Agriculture sector stakeholders and international donors gathered in Nairobi on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, to celebrate the final awards ceremony for the AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage Challenge Project. Three companies—Elite Innovations, Bell Industries, and A to Z Textiles Mills Limited—received a combined $6.25 million in prizes for sales of more than 1.2 million storage devices.
The project, one of six under the AgResults Initiative, has aimed to reduce post-harvest losses of grain by incentivizing private sector companies to develop, market, and sell technically efficient and affordable grain storage devices—either new or redesigned—for use by smallholder farmers. Engaged private sector partners receive money prizes for reaching sales thresholds of their on-farm storage products, whether silos, bags, or plastic containers.
Insufficient quality and quantity of on-farm storage forces farmers to sell their crops right after harvest, causing a surge in supply that lowers prices for their crops. Poor storage also increases risks of post-harvest losses from insects or pests, as well as increasing aflatoxin levels. The “pull” approach of this program—partnering with and offering incentives to private sector companies—promotes high-impact grain storage innovations that strengthen farmers’ incomes and bolster Kenyan food security.
Since May 2015, Tanager has served as the AgResults Kenya Project Manager and has implemented the project in 14 counties across the Eastern and Rift Valley regions of Kenya. As of May 2018, the participating private sector companies sold approximately 1.4 million hermetic storage devices, creating over 410,000 MT of improved grain storage capacity. This translates to over 4.5 million 90-kg bags of grain safely stored from weevils, pests, and aflatoxin.
“It is such a privilege to see the outcomes that the AgResults initiative and our partners have achieved over the past three years,” says Andrew Gathecha, AgResults Kenya Project Manager and Tanager Team Leader in Kenya. “All of the implementing companies have worked hard, and we celebrate together the progress we have made in overcoming post-harvest losses, and in the process, catalyzing a long-term market for loss reduction technologies.” Learn more about the AgResults initiative.
Download PDF: Pull Mechanisms Incentivizing High Impact Agricultural Innovation