A practical appraisal of on-farm storage losses and loss assessment methods in Malawi. 1: The Shire Valley agricultural development area

Abstract

This paper describes a survey of farm-level grain storage losses in Southern Malawi and the practical problems of such surveys. The limitations of two different loss-assessment methods are discussed with regard to observed discrepancies but it is concluded that losses in up to 10 months storage were 3% or less for maize and less than 2% for sorghum. Such losses demonstrate the suitability of the grain varieties stored in the area to conservation during the characteristic dry season. The considerable likelihood of greater losses with high-yielding but more susceptible varieties, if these were introduced to the area, is indicated