Boyd, C. and Chigariro, J. (1998) Participatory evaluation report. Improved design of indigenous grain stores (NRI report no. 2447). Technical Report. Natural Resources Institute, Chatham, UK.

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Abstract

The availability of suitable hardwoods for the construction of grain stores (and other traditional structures) is reasonable-to-low in the areas surveyed. Farmers appear to be having to travel further to source these materials and so the situation seems to be getting worse. Availability of hardwoods is indirectly proportional to the population and directly proportional to the area of woodland available. The suitability of the technology will therefore vary greatly from area to area - in the study area, hardwood species are more abundant than in other areas of Zimbabwe, where hardwood resources are already seriously depleted. The substitution technology developed through this project may therefore be a more effective strategy for hardwood conservation elsewhere in Zimbabwe. The rate of traditional store replacement is one of the key factors in determining the appropriateness of the proposed technology. Mean rate of replacement was found to be at or below 1 0 years - the actual figure is invariably inversely proportional to the termite activity in the vicinity of the store. The cost of replacement is the other key factor which determines whether the technology will be adopted. In the absence of significant cost reductions and/or credit arrangement, the technology would be most relevant to those households who are not cash constrained and who would normally expect to harvest enough grain to last well into the rainy season. Given the unpredictability of conditions placed on credit arrangements (should a farmer wish to borrow money to construct a modified store) it is difficult to predict its viability for cash-constrained farmers where credit is the only option. However, if the generally accepted view of farmers in that mopane is becoming more scarce is true, replacement costs for the traditional store may increase in the future, possibly reducing the price differential between the traditional and the modified stores. Since mopane responds well to coppicing, improved management of woodland resources must be considered alongside the reduction of timber harvesting achieved through the introduction of this alternative technology.

Item Type:	Monograph (Technical Report)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	grain storage, grain stores, indigenous, postharvest loss, Zimbabwe
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Food & Markets Department
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation
Last Modified:	26 Nov 2019 12:14
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/10766

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