Adoption Dynamics of Hermetic Storage Technology and Post Harvest Quality Outcomes in Maize Production
Journal of Smart and Sustainable Farming
Received On : 18 January 2026
Revised On : 23 March 2026
Accepted On : 06 April 2026
Published On : 12 April 2026
Volume 02, 2026
Pages : 053-061
Abstract
Post-harvest loss forms a significant challenge to productivity of smallholder maize farmers especially those found in the developing nations, where lack of adequate storage technologies means that the grain is prone to pest infestations and thus deterioration. Two randomized encouragement design is used in this study where farmers were given a full-coverage (100%), or partial-coverage (50%), subsidy on the use of Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags. Instrumental-variable estimation on the 543 household data shows that the level of adoption is significantly increased by the incentives that come as subsidies. The experimental results support that adding one PICS bag to the storage increases the maize storage by about 39 to 43 kg. Additionally, the adoption with the 100% subsidy leads to the reduction in post-harvest losses by about 10 kg, but the 50 subsidy brings weaker effects, which can be explained by the low adoption rates, thus, emphasizing the importance of strong financial incentives.
Keywords
Post-Harvest Losses, Hermetic Storage, PICS Bags, Randomized Encouragement Design, Instrumental Variables, Maize Storage, Agricultural Technology Adoption.
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Karthikeyan K, “Adoption Dynamics of Hermetic Storage Technology and Post Harvest Quality Outcomes in Maize Production”, Journal of Smart and Sustainable Farming, pp. 053-061, 2026, doi: 10.64026/JSSF/2026006.