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A Report on Assessment of Maize Postharvest Losses in the Middle Belt of Ghana May 19-30, 2014 A Summary Report Prepared by G. P. Opit,1 J. Campbell,2 F. Arthur,2 P. Armstrong,2 E. Osekre,3 S. Washburn,4 O. Baban,5 S. McNeill,6 G. Mbata,7 I. Ayobami,5 and P.V. Reddy8 Provided in partial fulfillment of a Grant with USAID Submitted August 17, 2014 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4 Description of the Ghana Middle Belt Maize Value Chain and Postharvest Losses that Occur Therein ................................................................................. 7 Losses Attributable to Insect Pests at the Small-Scale Farmer Level and Breakthroughs in Research and Development that Could Significantly Lead to Mitigation of Postharvest Losses ............................................................... 9 Areas in Warehouse Storage Causing the Most Losses Where Breakthroughs in Research and Development Could Lead to Significant Improvements in Food Security ............................................................................................................................. 11 Aflatoxin Mitigation in Maize in the Middle Belt Region of Ghana ......................................... 16 Cross Cutting Issues of Gender, Nutrition, and Engagement .................................................... 20 Ideas Identified As Already Ripe for Scale Out and Could Form the Basis for Proposals for Sub-awards ..................................................................................................... 28 Potential Focus Areas for the Second PHL Assessment Trip in December 2014 ..................... 31 People/Locations/Groups/Organizations/Government Entities Visited During the First Postharvest Loss Assessment trip .................................................................... 33 References Cited ........................................................................................................................ 39 Footnotes .................................................................................................................................... 39 Table 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 40 Appendix A --Biosketchs of Team members.............................................................................. 41 Appendix B --Pictures from assessment trip .............................................................................. 46 2 Overview A two-week in-country assessment of postharvest losses (PHL) in the Ghana maize value chain was conducted in the Middle Belt of the country by ten experts in post-harvest engineering technology and stored-products protection from four different U.S. Land-Grant Universities (Oklahoma State University, Kansas State University, Fort Valley State University, and University of Kentucky); the USDA-ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research (CGAHR); Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); and Vestergaard Frandsen (Switzerland) – referred to hereafter as ‘Team’. The assessment covered the period May 19-30, 2014 (in country). The Team visited stakeholders in Accra and traveled to the major maize growing region of Ghana, the Middle Belt (Figures 1-6). The major centers of maize production and marketing in the Middle Belt, namely, Nkoranza, Wenchi, Ejura, Bonyon, and Techiman were visited (see mapsofworld.com/Ghana). During visits to these areas, the Team acquired knowledge on postharvest losses (PHL) that occur along the value chain. Stages of the maize postharvest system such as harvesting, pre-drying in the field, threshing (shelling), drying, cleaning, bagging, and storage were assessed. Additionally, the capacity and operations of grain storage systems in these regions and maize losses that occur in them were assessed. The Team observed current grain handling and pest management tactics, stored-product insect activity, drying systems, and post-harvest grain losses in on-farm storages and small-, medium-, and large-scale storage warehouses in Ghana. The ultimate goal was to identify researchable areas in PHL that are perceived “critical control points” where breakthroughs in research and development could lead to significant improvements in grain quality and food security. All important stakeholders in the maize value chain (smallholder farmers, government and parastatal entities, the private sector, non-governmental institutions, research institutions, universities, etc.) were visited as part of the PHL assessment. Specific activities of the Team are listed in Table 1. Major findings of the PHL assessment of maize value chain the Middle Belt were: There are multiple tactics in use for monitoring insects and grain moisture at both the on- farm storage level as well as in warehouses. Many of these are not effective or reliable. Farmers are not patronizing warehouse storage systems. Farmers are resistant to investing in new technology to produce quality grain when there is no economic reward for increased input and management costs. The Team identified a potential working model that could assist farmers adopt new technologies while addressing the microfinance issue on a small scale – this model is currently being used by Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) and delivering positive results. Aflatoxin related issues may be exacerbated by current practices (including heaping maize ears pending shelling for long periods (>1 week) and the lack of proper drying facilities during harvest). 3 Current mitigation practices for aflatoxin issues may be inadequate and in some cases may increase soil fungal levels and aflatoxin levels in animal-based food products. While people are aware that moldy grain poses health risks, they don’t associate soil with aflatoxin, which can be both a pre-harvest and post-harvest problem. Current local and on the shelf technologies exist that may address identified problems while capitalizing on private sector partnerships. We have identified potential partners for engagement and for assisting us in data collection. Training is needed on stored-product pest identification and correct pesticide use. There is lack of shelling, drying, and storage facilities in close proximity to communities. Contacts to conduct research have been established. The following areas were identified as researchable areas in postharvest loss where breakthroughs in research and development could lead to significant mitigation of PHL in the maize value chain in the Middle Belt: Collect baseline data on grain moisture levels, insect infestations, aflatoxin levels, and physical losses during harvesting for both the major and minor seasons. Investigate means of refining the solar tent dryer, moisture meter, and on-farm storage methods. Assess the impact of timing of harvest on moisture levels. Collect data on insect pest species and population dynamics of those species for on-farm storage and in warehouses. Measure the efficacy of current monitoring tactics for moisture and insect infestation and compare this to improved monitoring methods. Test currently used and commercially available bagging systems. Evaluate the potential use of a solar tent dryer as a means of managing stored-product insect pests and reducing aflatoxin levels. Investigate modifications to the design of the solar tent dryer to improve ventilation for seed production systems. Introduction The motivation of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Reduction of Postharvest Loss in Ghana (hereafter referred to as the Ghana Project) is mitigating PHL in the maize value chain in the key production and processing areas. The major cereal grain produced in Ghana is maize, and it is considered the most important cereal accounting for 74% of the total cereal production (MoFA 2005). Total annual maize production in Ghana is estimated at 2.1 million MT and consumption is 1.7 million MT. Most of the maize production in Ghana is in the Middle Belt and Northern Ghana. The Middle Belt has two maize production seasons, namely, the major season and minor season. These two seasons cover the periods April-August/September and September- 4 December, respectively. In the Northern region, the maize production season is June-October but maize is left in the field to dry until late November/December. The most serious problem facing smallholder farmers in the Middle Belt is difficulty in drying their major season maize. The window for drying is only four weeks (August to September). This is not a problem in the north where they can leave their maize in the field until late November/December for it to completely dry before it is harvested. However, this exacerbates insect related problems. In the Middle Belt where there are two rainy seasons, leaving maize in the field for long is not an option because the minor season rains also do not allow for proper drying. Because of the drying challenges in the Middle Belt, there are a lot of mold- and aflatoxin-related problems associated with maize harvest, especically during the major season. Aflatoxin incidence is also associated with insect infestation. In the Middle Belt, PHL in the major season are mostly due to mold and aflatoxin whereas insects are the major cause of

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