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Storage losses, liquidity constraints, and maize storage decisions in Benin

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  • Didier Kadjo
  • Jacob Ricker‐Gilbert
  • Tahirou Abdoulaye
  • Gerald Shively
  • Mohamed N. Baco

Abstract

This article estimates how storage losses from mold, insects, and other pests, combined with liquidity constraints, influence a smallholder farm household's decision to store maize on farm after harvest. We analyze panel data from 309 smallholders in Benin covering the 2011 and 2013 harvest seasons. Results suggest that smallholders are driven to sell at harvest time for different reasons, depending on their motivation for storing. In households that report direct consumption as their primary goal for storing maize, liquidity constraints, not storage losses, reduce the amount they store. In contrast, households that store maize with the intention of selling it later in the year appear unaffected by liquidity constraints. Instead, these households store less when they expect to lose more during storage. These results suggest that policies to provide liquidity will be more helpful in motivating storage among consumption‐oriented households. Households motivated to store for later sale will benefit from modern storage technologies that mitigate the operational costs associated with storage losses.

Suggested Citation

  • Didier Kadjo & Jacob Ricker‐Gilbert & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Gerald Shively & Mohamed N. Baco, 2018. "Storage losses, liquidity constraints, and maize storage decisions in Benin," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 435-454, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:49:y:2018:i:4:p:435-454
    DOI: 10.1111/agec.12427
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    3. Yi Luo & Dong Huang & Laping Wu & Junfeng Zhu, 2022. "The impact of metal silos on rice storage and storage losses in China," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(1), pages 81-92, February.
    4. Schwab, Benjamin & Yu, Jisang, 2022. "Guaranteed Storage? Risk and Credit Constraints in the Demand for Postharvest Technology and Rice Seed Storage Decisions in Bangladesh," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322475, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Brander, Michael & Bernauer, Thomas & Huss, Matthias, 2021. "Improved on-farm storage reduces seasonal food insecurity of smallholder farmer households – Evidence from a randomized control trial in Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Martin Julius Chegere & Razack Lokina & Agnes G. Mwakaje, 2020. "The impact of hermetic storage bag supply and training on food security in Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1299-1316, December.
    7. Arielle Sandrine Rafanomezantsoa & Claudia Coral & Narilala Randrianarison & Christoph Kubitza & Denis Randriamampionona & Harilala Andriamaniraka & Stefan Sieber & Sarah Tojo-Mandaharisoa & Jonathan , 2023. "Identifying nutrition-sensitive development options in Madagascar through a positive deviance approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(2), pages 519-534, April.
    8. Nindi, Tabitha C. & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob & Bauchet, Jonathan, 2020. "Identifying appropriate incentive mechanisms for smallholder farmers to exploit inter-temporal arbitrage opportunities for grain legumes: Experimental evidence from Malawi," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304424, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Dieudonne Baributsa & Jorge R. Díaz-Valderrama & Déogratias Mughanda & André Lubanzadio & Jean Paul C. Nshombo & Louise Sperling & Ibrahim B. Baoua, 2021. "Grain Handling and Storage in Lubero and Rutshuru Territories in the North Kivu Province, the Democratic Republic of Congo," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, August.
    10. Miura, Ken & Sakurai, Takeshi, 2021. "News from the Sky: An Empirical Test of Forward-Looking Behavior Among Zambian Farmers," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315161, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Elizabeth Eldridge & Marie-Eve Rancourt & Ann Langley & Dani Héroux, 2022. "Expanding Perspectives on the Poverty Trap for Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania: The Role of Rural Input Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-34, April.

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