Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...

the main storage space. Pits are more common in the North, while sheds are more used in the
Center (mainly because tobacco which is grown in this region is usually stored in sheds).
Granaries are more common for farmers with larger farm sizes.
Almost all households own their storage space (house, granary, or shed); very few rent this type
of storage space. Rental of storage space is a bit more common for warehouses (22 percent of
households that use a warehouse rent it), stores (8 percent rental), and pits (6 percent). Storage
rental seems to occur only in the Central region, and mainly for the poorest farmers. Richer and
farmers with large farm sizes do not rent any storage space. The average capacity of a granary is
about 3.2 mt of maize. Except for warehouses, which have an average capacity of about 9 mt, the
other types of storage facilities have an average capacity of less than 1 mt. Table 5.33 presents
the average quantity of each crop that a household has in storage one month after harvest as well
as the number of months needed to deplete the stock. The averages by crop include only those
households that store that specific crop.
As Table 5.33 demonstrates, maize stocks are the largest among other commodities and it is
stored for the longest time (for 6 months after harvest). This is because it is the main staple that
is consumed all year long. The other commodities that are stored for long periods of time are
other food crops such as rice, beans, groundnuts and vegetables 32 (about 5 months after harvest).
Cash crops such as tobacco, cotton or sunflower are stored for much shorter periods of time (2
months). Storage losses in general are small (0-1 percent of total stock). Only vegetables, sweet
potatoes, and maize witnessed a higher percentage of storage losses (2-3 percent of stock). Losses
for these crops are mainly due to pests or (loss or gain of) humidity.
The main reasons cited for storage do not vary much by type of crop. Most food crops are stored
to be eaten throughout the year, while cash crops are stored mainly to sell and meet cash needs
later in the year. Thirty four percent of the households stored tobacco because they couldn’t sell
it when they wanted to (they have to wait for the auction floor scheduling). The same applies for
75 percent of the households that stored sunflower.
32 It is very unlikely that vegetables can be stored for 5 months. It is more likely that small farmers meant
that vegetable production in the field can last for 5 months and therefore they have access to that stock for
about 5 months out of the year.
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