Using Improved Storage Technology to Reduce Food Insecurity and Postharvest Losses in India (original) (raw)

Can access to improved storage technology enhance food security for smallholder farmers in India? This study examines the impact of on-farm hermetic storage technology on four dimensions of food security – availability, access, utilization and stability. Postharvest losses during storage manifest in reduced quantity and quality of stored grain, resulting in decreased household incomes and reduced food availability. Improper storage undermines households’ ability to delay sales in expectation of higher prices and compromises food safety. Through a randomized control trial in India, we find that access to hermetic storage bags led smallholder farmers to store for longer periods, sell at higher prices, shift consumption away from market sources to own stock, reduce aflatoxin contamination, and decrease postharvest losses. A cost-benefit analysis of improved storage technology shows that farmers recover the full, unsubsidized cost of hermetic storage bags in one agricultural season.