Protecting food for the school term at Ruuju Primary School
By Teresa Mellish

Post-harvest losses of maize continue to be an issue in Sub Saharan Africa. Some of the pests which contribute to this include the maize weevil. An article Ken and I read recently titled On-farm storage loss estimates of maize in Kenya using community survey methods said that farmers estimated the loss of maize storage by weevils at 21%.
The Ruuju Primary School had a good maize harvest which FHF supported with seed and crop inputs. The parents' input was to seed, weed and harvest the crop. This maize will be used in the githeri to feed the 400 school children during the coming school term.

After the corn and beans are harvested, there may be weevils in the maize which can multiply during the storage period.
Hermetic bags are air-tight which prevents oxygen and moisture from getting to the grain stored in them. Because there is no oxygen in the bags, the weevils die. This ensures that there is enough maize to feed the children during the entire term.
This photo was taken at the Ruuju Primary School as the maize was being harvested and stored in hermetic bags.
We are very grateful for the GROH project which purchased hermetic bags to store the maize.
