The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure Farming Reporter
MAIZE farmers should ensure that whatever they have produced is properly harvested, handled and stored to reduce post-harvest loss due to moisture, insects, mold, mildew and rodents that often cost producers 30 percent of their yield annually.
Grain storage is more critical at this juncture of climate change where associated weather vagaries adversely affect crop yields, and farmers are being advised to desist from unreliable traditional storage practices that hardly protect and guarantee grain safety against major storage pest insects.
Provincial Agritex officer for Manicaland Mrs Phillipa Rwambiwa on Wednesday said maize harvesting was in full throttle with farmers racing against time to prepare the same fields to grow winter wheat — but emphasised forward planning, an efficient harvest operation and storage to avert losses.
The major difficulty experienced by farmers attempting to insert winter cereals into their rotation is a lack of emphasis on the harvesting, grain storage and drying segments of the crop production equation.
Farmers’ attention must be focused on the early harvest of crops to allow winter cereals to be planted at the optimum time while avoiding losses.
“Harvesting stands at 50 percent throughout the province and if the wet spell persist, the maize risk rotting. Farmers with mature crop are advised to harvest to avoid cob rot or germination. The other issue is the longer time farmers take to harvest maize, the longer they delay to plant winter wheat,” said Mrs Rwambiwa.
“Attention should be on avoiding post-harvest losses. Farmers should store grain in properly secured places without rodents, grain weevils or grain borer. Grain moisture level is recommended at 12,5 percent, as anything more than that, can cause the grain to rot,” added Mrs Rwambiwa.
Small-scale farmers, who are the hardest hit when grains decay or attacked by rodents, use sacks and matura (traditional granaries).
A traditional granary — a structure built with poles, mud and cow dung has a major snag in that it allow free entry to the maize weevil, rodents and the larger grain borer, the three most damaging pests of stored maize in the country.
The bagged grain face risks spoilage by water, termites and damage by rodents. A farmer has to foot additional costs for chemicals. Mrs Rwambiwa said they can try new metal silo technology.
The metal silo technology has its roots in Central America and has been adopted in countries such as Kenya, Malawi and now in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe rolled out a pilot project to promote metal silos to farmers in Shamva and Makoni Districts in 2012 and the technology has proven through farmer implementation to give 100 percent grain protection.
“Metal silos are a solution to rodents, weevils and the notorious larger grain borers because they are air-tight, fire proof too and do not require additional chemicals. Grain also maintains its original quality. Basically, metal silos provide reliable means to store grain without loss of quality, and a sure way to control and minimise post-harvest losses,” said Mrs Rwambiwa.
A five-bag silo costs $75 and a 20-bag silo goes for $350.
The metal silos are durable, lasting between 25 to 30 years and no maintenance is required.
If farmers can store their goods, they can sell them over a longer period of time, reducing the cycles of surplus and scarcity connected to the seasons.
Farmers get higher prices in the off-seasons and so the ability to store their crops would increase their income.
