Metal silo grain storage technology and household food security in Kenya

Gitonga, Zachary M.; Groote, Hugo De; Tefera, Tadele

doi:10.5897/jdae2015.0648

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Other factors strongly related to the probability of adoption of improved storage are household wealth or income (as proxied by asset index) and household size. These results are in line with finding by Gitonga et al (2015) that household size and land size (wealth) increased the likelihood of adopting the metal silo technology. Table 5 reports bivariate probit model results for modern storage and preservation methods.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Climate variability and post-harvest food loss abatement technologies: evidence from rural Tanzania

Ndiritu¹,

Ruhinduka²

2019

Stud. Agr. Econ.

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This paper focuses on improved storage and preservation technologies as an adaptation strategy in response to climate change. We also study the trade-off between improved cereal storage technologies and the preservation techniques among rural households in Tanzania. We find that climate variables significantly influence farmers' choice of improved storage technologies and preserving decisions. Using a bivariate probit model, we find that modern storage technologies and preservation measures are substitutes. Farmers can significantly reduce annual costs associated with preservation by adopting (usually long lasting) modern storage facilities.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Climate variability and post-harvest food loss abatement technologies: evidence from rural Tanzania

Ndiritu¹,

Ruhinduka²

2019

Stud. Agr. Econ.

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“…Studies in Zambia (Kankolongo, Hell, & Nawa, 2009) and Tanzania (Shabani et al, 2015) reported that smallholder farmers stored their maize grains in polypropylene bags inside the family living house. A study by Gitonga et al (2015) showed that most (60%) smallholder farmers used space in the family living house and improved granaries (17%) to store maize after harvest. Fandohan, Gnonlonfin, Marasas and Wingfield (2006) reported that in most Sub-Saharan African countries, maize is generally stored in cob form either in wooden granaries, under the roofs of farmers' houses, or on floor in houses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, application of chemical insecticides to protect grains against storage pests and other pathogens has yielded minimal results. Moreover, lack of suitable and affordable grain storage technologies often compel majority of the smallholder farmers to sell their produce immediately after harvest (Gitonga, De Groote, & Tefera, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Postharvest Practices of Maize Farmers in Kaiti District, Kenya and the Impact of Hermetic Storage on Populations of Aspergillus Spp. and Aflatoxin Contamination

Maina

Wagacha

Mwaura

et al. 2016

JFR

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Aflatoxin contamination in maize by Aspergillus spp. is a major problem causing food, income and health concerns. A study was carried out in Kaiti District in Lower Eastern Kenya to evaluate the effect of three months storage of maize in triple-layer hermetic (PICS™) bags on the population of Aspergillus spp. and levels of aflatoxin. Postharvest practices by maize farmers including time of harvesting, drying and storage methods were obtained with a questionnaire. Aspergillus spp. in soil and maize were isolated by serial dilution-plating and aflatoxin content was measured using Vicam method. Maize was mostly stored in woven polypropylene (PP) and sisal bags within granaries and living houses. Aspergillus flavus L-strain was the most predominant isolate from soil (Mean = 8.4 x10 2 CFU/g), on the harvested grain (4.1 x 10 2 CFU/g) and grain sampled after three months of storage (1.1 x 10 3 CFU/g). The type of storage bag significantly (P ≤ 0.05) influenced the population of members of Aspergillus section Flavi, with A. flavus (S and L strains) and A. parasiticus being 71% higher in PP bags than in PICS bags. Total aflatoxin in maize sampled at harvest and after three months storage ranged from <5 to 42.7 ppb with 55% lower aflatoxin content in PICS bags than in PP bags. After storage, the population of Aspergillus section Flavi was positively correlated with aflatoxin levels. The results of this study demonstrate that PICS bags are an effective management option for reducing population of toxigenic Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxin in stored maize.

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“…(Zachary Gitonga, 2015). The same materials can be used to make the modern African granary as a strategy to reduce cereal spoilage.…”

Section: Literature Review: Traditional African Granary Trends In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A majority of the current cereal and farm produce storing ways and means experience the challenge of pest and rodent influx while there is low adoption rate of modern alternatives due to cost factors (Nwaigwe, 2019). On the other hand, lack of appropriate storage facilities for harvested farm produce encouraged farmers to sell away their produce immediately after harvesting at a lower price compared to cost of buying food afterwards (Zachary Gitonga, 2015). Furthermore, resent studies indicate that, global warming and other changes in the environment caused by pollution of the ecosystem is forecasted to alter and change insect pest behavior process through mutation over and above growing mould infection of stored grains thereby increasing post-harvest losses and hunger in Africa and other developing countries (Rudo Florence Mapfeka, 2019).…”

Section: Objectives Reinforcing Investments In a Newly Improved Traditional African Granarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Of An Improved Traditional African Granary: Literature Review

Kabinga¹

2021

Preprint

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<p>In the past several decades, domineering influence from the western culture has played an important role in Africans abandoning their traditional foods for the more appearing western cuisines and highly refined factory foods. Unfortunately, this approach results in problems related to increase in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, impotence in men, high blood pressure and cancer to name but a few. This problem has been largely studied and many viable solutions have been found including going back to consumption of traditional foods. Consequently, there has been much campaign and spirited debate in the media for the need to return to the consumption of African traditional foodstuffs to try to reduce the spread of the lifestyle diseases. On the same note, African communities have abandoned their traditional farming practices including food storage and warehousing practices. This turns out to be even more problematic because instead of improving their traditional food storage practices like granaries, on the contrary they have adopted urban systems, which have proved ineffective and inefficient. For instance, such poor storage practices include the following: the use of converted storage rooms in modern urban residential houses; construction of stock yards and sheds using cheap scientifically untested materials, poorly built traditional granaries due to loss of artisanship and knowledge from one generation to another and use of shopping bags and plastics. This is a basic chicken-and-egg problem, therefore, this article encourages the need for new research initiatives aimed at coming up with a newly designed African granary as a solution to reducing postharvest losses by rural farmers in Kenya and other developing countries. Other studies have failed to come up with a viable solution to the problems occasioned by the traditional African granary and the modern versions in the markets. The aims of this research are twofold: firstly to find engineering solutions to the practical and applicability challenges facing the traditional African granary, secondly, to design a commercially viable technically practical traditional African granary prototype. Therefore, this paper evaluates the past and currents trends in the use of the African granary and proposes new technical improvements to make it more suitable in combating pest, rodents and disease invasion. This shall be done, by searching for appropriate literature on the current problems associated with the granary and forecasting the economic, technical, socio-cultural, governmental and legal benefits of a newly designed traditional African granary. This thesis will document several key contributions made to the fields of warehousing and stores management: to reduce post-harvest losses by 90% therefore combating food shortage and hunger in Kenya and other developing countries of the world. </p>

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Metal silo grain storage technology and household food security in Kenya

Cited by 25 publications

References 7 publications

Climate variability and post-harvest food loss abatement technologies: evidence from rural Tanzania

Climate variability and post-harvest food loss abatement technologies: evidence from rural Tanzania

Postharvest Practices of Maize Farmers in Kaiti District, Kenya and the Impact of Hermetic Storage on Populations of Aspergillus Spp. and Aflatoxin Contamination

Design Of An Improved Traditional African Granary: Literature Review

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