PROBLEMS AFFECTING STORAGE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (A CASE STUDY OF MAIZE PRODUCTION



PROBLEMS AFFECTING STORAGE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (A CASE STUDY OF MAIZE PRODUCTION       
ABSTRACT
This study was designed to investigate the problems affecting storage of Agricultural produce which is the case study of maize production in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. The population of the sample was 20farmers in the selected farms in Akure South Local Government. Questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire contains items based on the objectives of the study. Some of the findings are: Most of the selected farms produce grain crops mostly maize grains; some of the farmers use chemicals to prevent their crops from pests. There is no adequate on new storing equipments, there are poor techniques in handling of storage facilities, also high cost of storage facilities. Base on the findings, the following recommendations are made: The farmers should be encouraged on how to plant different crop especially grains, farmers should be able to use insecticides, pesticides and fumigants for controlling the insect pest at appropriate time, since pests affect grains in the container, good store should be used for the storage of grains. Farmers should clean and disinfect the storage bags or containers before storage. Farmers should be encouraged on how to use modern method of storing Agricultural produce so as to prevent harvested crops from perishing.  

 TABLE OF CONTENT
Title                                                                               Page No
Title page                                                                              
Certification                                                                                    
Approval Page                                                                   
Dedication                                                                              
Acknowledgement                                                                 
Abstract                                                                                 
Table of content Abstract                                                       
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
Background of the Study                                                                
Statement of the Problem                                                                 
Purpose of the Study                                                            
Significance of the Study                                                               
Research Question                                                                            
Scope of the Study                                                                       
Definition of Terms                                                              
CHAPTER TWO: Review Literature Review
The Problem Associated with the Grains (Maize) Storage               
Method of Storage                                                                  
Types of Silo Storage                                                             
Reason for Grain Storage                                                                
CHAPTER THREE: Research Methodology
Design of the Study                                                                
Area of the Study                                                                   
Population of the Study                                                         
Sample of the Study                                                                   
Research Instrument                                                               
Method of Data Collection                                                     
Validation of the Instrument                                                  
Method of Data Analysis                                                                 
CHAPTER FOUR: Presentation and Analysis of Data
Research Question One                                                          
Research Question Two                                                         
Research Question Three                                                                 
Research Question Four                                                         
Research Question Five                                                          
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
Summary                                                                              
Conclusion                                                                             
Recommendation                                                                   
Limitation of the Study                                                          
REFERENCES
APPENDIX 

