Title
On-farm grain storage and challenges in Bagmati Province, Nepal
Date Issued
02 July 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Kandel P.
Kharel K.
Njoroge A.
Smith B.W.
Timilsina R.H.
Paudel G.P.
Baributsa D.
Agriculture and Forestry University
Publisher(s)
MDPI AG
Abstract
Farmers in Nepal lose up to one-third of stored grain to pests and diseases. This results in food insecurity and loss of income. To mitigate these losses, farmers use several approaches includ-ing pesticide applications on stored grains. We interviewed 241 farmers in Bagmati Province, Nepal, to assess the current on-farm grain storage practices and challenges to improve postharvest man-agement. The results show that rice was the most stored crop (median 1150 kg). About half of farmers stored for at least nine months and grain was mainly used for home consumption. Grain was stored by 66.5 and 69.8% of farmers in granaries (rice) and plastic drums (legumes), respectively. Insects were the most important challenge during storage, and farmers used pesticides to control them. Farmers were more likely to use insecticide on grain (p = 0.000) if they stored rice, used traditional granaries, and had insect damage during storage. The use of improved storage methods (e.g., hermetic bags) was very low for rice (3.5%). There is a need to improve on-farm grain storage by disseminating storage innovations to address postharvest challenges in important crops such as rice.
Volume
13
Issue
14
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Agricultura, Silvicultura, Pesquería
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85111122063
Source
Sustainability (Switzerland)
Resource of which it is part
Sustainability (Switzerland)
Source funding
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Sponsor(s)
Funding: We thank the Conservation, Food and Health Foundation (CFHF, Grant # 41000414) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF, grant# INV-006972) for providing support to this research.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus