ADMI-sponsored research indicates that Bangladeshi farmers suffer losses of 6% of their grain stored at home over three months following the Boro harvest. Grain stored in permeable jute sacks or traditional bins is susceptible to various forms of infestation as well as variation in moisture content leading to quality degradation. Research further shows that use of hermetically sealed 50 kg plastic bags can reduce storage loss in households to near zero over the same period. Storage losses are a significant cost to smallholders, who typically hold about 300 kilograms of harvested grain for home consumption after each harvest. While use of hermetic bags has been effective in some developing country settings, they face serious impediments in Bangladesh due to absence of a distribution system and more importantly, government restrictions on use of plastics emerging from environmental concerns. 

Understanding that hermetic storage is valued by farmers, but that hermetic bags may be inappropriate in the context, the Advanced Storage Laboratory at Bangladesh Agricultural University developed a durable metal bin that can be locally produced and achieves the benefits of hermetic storage in laboratory settings. 

The goal of this project is to develop a durable and scalable method for smallholder farmers in Bangladesh to hermetically store grain for household consumption.  

1. Train local manufacturers in production of improved metal storage bins, commission production of 200 bins of 2 different sizes, and distribute them to 100 households in rural Bangladesh. 
2. The recipients will be trained in the use of the bins and revisited after 1 month, 2 months and 4 months to assess the users’ experience and results. 
3. Revised designs will be distributed to manufacturers and training materials for proper use of the improved bins will be developed and shared with the Division of Agricultural Extension of the Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture. 

This project is ongoing.