USING POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE RISKS IN FOOD SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOODS: Hermetic Storage Technologies in Kenya and Uganda

The document examines how climate change increases post-harvest losses in Kenya and Uganda through heightened pest and disease pressure, and proposes hermetic storage technologies (HSTs) as a solution to improve food security and farmer livelihoods.

• Climate change exacerbates post-harvest losses in Kenya and Uganda by increasing production volatility and intensifying pressure from pests and diseases, which leads to the wasted use of land, labour, water, and agro-chemicals.
• Grain post-harvest losses in Kenya and Uganda are estimated between 15% and 30% of total production, significantly exceeding the global average for cereals of 19% and Brazil's rate of 6%. In Uganda, annual losses include approximately 493,000 metric tonnes (MT) of maize, 26,500MT of millet, and 31,000MT of rice; Kenya loses over 700,000MT of maize.
• Climate-driven temperature increases raise the risk of mycotoxins, specifically aflatoxins, which are carcinogens. Aflatoxin contamination is estimated to cost Uganda USD 7.48 million in grain exports and Kenya approximately USD 3 million in maize value.
• Hermetic storage technologies (HSTs) reduce losses by asphyxiating pests without pesticides, allowing farmers to store grains longer and fetch higher prices. Maize stored in HSTs can fetch prices approximately 75% higher than maize sold without storage and 27% higher than maize in traditional storage.
• The adoption of HSTs is hindered by the proliferation of counterfeit and sub-standard products, which leads farmers to believe the technology is ineffective. While Kenya gazetted standards for hermetic bags and plastic silos in August 2019, Uganda is still developing standards based on the Kenyan experience.
• High costs driven by Value Added Tax (VAT) restrict the uptake of HSTs. VAT is 16% in Kenya and 18% in Uganda. In Uganda, the Revenue Authority has sometimes charged VAT on each component of a bag separately, potentially increasing the total VAT to 36% or 54% of the product's value.
• Removing VAT on HSTs could significantly benefit society; a study in Tanzania found that such a move could create a net gain of USD 38.9 million per agricultural season.

APA

Mhando, K. (2021). USING POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE RISKS IN FOOD SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOODS: Hermetic Storage Technologies in Kenya and Uganda. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SNN-HST-Policy-Brief-WEB.pdf

Chicago

Mhando, Kimwaga. USING POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE RISKS IN FOOD SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOODS: Hermetic Storage Technologies in Kenya and Uganda. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2021. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SNN-HST-Policy-Brief-WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mhando |first1=Kimwaga |title=USING POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE RISKS IN FOOD SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOODS: Hermetic Storage Technologies in Kenya and Uganda |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2021 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SNN-HST-Policy-Brief-WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mhando2021using, author = {Mhando, Kimwaga}, title = {{USING POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE RISKS IN FOOD SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY \& LIVELIHOODS: Hermetic Storage Technologies in Kenya and Uganda}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SNN-HST-Policy-Brief-WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }