Abstract
Small producers throughout sub-Saharan Africa struggle to protect crops from an array of pests during medium or long-term storage before market sale or home consumption. Storage technologies like hermetic (airtight) Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags are proven to provide long-term, reliable protection against many grains and grain legumes pests, without the need for chemical pesticides. However, even if technical efficacy of PICS bags is established, the local market conditions for crop storage should be favorable to encourage sustainable adoption. This may vary by crop and geographic region. Recognizing this need for continued localized analysis before widespread implementation, this report builds on two previous working papers investigating PICS storage profitability. Price data from Senegal, Kenya, and Ghana are analyzed. Importantly, conversions of retail and wholesale price data to producer prices are performed on a dynamic monthly basis instead of assuming a single marketing margin for the entire year. Results indicate highest potential profitability of PICS bags for groundnut and maize storage in Senegal, common beans in Kenya, and long-term maize storage in Ghana. Kenyan maize storage profitability varies significantly by year and region, but is also positive for most markets.
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