Benefits/Impact
Farmers
Tinsmiths
National Economy
Training and Development Organizations
Government and Donor Agencies
Impact Studies
Farmers’ profits depend on the earnings from grain sales and the percentage of the harvest preserved due to the POSTCOSECHA technology. With their own storage facilities farmers typically do not sell for average market prices, but sell during peak periods. This pro-cyclical effect is even stronger with the largest silo size: since only the grain amount above subsistence/reproduction needs is sold, farmers with harvests big enough to fill large silos will sell a higher percentage of their harvest at peak prices than average farmers.
Figure 1 shows the positive correlation between the farmers’ aggregate storage capacity and their accumulated net profit from 1981 to 2000 (Source: own data).
The investment in the new technology consists of monetary costs (purchase price of the silo, fumigation costs, interests on a potential loan, price of the storage technology replaced by the POSTCOSECHA technology) as well as nonmonetary costs (time invested in learning how to manage the new technology, information costs about the market for loanable funds). There exist also some uncertainties concerning the life expectancy of the silo, inflation, interest rate or market price fluctuations, etc.
The benefits to farmer families in general are: a low investment with rapid amortization, high return on investment, the strengthening of their bargaining position vis-à-vis traders, the diversification of livelihood strategies, a safe storage of family staples and seeds in a self owned storage facility in their house, dwellings free of rodents and poisonous chemicals, after sale services readily available with local tinsmiths.
A representative calculation (based on overall average estimates) for a Central American farmer would be:
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Silo technology costs
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4.5 USD/year |
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Silo technology benefits |
20 USD/year |
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Net average profit due to silo technology |
15.5 USD/year |
Tinsmiths’ profits depend on the number of silos sold and the sales price of the silos. The production costs consist of monetary costs (price of tools, price of silo raw materials, labor costs, storage costs, rental for studio/workshop, interests on a potential loan) as well as nonmonetary costs (time invested in learning how to produce silos, information costs about market for loanable funds). The tinsmiths’ uncertainties concern the life expectance of the tools, sales risk (fall in demand), inflation, etc.
Further benefits to local tinsmiths are the diversification of production, an additional income source, improved management competencies.
A representative calculation for a Central American tinsmith would be:
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Silo production costs
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2067 USD/year |
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Silo sales benefits
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2400 USD/year |
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Net average profit due to silo production |
333 USD/year |
Benefits to the national economy depend on the significance of the postharvest losses prevented (significance of the grain production for the national economy, scale of postharvest losses) as well as on the coverage with POSTCOSECHA technology (percentage of harvest stored at farm level, percentage of farm level storage covered with POSTCOSECHA technology).
Further impacts on the national economy are: the creation of new tinsmith jobs, price stabilization of basic grain staples on the market for grains (less scarcity), positive spillover or welfare effect because people not owning silos also benefit once the silo density is high.
An illustration of national economy impacts from Central America: in 2005, with roughly 500’000 silos in use, 45’000 tons of grain were preserved per year, representing a market value of roughly 10 million USD/year. Plus 200 new tinsmith jobs were created.
Training and Development Organizations
Training and development organizations benefit from a proven technology ready for dissemination.
Governments and Donor Agencies
Governments and donor agencies have at their disposal a low risk strategy with proven success on poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth. Decentralized storage is buffering lean seasons and avoids the use of centralized storage facilities with high distribution costs.
El impacto de proyectos y programas agropecuaria en América Central apoyados por COSUDE 1980-2001
January 2004
Author: Simon Zbinden
Un análisis meta para la estimación de los efectos agregados de proyectos agropecuaria.
Download (PDF, 934 KB): [es]
| Estudio de Adopción y de Impactos de Tecnologías Postcosecha February 2002 Author: Sally Gladstone, Linda Asturias and Allan J. Hruska El Programa Regional Postcosecha (PRP) fue iniciado por la Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación (COSUDE) para mejorar el manejo postcosecha de los granos básicos almacenados en fincas de pequeños productores de Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador y Guatemala. Además de mejorar las técnicas de secado, desgranado y manejo de plagas de maís y frijol, el PRP, a través de Unidades Coordinadores Postcosecha (UCP) establecidas por los gobiernos de cada país, hasta junio de 2001 ha difundido 238'799 silos metálicos tipo plano. | |
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Download (PDF, 8634 KB): [es] |
| Programa Postcosecha en Centroamérica; Evaluación de Impacto y de la Sostenibilidad 1995 Author: Jonathan Coulter, Juanita Brüssel, Mark Wright El Programa POSTCOSECHA / COSUDE cuenta con 15 años de haberse iniciado en la región centroamericana. Años, de intensos esfuerzos por contrarestar mediante tecnologías postcosecha mejoradas, las pérdidas que registran los pequeños y medianos productores de granos básicos en sus formas tradicionales de almacenamiento. En este contexto, se planteó la necesidad después de tantos años, conocer los logros y el impacto del programa en los países centroamericanos de ¡nicidencia y a nivel de la población meta, así como conocer el grado de consolidación del programa en las estructuras nacionales. | |
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| Seguridad Alimentaria 1991 Author: Hannes Herrmann Comparación de impactos socio-económicos en la tenencia del silo metálico versus sistema tradicional de almacenamiento. | |
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Download (PDF, 170 KB): [es] |
| Seguridad Alimentaria: Abstract in English 1991 Author: Hannes Herrmann Comparación de impactos socio-económicos en la tenencia del silo metálico versus sistema tradicional de almacenamiento. | |
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Download (PDF, 17 KB): [en] |
