Appropriate seed and grain storage systems for small-scale farmers: key practices for DRR implementers

This brief is part of the series, A Field Guide for Disaster Risk Reduction in Southern Africa: Key Practices for DRR Implementers, coordinated by the FAO Subregional Office for Disaster Risk Reduction/Management for Southern Africa. The brief provides practical guidelines on storage practices and methodologies to assist southern African farmers prone to natural hazards, mainly cyclones, droughts and floods. Indeed, suboptimal storage of agricultural products can lead to important losses resulting in increased vulnerability of these farmers in normal conditions, but the combined effect of natural disasters and poor storage practices may lead to tremendous losses for small farmers, with devastating effects both from economic and food security points of view.