adminSamuel Kadungure Senior Farming Reporter
MAIZE is the most important staple food in Zimbabwe and its storage is crucial to bridge seasons and to ensure household food and nutritional security.
Efficient grain storage is even more critical at this stage when crop yields were severely compromised by weather vagaries.
The larger grain borer (LGB) is the most notorious storage insect pest threatening the maize industry of Zimbabwe. It can cause 100 percent physical damage.
LGB is a member of a wood-boring family, which is now extensively known as a major pest of stored maize, dried cassava and other domestic products.
The pest is foreign in Zimbabwe. It was originally endemic to Mexico and parts of Central America. It was known in Africa in the late 70s where it is suspected to have been accidentally introduced through aid maize in Tanzania.
From that initial infestation point, the pest spread in a discrete and defined trend to cover many countries in sub-Saharan African including, Zimbabwe. Most countries neighbouring Zimbabwe are already invaded by the pest and Zimbabwe having been hit by drought over the past years, the pest could have found its way into the country through imported maize grain to meet domestic requirements.
The ecological environment of Zimbabwe is indifferent from those countries where the pest is already endemic and because Zimbabwe is at high risk of invasion by LGB it is imperative to allow more focussed and efficient utilisation of resources for effective and sustainable management of the pest.
The pest has devastating effects and demands adequate preparation on its management. The LGB can eat all the grain and induce loss of up to 100 percent.
Farming is all in vain if farmers cannot store the harvested produce.
While local seed companies, thorough their research units, consistently developed high yielding seed varieties while government on the other hand provided extension services, inputs such seed, fertilisers and machineries like tractors to capacitate resource-poor farmers across the country, agro-chemical companies lagged behind in coming up with pesticides that could ensure that whatever farmers produce was well stored and managed.
Farmers have been having sleepless nights over the destruction of their maize crop by stubborn insects like the larger grain borer, which turns stored maize into dust if left untamed. The larger grain borer gained the notoriety of resisting usual pesticides like Copper Shumba and Chirindamatura. This left farmers clueless on how to protect their grain.
Affected farmers in some cases were advised to destroy all the infested maize to thwart the grain borer from breeding while in some cases they were forced to apply phostoxin tablets, which are highly toxic to humans, domestic animals, birds, fish and wildlife.
However, necessity is the mother of all inventions and new product has been manufactured to get around all these problem of larger grain borer with guaranteed success.
ZFC Limited last Friday unveiled Atellic Gold Dust, after three years of research which preserves grain from attack by pests.
ZFC injected $50 000 into the new product that was launched last Friday to eliminate the larger grain borer pest that had haunted maize farmers for decades.
ZFC managing director, Mr Richard Dafana, said the product took the company three years of research to come up with the product.
“This one is different in that most of the products on the markets do not control the larger grain borer. This one is the only which really does that. We have conducted quite some trials. The borer itself is not indigenous to Zimbabwe, but is a new pest that emanated from our trade with other countries,” said Mr Dafana, adding that treated grain can be consumed after a week.
“It is going to improve the ability of the country to store grain especially in the rural areas where people harvest and they have to store grain for quite a long time. Most of the products that are on the ground actually just last a few months, but this one protects grain for the entire year,” explained Mr Dafana.
Once the atelic dust has been applied, it has systemic and respiratory or vapour action. It acts on the nervous system of the insects (different site to pyrethroids or deltamethrin) and controls insects or pests from emerging from diapausen which gives the combined systemic and respiratory action, a long-term protection.
ZFC is expected to make the new product readily available nationwide through its distribution network.
Government on the other had has introduced the new metal silo technology.
A metal silo is a cylindrical structure constructed from a galvanised sheet with a flat metal top and a flat metal bottom.
A man-hole with a cover, which may be hinged but is nevertheless lockable, is located, usually to one side, in the top panel; and an outlet pipe provided with a padlock is fitted at the base of the wall.
The silo is hermetically sealed — which means it is airtight and kills all insect pests that may be present in the stored grain by oxygen deprivation.
The metal silo technology has its roots in Central America and has been adopted in countries such as Kenya, Malawi and now in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe rolled out a pilot project to promote metal silos to farmers in Shamva and Makoni districts in 2012 and the technology has proven through farmer implementation to give 100 percent grain protection.
These silos are thoroughly sealed, thereby reducing the amount of grain spoilage by rain and fire exposure and pest penetration.
They are what the doctor prescribed for rodents, weevils and the notorious LGB. The silos are fire proof too and require no additional chemicals. Grain stored in the silos maintains its original quality for more than eight months.
Before the introduction of these silos, farmers used sacks and matura (the traditional granaries).
The traditional granary — a structure built with poles, mud and cow dung — has a major snag in that it allows free entry to the maize weevil, rodents and the LGB, the three most damaging pests of stored maize in the country.
The bagged grain faces risks spoilage by water, termites and damage by rodents.
As a result of the aforementioned loopholes, pest infestation losses of up to 20 percent are reported three months after storage, and this rises up to more than 50 percent after six months.
The main advantage metal silos is that it is airtight, so it keeps out insects and suffocates any that might have stuck in with the stored grain.
Metal silos, are however too expensive for small individual farmers.
A five-bag silo goes for $75 and a 20-bag silo costs $350.
However, with an effective lifetime of more than two decades, the silos more than pay for themselves, in terms of food security and surplus grain savings.
The metal silos are durable, lasting between 25 to 30 years and no maintenance is required.
Online Reporter