Increasing adoption of grain postharvest technology by smallholder farmers: a five-pronged strategy

Grain postharvest losses (PHLs) reduce food security, income stability, and climate resilience among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Proven technologies, e.g., hermetic storage bags and metal silos, are available, but significant non-technical barriers to adoption remain. These complex barriers include limited awareness and training, limited local availability, initial high costs, low harvest volumes, underestimation of losses, socio-cultural constraints, and weak institutional and policy support. We propose a five-pronged strategy to increase adoption. In particular: (1) Strengthening farmer knowledge and training systems; (2) Localizing the development and distribution of postharvest technologies; (3) Expanding access to affordable and flexible financing; (4) Reinforcing policy and institutional frameworks; and (5) Embedding postharvest practices within climate-smart, market-driven value chains. Implementation of this strategy positions postharvest management as a structural driver of rural transformation by linking grain loss reduction to increased productivity, enhanced market participation, and livelihood resilience.