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
         Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, and other life forms for food, fiber, medicinal and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture, therefore, is and will continue to be central to all strategies for planned socio-economic development of the country. Rapid growth of agriculture is essential not only to achieve self-reliance at national level but also for household, food security and to bring about equity in distribution of income and wealth resulting in rapid reduction in poverty levels. (Rubenstein J.M. 2003). Agricultural science is defined as the art and science of field crop culture and soil management. The aims and objectives of agricultural science is to increase the production and processing of exportable commodities with a view of increasing their foreign exchange earning, For modernization of agricultural production, Processing storage and distribution through the infusion of improved technologies, For the protection and improvement of agricultural land and resources and preservation of the environment for sustainable agricultural production.
         Storage of crops is considered to retain the product essentially its original form usually at a regulated temperature and relative humidity and excludes preservative processes in which the form of the of  product is usually altered. For instance, maize storage means storing the maize on cob or shelled and left as grains but not as corn flour, which is a product of processing. Reasons for storing agricultural produce are: To provide seeds for subsequent planting, for economic purposes, to provide food between the harvest seasons. The problems of storage deterioration: Micro-organisms, Insect and Mites, Rodents and Birds.
         Storage structure/ system is any man-made ecosystem which create an environment that is not convenient for destructive agents, that is, a crop stage structure is a container that is designed and fabricated to perform the function of safety crops keeping. Furthermore, storage structure also refers to the facilities within and some far from an agricultural establishment which are used for the storage of agricultural produce.
          Cereals is any true grass cultivated for the edible components of its grains (botanically, a type of fruit called caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop, they are therefore STAPLE Crops. Some plants often referred to as cereal like buckwheat and quinoa, there are considered instead of pseudo cereals since they are not grasses. In their natural form (as whole grain), they are source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, fats, oils and protein. When refined by the removal of the bran and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrate. In some developing nations, grain in form of rice, millets, or maize constitutes the majority of daily sustenance. Cereals are grown in warm- season of tropical lowlands in temperate climates during the frost-tree season.
          However, there are other major cereals of warm temperate or tropical origin which are of local importance in the tropics. The four important cereals grown for human food in the tropics are Rice, Millets, Maize, and Sorghum. Some cereals are deficient in the essential amino acid Lysine. The major role of cereals to modern society is related to its importance as food crops throughout the world. In most parts of Asia and Africa, cereals products comprise 80% or more of the average diet, in central and western Europe, as much as 50% and in the united state between 20-25%. Cereals are the major dietary energy suppliers and provide significant amount of protein, minerals (potassium and calcium) and vitamin (vitamin A and C) (Idem and Showemimo, 2004). Cereals are consumed in a variety forms including: pastes, noodles, cakes, breads, drinks etc. depending on the ethnic and religious affiliation. The bran, husk, plant parts and other residues (after processing) are useful as feeds and in the culture of micro-organism. Wax syrup and gum are extracted form cereals for industrial purposes.
             Maize as a cereal is an Africa crop. Several civilizations have been built with maize as their staple food: the Mayan, the Azlec, the lncan and to a great degree. Maize has always been American most efficient crop for converting the sun energy into food; in this century, hybrids and tremendous advances in fertilizer and machinery, as well as insect and weed control combined to give it a leading role in revolutionizing our agriculture.
Maize, the Indian greatest contribution to the white man, has kept pace with our need for food for an ever-expanding population. The key crop of the new world agriculture and the chief basis of Indian economy, the noble grass we know as maize, as Indian maize, or as our derivative of its Arawak name maize (Zea mays).
Maize is classified as belonging to the subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Andropogoneae or, by others, tribe Maydeae. The tribes include two genera of new world origin: Tripsacum, with numerous wild species and zea. The taxonomy of the of the genus Zea which is given here was proposed by Litis and Doebley(1980) and supported by isozyme and chloroplast DNA studies(Doebley, 1990). It divides zea into four subspecies, of which one is cultivated maize:

