1. Economic importance of different maize
storage structures in Kenya
Charles Bett , Hugo De Groote, Clare Narrod Clare and Rosemarie
Scott
Aflacontrol Conference, November 30, 2011, Southern Sun Hotel,
Nairobi
International Food Policy Research Institute Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
International Center for the Improvement of Maize ACDI/VOCA/Kenya Maize Development Program
and Wheat Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Institut d’Economie Rurale
Arid Tropics The Eastern Africa Grain Council
University of Pittsburgh

2.  Most maize in Kenya is produced and consumed on-farm thus the need for
storage structures.
 Farmers stock the highest amounts of maize, followed by traders, NCPB and then
Millers (Table 1)
 By region, the Rift Valley province, stocks the highest quantities compared to
other provinces.
 To safeguard the maize with the farmers from damage or contamination by
diseases (e.g., aflatoxin) pests and theft there is need for improved storage
facilities.
 Thus this study was undertaken with an objective of describing the current
storage practices, facilities and determining their economic importance.

3. Farmers Traders NCPB Millers' % of Pop. (2009
Region (tons) (tons) (tons) (tons) Total total Census)
Rift Valley 1,060,341 172,498 - 81,777 1,314,616 61 10,006,805
NCPB - - 266,681 - 266,681 12
Eastern 133,337 72,286 - 8,914 214,537 10 5,668,123
Nyanza 129,958 46,630 - 2,048 178,636 8 5,442,711
Coast 73,490 10,587 - 4,729 88,806 4 3,324,805
Central 53,350 23,620 - 10,850 87,820 4 4,383,743
Nairobi 91 2,929 - 7,828 10,848 0 3,138,369
Western 5,844 423 - 3,870 10,137 0 4,334,282
North
Eastern 46 369 - 31 446 0 2,311,259
Total 1,456,457 329,341 266,681 120,047 2,172,526 100 38,610,097
% of total 67 15 12 6 100

4.  A multi stage sampling procedure
 List of sub-locations (Census 2009) obtained from KNBS
 Used proportion to size methodology to select sub-locations
 Preparatory visits were made to the selected sub-locations where the
sampling frame dawn.
 12 farmers was randomly selected from each sub-location
 A 50% percent were selected as the replacement households.
 Target sample 1452 – Achieved – 1344
 Data collection - October 2010 to January 2011.

5. Design Realized
Number of
Number of Number of households
Number of households per household Number of per Number of
sublocations sublocaton s sublocations sublocaton households
Lowland Tropics 15 12 180 15 6 90
Dry mid-altitudes 18 12 216 17 12 204
Dry transitional 18 12 216 18 12 215
Moist Transitional 30 12 360 30 12 355
Moist Mid-altitudes 20 12 240 20 12 240
Highlands 20 12 240 20 12 240
total 121 1452 1344

6.  Maize Zones
 Low Tropics (LT)
▪ Coast Province
 Dry Medium Altitude (DM)
▪ Eastern Province
 Dry Transitional (DT)
▪ Eastern Province
 Moist Transitional (MT)
▪ Central and Eastern Provinces
 High Tropics (HT)
▪ Rift Valley and Central Provinces
 Moist Medium Altitude (MM)
▪ Western and Nyanza Provinces


7.  Long term storage facilities
 Separate housing for storage
 Improved granary
 Silo
 Large pots
 Traditional crib
 Living house for storage
 Short term storage facilities
 Polypropylene
 sisal bags
 Baskets

8. Improved granary
 An improved granary - made of
wooden wall with supporting
poles or stones and roofed with
iron sheets.

 In the study 12% of the sampled
households were using the
improved granary mainly in the
LT, HT and MT maize zones.
 Granary has good ventilation and
aeration thus discourages growth
of moulds.


