Proper storage, use of food crops

 By James Laraki

APART from growing drought resistant crops and adopting simple irrigation systems, exploring storage ability of various foods is another long term strategy we could consider in our efforts towards drought preparedness. 

The challenge is our main staples such as sweet potato, taro, yam, Irish potato, cassava and banana do not store well. 

These staples are perishable and are susceptible to microorganisms, pests, and physical damage during harvesting and handling. 

As such these staples are not generally stored for a longer period following harvest. 

This becomes a major barrier for their optimal use. 

In most cases it leads to a lot of waste. 

It is therefore important that farmers should consider alternative food sources, particularly during droughts. 

During the 1997 drought many lives were saved by importing huge quantities of rice. 

Drought situations provide us the opportunity to consider other alternative food sources. 

Rice, maize (corn), wheat, various types of beans, and peanuts are some possible foods that can be prepared and stored for later use. 

Farmers are already learning to grow rice and wheat for obvious reasons. 

Most of the other foods are already grown by farmers. 

But the majority of our people do not recognise them as food in their dried form simply because they do not know how to prepare and cook them. 

Most of them can be stored longer when dried but we are used to eating them in their freshly harvested form by boiling, roasting and mumu.

But with proper preparation, especially with drying, these can be stored for much longer compared to the main staples. 

As part of any long term strategies to cope with droughts, we need to learn how to prepare and store them for use later when needed. 

This would involve learning how to dry them, including simple drying methods and accept them as human food in their dried form, including how to cook them. 

Most of these foods can be grown both in the lowlands and highlands. 

Maize, for example can be grown from sea level to over 3000 metres elevation. 

It can withstand cool and hot climates. 

Depending on variety, the crop can mature as early as three or four months after planting.

It is the third most important cereal in the world after rice and wheat. 

It is an important source of calories. 

Maize is a versatile tropical crop and is one option that we could consider for its storing ability. 

During per-drought period a lot of these crops should be cultivated and allowed to dry before harvesting. 

Maize should be allowed to dry on the stalk before harvesting. 

This should be further dried in the sun without removing the husk. When it is well dried, it could be strung above fire places in the cooking houses. 

The smoke and heat of the fire can preserve corn for the period of the drought. 

The dried corn can be prepared for food and some can be used as planting material.

The dried corn can be milled into flour or roasted to prepare various dishes. 

The same could be done for peanuts and beans. 

Obviously these may involve some training. 

But it is worth trying. Their storage ability is an advantage we need to consider, something that is impossible with our main staples. 

During a drought, farmers are presented with the ideal low humidity conditions for drying. 

Drying reduces the moisture content to very low levels, which helps with storage. 

Drying these foods either for seed or human food should be encouraged. 

In fact, drying them is not new to our people. 

It is old, easy and popular. Drying these foods is quite common in many areas, but in most cases it is used for storing seeds. 

We need to train them how to prepare and cook them. 

Rice, wheat, maize, various beans and peanuts are great crops to grow as they have a much longer storage life than other staples. 

The option of drying them and preparing foods from their dried form needs to promoted and encouraged. 

It is forms part of our efforts to do what we can do to look after ourselves during droughts. 

Doing so will not only ensure there is food available for the household but the country could save a lot of money by reducing importation of foods such as rice, flour, and noodles.