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Notes to broadcasters: Post-harvest storage

Farm Radio Weekly produced Notes to broadcasters on granaries in issue #145 (September 2011). You can access it here: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2011/02/21/notes-to-broadcasters-on-granaries/ [1]

FRW has also produced Notes to broadcasters on the Tethere silo and preventing post-harvest losses. Published in issue #120 (July 2010), these can be read at this link: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2010/07/19/notes-to-broadcasters-on-the-tethere-silo-and-preventing-post-harvest-losses/ [2]

For farmers, growing and harvesting a crop is only half the battle. Depending on the crop, a there can be several steps a farmer must complete before selling it, including processing, storage, transport and marketing. Each step can pose challenges for farmers, and result in the loss of some or much of the crop. Read more in Farm Radio Resource Pack #79 (November 2006) at this address: http://www.farmradio.org/radio-resource-packs/package-79/ [3]

More scripts on post-harvest handling and storage are available:

Farmer uses good yam storage practices and improves his life was Script of the week in February 2011 and can be read here: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2011/02/07/farmer-uses-good-yam-storage-practices-and-improves-his-life/ [4].

Powder of Little Pepper Protects Stored Rice [5] is available in resource pack #81 (August 2007) via this link: http://www.farmradio.org/radio-resource-packs/package-81/ [6], as is A Local Plant Prevents Pest Damage to Stored Seeds [7].

Protect Stored Grain from Beetle Damage [8] is available in Farm Radio Resource Pack #72: Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Farmers (September 2004) and can be accessed at this address: http://www.farmradio.org/radio-resource-packs/package-72-integrated-pest-management-strategies-for-farmers/ [9].

A script from FRRP #89 (December 2009), Story ideas on crop storage and climate change [10], can be read here: http://www.farmradio.org/radio-resource-packs/package-89/story-ideas-on-crop-storage-and-climate-change/ [10].

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has produced several informative manuals on post-harvest practices. These include African experience in the improvement of post-harvest techniques (1998), which can be read here: http://www.fao.org/docrep/w1544e/W1544E00.htm#Contents [11]; Grain storage techniques: Evolution and trends in developing countries (1994), which is available here: http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1838e/T1838E00.htm#Contents [11]; and Prevention of post-harvest food losses: fruits, vegetables and root crops a training manual (1989), which you can download through this link: http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0073e/t0073e00.htm [12]. FAO’s very useful Post-harvest Compendium is available here: http://www.fao.org/inpho/inpho-post-harvest-compendium/en/ [13]

A more recent work by The World Bank, Missing Food: The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa (2011), is available here: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTARD/Resources/MissingFoods10_web.pdf [14]; and you can browse the 150-page Staple Foods Storage Handbook (USAID, 2011) at this address: http://www.acdivoca.org/site/Lookup/StorageHandbook/$file/StorageHandbook.pdf [15].

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) works to make grain storage more accessible to resource-poor farmers in Africa and Central America. Metal silos lock out maize pests in Africa can be read here (http://www.cimmyt.org/en/news-and-updates/item/metal-silos-lock-out-maize-pests-in-africa [16]), and there is more information on CIMMYT’s website at: http://www.cimmyt.org/en/ [17]

How do your listeners store their harvests? Are they forced to sell their crops at harvest time, or can they store them until the price is right? Why not interview farmers to find out? You may discover hidden local knowledge on how to store crops without suffering damaging losses.