Abstract
Grain storage loss is a major contributor to post-harvest losses and is one of the main causes of food insecurity for smallholder farmers in developing countries. Thus, the objective of this review is to assess the conventional and emerging grain storage practices for smallholder farmers in developing countries and highlight their most promising features and drawbacks. Smallholder farmers in developing countries use conventional grain storage structures and handling systems such as woven bags or cribs to store grain. However, they are ineffective against mold and insects already present in the grain before storage. Different chemicals are also mixed with grain to improve grain storability. Hermetic storage systems are effective alternatives for grain storage as they have minimal storage losses without using any chemicals. However, hermetic bags are prone to damage and hermetic metal silos are cost-prohibitive to most smallholder farmers in developing countries. Thus, an ideal grain storage system for smallholder farmers should be hermetically sealable, mechanically durable, and cost-effective compared to the conventional storage options. Such a storage system will help reduce grain storage losses, maintain grain quality and contribute to reducing food insecurity for smallholder farmers in developing countries.
Highlights
More than 500 million smallholder farmers grow crops on less than 10 hectares of land, with most of them located in developing countries [1]
The objective of this review is to evaluate the different post-harvest grain storage practices of the smallholder farmers in developing countries around the world
Different grain storage practices are adopted by smallholder farmers in developing countries globally
Summary
More than 500 million smallholder farmers grow crops on less than 10 hectares of land, with most of them located in developing countries [1]. Due to the limited agricultural mechanization available for smallholder farmers in the developing countries, almost all agricultural practices, including pre-harvest and post-harvest operations, such as drying, dehulling, shelling, winnowing and sorting, transportation, and storage, are conducted manually [4]. In such conditions, post-harvest quantitative loss up to 15% in the field, 13–20% during processing, and 15–25% during storage have been estimated [4]. The objective of this review is to evaluate the different post-harvest grain storage practices of the smallholder farmers in developing countries around the world. Based on the reviewed storage systems, desirable qualities of storage structure are suggested that could effectively reduce the post-harvest grain storage losses
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