Coulter, Jonathan and Hindmarsh, Paul (1997) Grain storage in the northern communal areas of Nambia. Technical Report. Natural Resources Institute, Chatham, UK.

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Abstract

This consultancy was commissioned by the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB), with funds from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (MAWRD), and carried out in September and October 1997. The objectives were to make recommendations on the appropriate types, ownership, management and capacities of on and off-farm grain storage of mahangu, maize and sorghum in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA), and to assess the need for holding strategic grain reserves. Terms of reference are as shown in Appendix 1, as well as amendments agreed with the Steering Committee at a meeting on September 16. The consultancy was carried out by an agricultural marketing economist and a grain storage specialist, who visited Kavango, Caprivi and the North-Central Regions in the days 5 - 17 October, collecting information from institutional and trade sources and through a series of farm visits - see Appendix 2 for list of persons met. Limited time was available for the visit to Caprivi, and at the client's request, particular attention was focused on the storage needs of flood-plain maize producers. The terms of reference contain eleven "detailed tasks". To address these in a logical sequence, we have structured the report as follows. Section 2 discusses the needs for new and improved storage, on or off-farm, and at the level of strategic grain reserves. Section 3 discusses key issues in the design of solutions addressing these needs. Section 4 is specific in recommending how these needs should be addressed. Section 5 discusses impact of a SADC free market on our recommended options. The terms of reference do not ask for recommendations concerning the marketing of cereals. However to provide recommendations about off-farm storage, one must first ask for what purpose one is storing. This subject has been investigated by Namibia Resource Consultants (NRC) as part of their study of the Mahangu Market Intelligence Unit (MMIU); we have kept close contact with the NRC study, and given the importance of the subject in deciding on storage policy, have ourselves made some enquiries in the area. Appendix 4 provides our own observations on the marketing of commercial mahangu production.

Item Type:	Monograph (Technical Report)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	grain, storage, Northern Communal Areas, Nambia, mahangu, maize, sorghum, on-farm, agriculture, post-harvest, market
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
Last Modified:	26 Nov 2019 12:41
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/11850

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