Agricultural experts have called for increased investment in hermetic storage technology to reduce Ghana’s post-harvest losses, improve food security and increase farmers’ incomes.
They said although Ghana had made progress in increasing agricultural production, significant quantities of food continued to be lost after harvest because of poor storage, insect infestation, spoilage, bushfires, inadequate transportation and other preventable factors.
The experts said reducing post-harvest losses should be treated as a national priority because it would improve food availability without requiring additional cultivated land.
Their recommendations follow estimates by the World Food Programme (WFP) that Ghana loses about US$1.9 billion worth of agricultural produce annually through post-harvest losses, with cereals such as maize, rice and sorghum accounting for about US$141 million.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report also estimated that 673 million people, representing 8.2 per cent of the global population, experienced hunger in 2024.
In Africa, more than 307 million people, or over 20 per cent of the population, faced hunger, while projections indicate that nearly 60 per cent of the world’s 512 million chronically undernourished people by 2030 could be on the continent.
The WFP further estimated that about 2.4 million Ghanaians were vulnerable to food insecurity between March and May 2025.
Dr Issah Sugri, Deputy Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), described post-harvest losses as one of the greatest threats to sustainable agriculture and national food security.
He said despite improvements in crop productivity, poor storage systems, insect infestation, rodents, mould, moisture and climate-related factors continued to destroy large quantities of harvested produce.
“We cannot continue to measure agricultural success only by what farmers harvest. We must also measure how much of that harvest safely reaches consumers. Every bag of grain lost after harvest represents lost income for farmers, reduced food availability and wasted investment,” he said.
Dr Sugri called for greater investment in improved storage technologies and farmer education, noting that climate variability had made traditional storage methods increasingly unreliable.
Hermetic storage is an airtight storage system that preserves grains by preventing the movement of oxygen and moisture between stored produce and the surrounding environment.
Unlike conventional storage methods that rely heavily on chemical pesticides, hermetic storage creates an oxygen-deficient environment that suppresses insect activity, prevents mould growth and preserves grain quality for extended periods.
The technology includes hermetic bags, plastic cocoons, metal silos and other airtight storage containers suitable for household and commercial use.
Dr Sidik Baba Sulemana, Agricultural Technology Innovation Consultant and Lecturer at the University for Development Studies, Nyankpala Campus, described hermetic storage as one of the most practical and cost-effective technologies for reducing post-harvest losses among smallholder farmers.
He explained that the airtight environment deprived insects of oxygen, preventing reproduction while protecting grains without chemical pesticides.
According to him, the technology also preserves seed viability, reduces aflatoxin contamination, maintains grain quality and enables farmers to store produce safely until market prices improve.
Dr Sulemana said wider adoption of hermetic storage would improve household food security, strengthen agricultural value chains, reduce financial losses and increase farmers’ incomes.
He urged Government to promote widespread adoption through farmer education, affordable financing and improved distribution systems.
Experts noted that several African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia, had successfully adopted hermetic storage technologies, significantly reducing storage losses and improving food security.
They said Ghana could achieve similar results through a coordinated national strategy that expands access to affordable hermetic storage bags, metal silos and other airtight storage systems, particularly for smallholder farmers.
They also called for strengthened agricultural extension services to train farmers in proper harvesting, drying and storage practices, as well as greater collaboration among Government, research institutions, universities, development partners and the private sector.
The experts said scaling up hermetic storage technology would reduce food waste, safeguard farmers’ incomes and strengthen Ghana’s food security while supporting sustainable agricultural development.
