crops to Strengthen Food Security in Developing Countries. Food Science & Technology, 6(1), 8.

9. Sudini, H., Ranga Rao, G. V., Gowda, C. L. L., Chandrika, R., Margam, V., Rathore, A., & Murdock, L. L. (2015). Purdue improved crop storage (PICS) bags for safe storage of groundnuts. Journal of Stored Products Research, 64(SI), 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2014.09.002

10. Jayas, D. S., & White, N. D. G. (2003). Storage and drying of grain in Canada: low cost approaches. Food Control, 14(4), 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0956-7135(03)00014-8

11. FAO (2022) Prices of key cereal staples continued to rise, but at a slower pace. Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome (2022, November 11). Www.fao.org. https://www.fao.org/giews/food-prices/regional-roundups/detail/en/c/1618324/

12. Woodhouse, P., Van Veldwisch, G.J., Venot, J-P., Brockinton, D., Komakech, H. and Manjichi, A. (2017) African farmer-led irrigation development: re-framing agricultural policy and investment?, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 44:1, 213-233, DOI: 10.1080/03066150.2016.1219719

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