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JSS2 Agricultural Science Third Term: Storage of Farm Produce

Introduction

After harvesting, farm products are subject to attack by insect pests and micro-organisms if they are not properly kept. To reduce the incidence of pests and to avoid spoilage, agricultural products are kept in special places either for long or short periods depending on when they are sent to the market or used as input during the next planting season. The process of effectively keeping away pests and microorganisms from harvested agricultural products to avoid spoilage is called storage.

Objectives of Storage

  • To reduce to the barest minimum food spoilage caused by pests and microorganisms so that enough food will be available for consumption all year round.
  • To maintain or preserve the quality of food. Poor quality products will lead to a reduction in the price of such products.
  • To make food available at places where such food is not produced with good storage facilities, food produced in one locality can be transported to another place.
  • To ensure that some food crops are available through out the year.
  • To preserve planting materials for the next planting season

Methods of Storage

In order to keep farm produce in good condition after harvesting, a number of methods are employed to store the farm produce. The inavailability of good storage facilities to peasant farmers make it difficult for the farmers to  keep large quantities of farm produce during the harvesting period of each cropping season. They are therefore forced to dispose off their produce as fast as the produce is harvested. The following are methods of storage.

  • Barns – This is the most common and one of the oldest methods of storing yams and cocoyams. The barn consists of big woods placed horizontally  and small wooden holes placed vertically and close to themselves. The roof maybe covered with grasses or palm fronds. Yam tubers are tied to the vertical pole from the base to the top by means of ropes or they may be stored in heaps.
  • Rhumbus – These are storage structures designed and constructed locally for storing unthreshed grains such as maize, millet, and sorghum in the Northern part of the country. Rhumbus are cylindrical in shape and have their walls made of mud or dry grass and the comical roofs are made of thatch.

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JSS2 Agricultural Science Third Term: Storage of Farm Produce

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