Overview and achievements on reduction of postharvest losses

1. Overview and achievements on
reduction of postharvest losses
Annual Progress Review and Work Planning Meeting
Tuesday 16th
February 2016
Ibadan

2. Postharvest (small but important) part of the Seed Systems
component of YIIFSWA
Main project partners
• NRI (UK)
– Debbie Rees, Louise Abayomi (based in Lagos), John Orchard
• CSIR-CRI (Ghana)
– Emmanuel Otoo, Evelyn Adu-Kwarteng, Shadrack Amponsah, Hillary
Mireku Bortey
• NRCRI (Nigeria)
– Hussein Etudaiye, Emmanuel Nwachukwu, (John Ikeorgu), Mrs
Omodamiro, Ms Chukwuma
• UNN (Nigeria)
– Peter Uvere
• FUNAAB (Nigeria)
– Lateef Sanni, Celestina Omohimi

3. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
1. Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
2. Develop and promote technologies to
reduce tuber losses during marketing.
3. Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
4. Improving farm/small-scale
processing.

4. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
1. Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
2. Develop and promote technologies to
reduce tuber losses during marketing.
3. Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
4. Improving farm/small-scale
processing.
Work on packaging during
transport (CSIR-CRI) was
stopped following the
project review to allow us
to concentrate on other
activities.

5. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
• Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
• Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
• Improving farm/small-scale
processing. Improve quality and safety
of processed yam
products (Nigeria)
PhD programme Celestina
Omohimi (FUNAAB)
To be presented this pm

6. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
• Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
• Improve postharvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
• Improving farm/small-scale
processing.
Quantification of characteristics
that affect keeping quality
•Susceptibility to damage
•Length of dormancy
•Efficiency of wound-healing
(CSIR-CRI, NRCRI)

7. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
• Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
• Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
• Improving farm/small-scale
processing.
Improve tuber sprout control
PhD programme Hussein
Etudaiye (NRCRI)
To be presented this pm

8. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
• Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
• Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
• Improving farm/small-scale
processing.
Design and test affordable
improved yam barns
CSIR-CRI
NRCRI

9. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
• Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
• Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
• Improving farm/small-scale
processing.
Design and test affordable
improved yam barns
CSIR-CRI
NRCRI
compare
characteristics
of traditional
and improved
store designs

10. YIIFSWA postharvest objectives
• Reduce on-farm tuber storage losses
of existing varieties for tubers used for
seed yam, home consumption, and
marketing.
• Improve post-harvest characteristics
through germplasm assessment and
selection.
• Improving farm/small-scale
processing.
Design and test affordable
improved yam barns
CSIR-CRI
NRCRI
Refine strategies to improve
curing (wound-healing) of
tubers at the start of storage
CSIR-CRI
NRCRI
Evaluate
characteristics
of existing
store designs

11. Design, Construction and
Evaluation of Improved
affordable Yam Storage Barns
S. K. Amponsah, D. Rees, L. Abayomi , J. O.
Akowuah, and H. M. Bortey
Presentation at the
YIIFSWA Review Meeting, 2016
IITA - Ibadan

12. Appropriate yam storage has since been a long standing
problem in the yam production value chain.
Traditional storage systems are inefficient with
associated high tuber rot, insect infestation, rodent
attack and high sprout rate.
Existing improved storage systems are unaffordable
with associated high cost of construction.
Yam farmers are therefore left at the mercy of
middlemen/women.
The design and promotion of improved low cost storage
facilities would be a great relief to yam farmers.
Yam storage situation
How was this possible?
1.Use of locally available construction materials
2.Employing local expertise in construction
What was the strategy?
1.Ensure farmer participation in barn construction
and evaluation

13. Construction materials

14. Barn construction procedure

15. How it all started
2015
2011
6 ft (width)
8 ft (length)
6 ft (height)
500 tubers (capacity)
2014
10 ft (width)
12 ft (length)
6 ft (height)
5000 tubers (capacity)
10 ft (width)
22 ft (length)
6 ft (height)
10000 tubers (capacity)

16. Major design features of the improved barn:
o Good ventilation due to presence of side openings
o Ability to keep a more cooler environment within
o Water proof using well installed fresh thatch material
o Rodent protection using rat guards and raised platform
o Access for sprout control with the presence of shelves
o Low cost due to the use of locally available materials
and local expertise
Design features

