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The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya

Hermetic storage technologies (HSTs) have been disseminated in Sub-Saharan Africa (including Kenya) to reduce grain storage losses among farmers. We carried out a study in three counties in eastern Kenya to assess the use and profitability of HSTs among farmers. Data were collected from 613 farmers...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Baributsa, D., Njoroge, A.W.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7304484/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32595234
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101618
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author Baributsa, D.
Njoroge, A.W.
author_facet Baributsa, D.
Njoroge, A.W.
author_sort Baributsa, D.
collection PubMed
description Hermetic storage technologies (HSTs) have been disseminated in Sub-Saharan Africa (including Kenya) to reduce grain storage losses among farmers. We carried out a study in three counties in eastern Kenya to assess the use and profitability of HSTs among farmers. Data were collected from 613 farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire and Kobo Toolbox via android tablets. Results showed an increase in use of HSTs among farmers from 53.7% in 2015 to 91.2% in 2017. PICS was the most used hermetic bags by farmers (84%) in 2017. Majority of farmers (73.5%) received training in the use of HSTs from extension agents and agro-dealers. About 40% of respondents purchased additional (one to five) bags after their first experience using them. The quantity of grain produced made up about half of the farmer’s decision to store. The primary reason (87%) farmers used hermetic bags was the need to manage insect pests. Maize and beans were the most produced and most stored crops; but maize was the most stored in HST. Grain price seasonality showed a near doubling effect between the lean and harvest seasons. Estimates of the return on investments (ROI) ranged between 13 and 80% for all crops and maize stored in hermetic bags had the highest ROI. Awareness and trainings are key in increasing adoption and proper use of HSTs.
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spelling pubmed-73044842020-06-25 The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya Baributsa, D. Njoroge, A.W. J Stored Prod Res Article Hermetic storage technologies (HSTs) have been disseminated in Sub-Saharan Africa (including Kenya) to reduce grain storage losses among farmers. We carried out a study in three counties in eastern Kenya to assess the use and profitability of HSTs among farmers. Data were collected from 613 farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire and Kobo Toolbox via android tablets. Results showed an increase in use of HSTs among farmers from 53.7% in 2015 to 91.2% in 2017. PICS was the most used hermetic bags by farmers (84%) in 2017. Majority of farmers (73.5%) received training in the use of HSTs from extension agents and agro-dealers. About 40% of respondents purchased additional (one to five) bags after their first experience using them. The quantity of grain produced made up about half of the farmer’s decision to store. The primary reason (87%) farmers used hermetic bags was the need to manage insect pests. Maize and beans were the most produced and most stored crops; but maize was the most stored in HST. Grain price seasonality showed a near doubling effect between the lean and harvest seasons. Estimates of the return on investments (ROI) ranged between 13 and 80% for all crops and maize stored in hermetic bags had the highest ROI. Awareness and trainings are key in increasing adoption and proper use of HSTs. Elsevier 2020-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7304484/ /pubmed/32595234 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101618 Text en © 2020 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Baributsa, D.
Njoroge, A.W.
The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya
title The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya
title_full The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya
title_fullStr The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya
title_full_unstemmed The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya
title_short The use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern Kenya
title_sort use and profitability of hermetic technologies for grain storage among smallholder farmers in eastern kenya
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7304484/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32595234
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101618
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