Handbook has solutions to post-harvest losses

UPDATE: Have a look at our Staple Crops Storage Handbook and Lessons Learned, an analysis of the innovations in post-harvest financing, tools and information systems. And watch our video on MLI's approach.

This spring, USAID's Market Linkages Initiative (MLI), with assistance from CARANA, produced a crop conditioning manual for East African farmers. The handbook presents step-by-step solutions to one of the project's primary concerns: post-harvest losses, which drastically diminish farmers' earning potential, no matter how many crops they grow.

Post-harvest losses happen at every stage, from field production and harvesting, through threshing, drying, grading, packaging, preparation for storage, and storage itself--yet farmers rarely quantify lost income due to poor crop conditioning. This handbook identifies improved smallholder conditioning practices for maize, beans, groundnuts and rice, as identified by MLI's many implementing and collaborating partners throughout East Africa.

Next, MLI will work with partners like the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa to develop a “Community of Practice” in key areas--developing forums where implementing partners (governments, NGOs private partners) share practices and lessons learned, analyze impact results, and disseminate findings to inform future program planning.

Click the picture below to read the full report on your screen.

Published May 2011

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