17. Four (4) study locations (2 each in Atebubu-Amantin
and Kintampo-North); Abour, Nyomoase, Techira No.2
and Cheranda communities.
Pre-construction survey in selected communities.
Improved storage structure was evaluated along side
traditional (local) structure across the four locations.
Pona, Dente and Afebetua (farmer’s variety) were
stored for a period of 120 days.
Monthly data collected; weight loss (%), insect
infestation (%), tuber rot (%), sprout rate, no. of
sprouted tubers.
Yam storage evaluation

18. Pre-storage and storage environment

19. Storage evaluation

20. Results and Discussion
Storage conditions (Temperature and RH%)
Storage temperature: 26-28o
C (both IB and TB)
Outside temperature: 27-28o
C
Storage Relative Humidity: 42-45% (IB); 44-46% (TB)
Outside Relative Humidity: 40-44%

21. Results and Discussion
The improved storage barns could better reduce tuber losses in terms of
weight loss and rotting across study locations and yam variety.

22. Economic Analysis
Cost benefit analysis for Traditional and Improved barns
Traditional Improved
Construction cost($) 200 800
Tuber weight loss (%) 35.5 29.7
No. sprouted tubers 756 659
No. sprouts 1446 960
% insect infestation 21 19
Mean losses through rotting- month on month 17.3 11.7
% average reduction in losses (all variables) - 30%
Value of tubers at storage:
Pona ($1), Dente ( 0.9), Afebetua/Serwaa ($0.85)₵ $5000 $5000
Value of tubers at 4months storage:
Pona ($1.2), Dente ( 1), Afebetua/Serwaa ($0.9)₵ 26% 26%
Benefit (after4months storage fromremaining tubers) $783
Max capacity of barn (tubers) ~5000 ~10000
Construction materials
Annual maintenance >20% <10%
Life span (years) 4 10

23. Follow up visit

24. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

25. STRENGTHENING
FRESH YAM
STORAGE SYSTEMS
1
CSIR-crops Research Institute, Ghana
2
Natural Resources Institute, U.K.
Evelyn Adu-Kwarteng1
Hillary M. Bortey1
Shadrack K. Amponsah1
Deborah Rees2
Louise Abayomi2

26. • Curing is a practice that is known to help prolong storage life of
root and tuber crops
• It speeds up natural wound healing processes (protection from
microbial invasion, rapid weight loss, etc.)
• Curing is more efficient with the right balance of temperature (25-
35°C) and humidity (90-95%), for a specific number of days per crop
• In advanced economies, standard curing facilities are routinely used
to cure after harvest, before storage (e.g. for potatoes,
sweetpotatoes)
PRE-STORAGE CURING

27. • Developing strategies for
curing yams adequately
without electricity, inside
storage barns
• Reduce
– Drudgery of moving
tubers from field to
curing facility to final
storage point
– Associated costs
‘In-barn’ curing

28. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Start Curing
period
30 d 45 d 60 d 75 d 90 d 120 d
SERWA
SN
S
PN
Control
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Start Curing
period
30 d 45 d 60 d 75 d 90 d 120 d
PONA
SN
S
PN
Control
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Start Curing
period
30 d 45 d 60 d 75 d 90 d 120 d
DENTE
SN
S
PN
Control
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Start Curing
period
30 d 45 d 60 d 75 d 90 d 120 d
LARIBAKO
SN
S
PN
Control
Previous results (on-station)
Effects of curing on weight loss (%) in four (4) varieties of fresh yams during
120 days storage in CRI improved barn

29. Varieties:
1. Pona
2. Dente
Refining curing strategies for application on-farm
Treatments:
1.Polysheet
2.Polysheet, wood ash
3.Polysheet/Newsprint
4.Polysheet/newsprint, wood ash
5.No covering, wood ash
6.No covering, no wood ash

30. BARN CURING – GOING FORWARD
• The successful extension of the ‘barn curing’ technology will
be dependent on farmers embracing the use of improved
storage structures

31. TRADITIONAL BARNS

36. Farmers’ willingness to adopt improved storage structures is
influenced by
Feedback from Farmers

37. THE APPROACH
Help farmers
achieve
improvements in
their own storage
environment
Improved storage structures: Presenting more options
to farmers
KEY ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER
Efficiency of the structure
(internal temperature &
humidity, ventilation, tuber
arrangement, protection from
pests, etc.)
Cost involved (type and source
of materials, labour)
Skill level required

42. In progress
• One (1) demonstration improved indigenous barn at the
MOFA Office, Atebubu
• 3 Lead farmers storing 2 varieties in improved structures
• 3 other selected farmers storing 2 varieties in their
unimproved traditional structures
Weight loss monitoring for 4 months
Rots assessment at the end of storage

43. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION