Tanzanian farmers explained that sack storage is becoming
increasingly popular, as sacks are more portable in
case of emergencies (e.g., fl oods, fi res). They are always
ready for marketing in case of need for emergency
or opportunistic sales, and they take up less space in the
house (their bulk reduces proportionately, as opposed to
a large woven granary that fi lls a whole room, whether
empty or full). Skills for constructing the traditional woven
and mud-plastered granaries are being lost. When
grain is in sacks, it is easier to monitor quality, and sacks
can be hidden more securely during times of food insecurity,
as they are typically kept in the bedroom.
Source: Authors.

[Worldbank](http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTARD/Resources/MissingFoods10_web.pdf)

 In Malawi, the National Food Reserve Agency
(NFRA) manages the national strategic grain
reserve, which handles maize and retains stock
levels (currently 120,000 tons) as dictated by
government. NFRA experiences very little loss
(estimated 0.5 percent from cleaning of maize) due
to its procurement procedure. From 2003, quality
specifi cations were enforced for incoming maize.
All incoming grain is fumigated and refumigated after
3–4 months in stock. NFRA has drying facilities
but prefers that farmers do the drying so as not to
incur extra costs. It buys from traders and farmers
groups but not from individuals. NFRA offers a 
number of services to farmers and the private sector
including subsidized fumigation services, rental
of warehouses, and hire of the weighbridge.
(Bennett 2010).


In Malawi, metal
silos of 250-kg, 500-kg, 900-kg, and 1.9-ton capacities were
made available, but the largest capacity supplied wouldn’t
fi t inside most houses, and costs were considered high
(US$120–450). Farmers were given very little training in use
and were reliant on extension services to fumigate grain.
Consequently, many of the silos that were supplied free
of charge were not used. The main reasons for this would
appear to be (i) security issues—farmers want grain to be
inside their house; (ii) the need for fumigation treatments to
be done by the extension services; and (iii) the silos were
targeted at the community, not the individual. The farmers’
main approach to storage was to have bags in their houses,
which they consider cheaper, more convenient, and more
secure.


Poor storage hygiene can lead to the perpetuation of
storage problems from one season to the next.
The principles of store hygiene are essential to good
pest management, and smallholders across SSA would
make signifi cant progress in limiting PHL by observing
these practices. If stores are suffi ciently sealed to prevent
pest access, prior treatment of grain by solarization
will disinfest grain and so prevent pest development. In
stores that do not prevent pest access and where grain
stocks are to be retained for more than three months, a
means of pest control is required. This may be achieved
by admixing synthetic insecticide or by the use of nontoxic
alternatives such as diatomaceous earths, as these
are available for use in the countries. In some situations,
it may also prove appropriate to use insecticidal material
derived from locally available plants.
Source: Authors