9. Metal Silo
 An improved maize storage container
made of metal sheet.
 Maize stored in the metal silo is not
attacked by pests and is less infested by
moulds.
 Aflatoxin levels reduced by 60% on
average.
 Only 0.38% of HH reported use from
two maize zones, DT and DM.
 Major disadvantage - High cost and the
limited storage capacity

10. Large pots
 Large pots are multipurpose storage facilities made
of hardened clay through heating for several hours.
 Less than 2% of the sampled households reported
using pots for maize storage.
 Major disadvantage – fragility and limited capacity.

11. Traditional crib
 A traditional storage structure made of
local material available in a particular
region.
 6.5% of the respondents were using
the traditional crib mainly in the DT
(3.39%) and DM (2.17%)
 Cheap to construct, good ventilation
and aeration thus reduces mouldy
growths.
 Disadvantage - Insecure and requires
seasonal repairs.

12. Living house for storage
 One room in the main house set aside for maize
storage.
 Reason : Security
 This trend is common in the DT (15.54%), MT
(11.86%) and LT (11.58%)
 Major disadvantage: May encourage growth of
moulds and likelihood of aflatoxin infection due to
high moisture in the house

13. Sisal bags
 In this study close to 90% of the
 Short duration storage facilities farmers were using them with the
used widely in Kenya till the DM (17.6%0), DT (21.28%) and MT
introduction of plastic bags. (17.5%) reporting the highest usage.
 In this survey only about 9% still
use the bags with LT leading.
Polypropylene bags
 Short duration plastic bags widely
used in Kenya.
 Sizes range from 25 - 100kg bags.
 Average costs - Kshs 25 – 50 per
piece a price affordable to most
farmers.

14. Baskets
 A traditional facility made of reeds through weaving.
 The facility is temporary storage for maize before
transferring to more permanent structures or when
preparing to take the maize for milling or sale.
 Used mainly in the DT, DM and MT while lowest usage was
reported in the LT (0.28%).
 Advantage: Good ventilation and aeration thus may not be
conducive for mouldy growths.
 Disadvantage: Limited capacity and not for large maize
quantities

15. Improved Tradition
Agro Improved Traditional
Separate Room in granary al crib Fire Large
ecologic granary crib (flat Silo Basket
housing house (wicker (round place pot
al zone (wooden) bottom)
wall) bottom)
LT 3,761 5,062 2,755 3,406 1,668 1,353 0 481 10 36
DM 1,220 5,676 2,456 1,184 2,201 1,747 1,675 1,179 99 36
DT 5,227 2,070 2,398 1,080 1,103 1,258 338 18 50 42
MT 16,348 8,545 4,534 8,100 2,353 1,470 0 0 64 60
HT 21,600 8,205 4,359 3,600 3,793 0 0 0 0 0
Overall
avge
stored 10,156 6,713 3,082 2,511 2,063 1,445 1,006 912 55 43
Avge
value
stored
(Kshs) 406,220 268,526 123,295 100,444 82,521 57,788 40,250 36,466 2,196 1,726

16. 6000
5000
4000
Cost of
storing maize
3000 in different
maize stoarge
2000
facilities
Overall
1000
0
sep. Hsing Trad. crib Trad. Crib Impr. Wdn Fire place Room in hse Impr. wicker Basket Metal silo
(RB) (FB) store store

17.  Declining use of storage structures
.
 Separate housing for storage is the most important in terms
of quantity and value of maize stored and also in terms of
cost of maize stored per ton .
 Important factors to consider in choice and dissemination of
storage facilities:
 Ventilation
 Security (both against theft and mouldiness
 There is need to enhance the security features of improved
granary if it is to replace the preferred separate structures
which tends to be closed with little air circulation and could
increase aflatoxin contamination.

18.  We acknowledge the following institutions and partners
for the roles they played in making the study successful:
 International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) for channelling
the funds for the survey and technical support,
 Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) for implementing the
survey and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) for technical back-up and advice.
 Bill and Melinda Gates for providing the funds to IFPRI for the
survey.
 18 enumerators and 3 supervisors for their role in data collection
 Data entry clerks for their role in data inputting,
 The provincial administration for their role in sampling, and
 Respondents for their willingness to participate in the survey.