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Smallholder grain postharvest management in a variable climate: practices and perceptions of smallholder farmers and their service-providers in semi-arid areas

Author

Listed:
  • Tinashe Nyabako

    (University of Zimbabwe)

  • Brighton M. Mvumi

    (University of Zimbabwe)

  • Tanya Stathers

    (University of Greenwich)

  • Honest Machekano

    (University of Zimbabwe
    Botswana International University of Science and Technology)

Abstract

Field data on current crop postharvest management practices and perceptions from smallholder farming communities in an increasingly variable climate are scarce. Our study used a multi-dimensional approach to explore the practices and perceptions of these communities and their service-providers regarding grain postharvest management in semi-arid Mbire and Hwedza districts in Zimbabwe. A total of 601 individual household interviews, six focus group discussions with women and men, and interviews with 40 district stakeholders and 53 community key informants were conducted. Farmers and service-providers explained how climate change was threatening food security; causing reduced and more variable maize and sorghum yields of below 0.5 t/ha, alongside higher grain storage insect pest pressure. Increased food insecurity and concerns regarding grain theft have driven a shift from bulk storage in traditional outdoor free-standing granaries to polypropylene bags stacked inside the living quarters. Poor and improper use of synthetic pesticides in these circumstances exacerbates the health-related risks. Agricultural extension officers were the most common source of agronomic and postharvest information followed by farmer-to-farmer information exchange. Targeted postharvest training; participatory field trials involving agricultural extension staff, farmers and other service-providers; and policy dialogue around grain postharvest management and food security are proposed to help in strengthening the capacity to reduce grain postharvest losses under increasingly unpredictable conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Tinashe Nyabako & Brighton M. Mvumi & Tanya Stathers & Honest Machekano, 2021. "Smallholder grain postharvest management in a variable climate: practices and perceptions of smallholder farmers and their service-providers in semi-arid areas," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 9196-9222, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:6:d:10.1007_s10668-020-01019-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-01019-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tanya E. Stathers & Sarah E. J. Arnold & Corinne J. Rumney & Clare Hopson, 2020. "Measuring the nutritional cost of insect infestation of stored maize and cowpea," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 285-308, April.
    2. A. Nyong & F. Adesina & B. Osman Elasha, 2007. "The value of indigenous knowledge in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the African Sahel," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 12(5), pages 787-797, June.
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