Stories
June 9, 2026 • 3 min read
Post-harvest losses from insect infestation have long cut into both food security and income. Families were often forced to sell immediately after harvest at low prices or risk losing their stored grain leaving them with little to carry through lean seasons in Niger. With support from Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives through UNITLIFE and Irish Aid, GOAL introduced improved storage practices using hermetic Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags combined with practical farmer training. The approach is helping farmers reduce losses, store food longer, and sell when prices are stronger keeping more in hand when it matters most.
For farming families in Gueza Dan Alkali, Niger, the harvest should mark the beginning of stability, a moment when months of labor translate into food on the table and income in hand. Yet for too long, that moment has been shadowed by a quiet but devastating problem: post-harvest loss. Insects burrowing into stored cowpeas. Grain deteriorates before it can be eaten or sold. A season’s hard work is diminished not by drought or flood, but by what happens after the crops come in.
The hidden cost of poor storage
Cowpea farming is central to life in Gueza Dan Alkali. The crop is a critical source of both nutrition and income. But without adequate storage, farmers faced a painful dilemma: sell immediately after harvest, when markets are flooded and prices at their lowest, or risk losing produce entirely to insect infestation. Either way, households bore the cost.
The damage was not just economic. Reduced food reserves meant families stretched meals further through the lean months. Children’s school fees were harder to meet. Plans for small investments, a few animals, modest trade, remained out of reach. Post-harvest loss, invisible in the field, was quietly eroding household resilience season after season.
A simple solution, a lasting difference
To address this, GOAL with funding support from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives through UNITLIFE, and Irish Aid through Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership for a Better World, introduced practical training on improved post-harvest management. At the center of this was a simple technology, the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bag.
PICS bags work by creating a hermetic seal around stored grain, cutting off the oxygen supply that insects need to survive and breed. No chemicals. No ongoing costs. Just a reliable, low-cost method that farmers can use season after season. Through hands-on training, farmers in Gueza Dan Alkali learned not only how to use the bags correctly, but why they work, building the kind of understanding that endures beyond a single harvest.
Mr. Sabiou Manzo: patience rewarded
Among those who took part was Sabiou Manzo. In previous years, insect damage had forced him to sell his cowpeas early and at low prices, a cycle he had come to accept as inevitable. After the training, he decided to try a different approach. He stored his harvest in PICS bags and waited.
Six months later, when he opened them, his cowpeas were in excellent condition. Minimal losses. No significant pest damage. With his produce intact and market prices more favorable, Manzo was able to sell at a time of his own choosing, a small but profound shift.
The earnings are already earmarked with purpose: supporting his children’s education and investing in small income-generating activities to build a more diversified and resilient livelihood. What changed was not just his storage method. What changed was his relationship with the harvest itself.
A shift taking root across the community
Manzo’s experience is not isolated. Across Gueza Dan Alkali, more households are adopting PICS bags and the improved handling practices introduced through the project. Farmers are reporting reduced losses, better food availability in the months between harvests, and growing confidence in their ability to manage and market their produce.
Perhaps most significantly, the knowledge is spreading organically. Neighbors are asking questions. Techniques are being shared. The training has become a catalyst for wider change in one household, one conversation, one harvest at a time.
