Reducing On-Farm Food Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
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 Harvest gently, using a picking bag to collect the maize cobs. Straps help to distribute
the load, and the bottom of the bags can open for gentle release of the crops into field
containers. Examples can be viewed by visiting the Pleasant Hill Grain website.
 Dry properly on-farm to 12-15% moisture before shelling or threshing, packaging,
transport or storage.
 Keep the grain as clean as possible; dry on cement floor or on tarpaulin to reduce chance
of soil contamination.
 Dry maize on smaller tarps. This facilitates the good practice of bringing the drying crop
indoors at night and/or if it is threatening to rain.
 Avoid beating maize to shell the kernels from the cobs as it damages the grains and
makes them more susceptible to diseases and rots. Losses due to spillage are common
during shelling that is done by beating the cobs with sticks.
General recommendations for reducing on-farm losses for grains include:
 Harvest at proper moisture of 30% for maize; 20-25% for rice; 16-20% for dry beans.
 Drying facilities are considered particularly important in light of climate change that has
sometimes caused wet spells just before harvest resulting in inadequately dried crops
leading to mycotoxin formation and poor quality.
 Encourage the development of an on-farm, low-cost drying process that is able to bring
down the moisture content of crops to 13% as fast as possible to reduce losses. Low
moisture (8-13%, depending on the commodity) reduces significant loss of product
due to deterioration in the quality of the product.