Increasing Adoption of Grain Postharvest Technology by Smallholder Farmers: A Five-Pronged Strategy

Theresa Nakoma-Ngoma¹John Franklin Leslie²Maurice Monjerezi³Brighton Mvumi⁴Tafireyi Chamboko⁵Elija Kamundi¹Andrew Thadzi¹Bertha Kachala¹Aggrey Pemba Gama⁶Beston Maonga⁷Jagger Harvey²Limbikani Matumba^1*

• ¹FoodPlus Research Group, Faculty of Life Sciences Natural Resources, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
• ²Department of Plant Pathology, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, United States
• ³Centre for Resilient Agri-Food Systems (CRAFS), University of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi
• ⁴Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture Environment and Food Systems (FAEFS), University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
• ⁵Department of Agricultural Business Development and Economics, Faculty of Agriculture Environment and Food Systems (FAEFS), University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
• ⁶Department of Food Science and Technology, Bunda College, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Nat-ural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
• ⁷Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Bunda College, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi

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.