Section Luxuriates                              section zea
Z. diploperennis                                    Z.mays           subsp. mexicana
Z. perennis                                                                   subsp. parviglumis
Z. luxurians                                                                   subsp. huehuetenangen
          Maize has a remarkable diversity of vegetative types, with the result that adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions in cultivation. From latitudes 58 in Canada, the culture of maize passes without interruption through the tropical region and the farmers of agriculture in the southern hemisphere (latitude 350 to 450). It is grown from below sea level to altitudes of 13,000feets.
           Maize is a short-day plant that is flowering is hastened and vegetative growth retarded by long nights. The maize plants utilities about half its seasonal intake of water during the five weeks following the attainment of its maximum leaf area. The varieties that successed in any region are those fitted to the particular length of day. Quick maturing hybrids are grown in the north. Maize requires an abundance of readily available plant nutrients and a soil reaction between ph5.5 and ph8.0 for the best production. On poor soil, vegetative growth may use most of the available nutrients at the expensive of grain production later in the season. Under short season conditions, light sandy soils are preferable for maize because they warm-up more quickly in the spring. The best date to plant maize may be as early as late February or early march, while late maize is early June in the extreme north. Planting should be delayed a day for each 13miles to the north in the central maize belt, most maize is planted from mid-April to mid-May.
            In addition to calendar date, consideration should be given to the temperature of the soil when planting. The sowing of maize should be 20 to 50cm apart in rows, the distance depending on whether the seed is to be sown singly or in group of three or four per hole. The rows should be spaced 80cm apart. The depth of sowing varies from 2 to 6cm depending on the soil type, where the soil is light, seeds should be buried deeply.
One of the major grains produced in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State is maize. The important of maize are as follows:
1.      for human consumption
2.      as raw materials for industries
3.      as livestock feed
It can also be prepare as food in different forms:
1.      they can be boiled or eaten raw
2.      they can be roasted
3.      they can also be grounded or use in powered as flour for baking bread, biscuits e.t.c. the stem can be used to feed the animals and used as mulching materials.
            There are some problems that are affecting the storage of maize, they include:
1.      Poor storage method.
2.      Poor usage of storage facilities.
3.      Inadequate facilities for storing agricultural products.
4.      Climatic factors: rainfall, temperature, solar radiation.
5.      Soil factors: pests and diseases, migration.
Statement of the Problem
            Maize is grown Marjorly in the savannah area of Nigeria. The fact that in Akure South Local Government Area of  Ondo State, large quantities of maize is bring produced annually, but there is shortage of maize due to the problem affecting the storage of maize production, which includes the following:
Temperature, Moisture, Oxygen, Geographical location, Granary structure, Physical, Chemical and Biological properties of grains in bulks, Micro-organisms, Insects, Mites, Rodents and Birds. There problems cause a large damage to maize. Most of the maize produced in the country is always in excess supply during the harvesting period, most of them are also sold cheaply in the market during the harvesting period and some get wasted due to inadequate storage facilities like Bins, Silo, warehouse, shelf storage, and cribs storage e.t.c.        
Purpose of the Study
            The aims of the study is to identify the problems affecting the storage of maize and finding possible solution to the problems of maize production in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State.
·        To find out the major diseases affecting the storage of maize.
·        To identify the varieties of maize planted and to know the method of storing them.
Significance of the Study
            The significance of this study cannot be over emphasized, in as much as maize storage has been creating problem to the farmers in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. The problems include;
·  Unavailability of chemicals.
·  Lack of manpower
·  Lack of incentives from government to the farmers.
            The result of this study is to assist the farmers on how to handle the storage of maize well and other grain crop like sorghum, millet, rice e.t.c, in other to enhance more income and to develop more interest in growing of maize. All the farmers will gain and benefit definitely from the recommendation of the researchers.
Research Questions
            The following research questions will be used:
1.      What are the types of grain crops grown by the farmers?
2.      What are the reasons for choosing maize?
3.      What are the items used for maize storage?
4.      What are the problems of maize storage?
5.      What are the possible solutions to the problems?
Scope of the Study
            This study focus on the problem affecting storage of agricultural products and production of  maize in Akure South Local Area of Ondo state.
Definition of Terms
            The following terminologies are used in this research work and they are as follows:
·        STORAGE: This is the process preserving the original quality of agricultural produce to avoid spoilage in both plants and animals for future use and for further processing.
·        CRIB: Crib storage recently gained research interest because of its potentials. The traditional crib has been improved. The conventional crib storage made of improved material such as sawn wood, iron or wire mesh, plastic roof and treated bamboo. The conventional cribs have increased capacity and could store up to 15tons of cob maize. It is therefore used for medium scale storage.
·        SILO/BIN STORAGE: A silo, also referred to as a bin is basically a huge container used for the storage of agricultural produce. Silo is used for bulky storage of grains such as shelled maize, threshed rice, sorghum or guinea corn and millet. Silos may be circular or rectangular in section.
·        WAREHOUSE: Warehouse is used for both medium and large scale storage. Bagged products are normally stored in the warehouse. Occasionally bulk materials are stored in the warehouse. Modern warehouses are provided with materials handling equipment, especially when bulk materials are stored.
·        SHELF STORAGE: This is an improved storage for root crops. Roof crops could be stored on shelf for a longer time; through moisture loss is too much. Shelf is mostly made of wood or metal.

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