Appropriate Seed and Grain Storage Systems for Small-scale Farmers, Key practices for DRR Implementers

FAO-COOPI-OCHA-UNHABITAT/SAIO/2014. This brief provides practical guidelines on storage practices and methodologies to assist southern African farmers prone to natural hazards, mainly cyclones, droughts and floods. Indeed, suboptimal storage of agricultural products can lead to important losses resulting in increased vulnerability of these farmers in normal conditions, but the combined effect of natural disasters and poor storage practices may lead to tremendous losses for small farmers, with devastating effects both from economic and food security points of view. The target audience for this brief includes NGO staff, extension workers, community development leaders and government officials who work in development, relief or disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects and programmes in hazard prone rural areas in southern Africa. This brief is part of the series, A Field Guide for Disaster Risk Reduction in Southern Africa: Key Practices for DRR Implementers, coordinated by the FAO Sub regional Office for Disaster Risk Reduction/Management for Southern Africa. This series has been produced with contributions from COOPI, FAO, OCHA and UN-Habitat. It has been produced under the project “Regional Multi Regional DRR Assistance Programme for Southern Africa: Information Management and Health” ECHO/-SF/EDF/2012/01004