Integrated Post-Harvest Protection
Is Worth Its Money !

The cost-effectiveness of systems-oriented
measures in post-harvest protection, for the
example of the integrated control of the
Larger Grain Borer Prostephanus truncatus

A. Bell, O. Mück, P. Mutlu & H. Schneider

Eschborn March 1999

Published by:

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Project: "Integrated Control of the Larger Grain Borer - Small Farmers Post-Harvest Systems" Mr. Albert Bell P. O. Box 5180 D-65726 Eschborn, Germany Web page: https://www.gtz.de

Responsible for the content: A. Bell Section: Plant & Post-Harvest Protection, 4541 email: albert.bell@gtz.de Web pages: http//www.gtz.de/post_harvest http//www.fao.org/inpho

Translation: from German into English by C. Hay

Edited and laid out by: G. Quiter, Section 4541 email: gerlinde.quiter@gtz.de I/0399/1,0

Copyright: GTZ, 1998
The copyright of this publication is vested in the "Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH". Applications for permissions to reproduce this publication, in whole or in part, by any method or process, should be addressed, with a statement of purpose and extend of the reproduction desired, to GTZ - Stabsstelle 01, Postfach 5180, D-65726 Eschborn, Germany.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknoledgement

1 Background

2 The purpose and benefit of post-harvest protection

3 What has the GTZ contributed to improving stored product protection?

4 Issues related to the economic-effectiveness of post-harvest protection

5 Quantifying the losses: What happens in storage?

6 The small-scale farming system: What benefit does stored product protection provide to the target group?

7 Macro-economic benefit

8 The overall benefit of controlling the LGB

9 The systems approach: From stored product protection to integrated post-harvest management

10 Bibliography

11 Annex I List of books and extension material published by the project

12 Annex II African countries affected by the Larger Grain Borer

List of Boxes

Box 1: Maize losses in southern Togo

Box 2: Maize losses in Costa Rica

Box 3: Loss reduction due to biological control of the LGB in Togo

Box 4: Economic losses caused by the LGB in Tanzania

Box 5: Farm management aspects of stored product protection measures in Togo

Box 6: Farm-level cost-effectiveness of biological control of the LGB in the coastal region of West Africa

Box 7: Socio-economic impacts of biological control of the LGB upon small-scale farming systems in southern Togo

Box 8: Model calculation of the macro-economic impact of the LGB in Ghana

Table 1: Determination of storage losses in absolute terms from Box 1

Table 2: Cost-benefit analysis of biological control of the LGB for the maize production of Benin, Togo and Guinea (Conakry) 1980-2010