Smallholder food storage dynamics and resilience

• Published in: Food security Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 7 - 20
• Main Authors: Waldman, Kurt B., Giroux, Stacey, Blekking, Jordan P., Baylis, Kathy, Evans, Tom P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-02-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural development; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Corn; Developing countries; Environment; Food; Food Science; Food security; Food storage; Grain storage; LDCs; Life Sciences; Original Paper; Plant Sciences; Short message service; Small farms; Social Policy; Social Sciences; Maize; Zambia; Africa; Food storage; Resilience
• ISSN: 1876-4517; 1876-4525
• DOI: 10.1007/s12571-019-00983-2

For smallholder farmers in developing countries, agricultural production is seasonal yet food demand is constant throughout the year. One fundamental agricultural decision is how much harvest to sell versus store for subsequent household consumption. Little is known about the temporal dimensions of grain storage, the extent to which storage levels vary over time, and the diversity of food storage patterns across different household types. This paper examines household level maize storage consumption, sales, and purchases using weekly food storage data collected via text message. We demonstrate how high frequency data can be used to measure rates and patterns of food storage decline, identify thresholds of food security, and anticipate future periods of food insecurity at a fine spatial scale.