Hermetic Bags Help Afghan Rural Women Preserve Wheat Flour during Winter

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Afghan women face enormous challenges storing wheat flour during the winter due to high relative humidity and insect pests. These challenges result in poor-quality baking wheat flour. We conducted an experiment in Herat province, Afghanistan, to assess whether hermetic bags would preserve wheat flour during the wintertime when relative humidity is high. Forty women from two districts participated in this experiment. Each woman stored 25 kg of wheat flour in a Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bag and a polypropylene (PP) woven bag. The results showed that the moisture content, color, and baking properties of wheat flour stored in PICS bags for six months did not change. No insects were observed in wheat flour stored in PICS bags. However, wheat flour stored in PP bags had high moisture content and insect pests. The price of wheat flour stored in PICS bags increased over time, and that stored in PP bags decreased. Hermetic bags can be used to safely store wheat flour for six months in areas with high relative humidity conditions. Storing wheat flour in hermetic bags would help improve food security for millions of wheat consumers in developing countries. ABSTRACT: On-farm preservation of wheat flour is a challenge due to insect pests and high relative humidity. This experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of hermetic bags in preserving wheat flour stored by women during the wintertime when relative humidity is high. Forty women (households) from two districts in Herat province, Afghanistan, stored their wheat flour for 6 months. Each woman stored 25 kg of wheat flour in a Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bag and a polypropylene (PP) woven bag. Moisture content, insect population, flour color, bread taste, and profitability of storage were assessed. Moisture content and insect population significantly increased in PP bags after six months of storage, while no changes were observed in PICS bags. There was a significant negative correlation between wheat flour color and moisture content (r = −70.7, p < 0.001) and insect population (r = −79.9, p < 0.001). Wheat flour stored in PICS bags for 6 months retained its color and produced better bread than that stored in PP bags. Storing wheat flour in PICS bags for six months showed a return on investments (ROI) of +16.9% against −33% for the PP bag. Farm households and other wheat value chain actors can safely store wheat flour in hermetic bags for up to six months under high relative humidity conditions. This would help improve food security for millions of wheat consumers in developing countries.