2024-03-18 23:35:00
Covid-19 crisis, climate change, conflicts… The African continent is affected by multiple issues that impact its food security. In this context, questions of seed or fertilizer quality are often raised. That of storage more rarely, even though it is highly strategic.
Poorly stored agricultural products are subject to numerous risks. Djibril Diop is an inspector at the National Agricultural Insurance Company of Senegal. He is a witness to recurring damage. “ You can produce, put it in storage and something happens. », he illustrates. “ Rodents can arrive if it is stored incorrectly and devalue the merchandise. As a result, the market value decreases. »
And to add: “ It is therefore in the interest of the producer who has toiled for days, months or even years, at the end of his production and while waiting for the dividends from his action, to cover this well so that the results are not biased, so that when the disaster occurs, this random event that no one can control, it is compensated. »
These storage problems are felt in the daily lives of populations, underlines Mireille Mogena, head of a consulting firm which works in particular on agricultural issues in Chad. “ During lean periods, we see that prices soar and we wonder why prices soar. “, she emphasizes. “ Sometimes, we have the impression that the producers have stockpiled to outbid each other. But sometimes no. Precisely, they have not necessarily stored, but they have the problem of being able to find storage places. So, it’s a bit of a double whammy. »
In Ivory Coast, a collection and construction program
Storage problems which have clearly been identified and estimated by the Ivorian authorities. Between 30 and 60% of harvests are lost due to lack of good storage locations each year, at a cost estimated at 40 billion CFA francs. “ Even for half of the 23 speculations we have, in order to store half we need a little more than 2 000 warehouses. This represents an investment of around 5 billion euros in all production areas », explains Koffi Ngoran, the director general of the Storage Receipts Regulatory Authority.
« It is not encouraging, for example, to hear that the best quality of cashew comes from Benin. Whereas they produce barely 150,000 tonnes and we are at more than 1.3 million tonnes. And so obviously, if there is intelligent storage, with adequate handling treatment, if it is possible to monitor 24 hours a day with an electronic system that has sensors for humidity, intrusion and on product contamination, it allows us to make a leap », Explains Koffi Ngoran.
Faced with this problem, and with the aim of having fewer losses and ensuring the quality of agricultural products, the Ivorians have initiated a policy of levies to allow the development of these storage structures. A project to build 108 warehouses is underway.
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