Using Improved Storage Technology to Reduce Food Insecurity and Postharvest Losses in India Pallavi Shukla, Kathy Baylis and Hemant Pullabhotla 1 June 2019 Summary Can access to improved storage technology enhance food security for smallholder farmers in India? This study examines the impact of on-farm hermetic storage technology on four dimensions of food security – availability, access, utilization and stability. Postharvest losses during storage manifest in reduced quantity and quality of stored grain, resulting in decreased household incomes and reduced food availability. Improper storage undermines households’ ability to delay sales in expectation of higher prices and compromises food safety. Through a randomized control trial in India, we find that access to hermetic storage bags led smallholder farmers to store for longer periods, sell at higher prices, shift consumption away from market sources to own stock, reduce aflatoxin contamination, and decrease postharvest losses. A cost-benefit analysis of improved storage technology shows that farmers recover the full, unsubsidized cost of hermetic storage bags in one agricultural season. Background Food security and postharvest losses are interrelated issues. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the U.N. estimates that about 1.3 billion tons of food per year is lost after harvest and before reaching consumers. Put in perspective, a 50 percent decrease in losses would be equivalent to adding more than 550 million acres of agricultural land, which is greater than the total amount of arable land in the United States and Canada combined. Thus, reducing postharvest losses appears to be a promising way to increase the amount of food available for human consumption. Poor postharvest management reduces the quantity of food available for consumption and compromises the quality of food grains for sale, adversely impacting sales prices and farmers’ incomes. Lack of effective grain storage technology can lead to food contamination, as well as pest and rodent damage resulting in health hazards and reducing the farmers’ ability to store grains for the lean season. These effects combine to undermine all four pillars of food security - availability, access, utilization and stability. As defined by the FAO, availability refers to the supply of food - not just in terms of quantity but also quality. Access is about the affordability of food, which can be promoted by lowering food prices and/or improving household income. Utilization refers to the use of safe food in a way that supports a healthy life. Finally, stability 1 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. Corresponding author can be reached at: pshukla3@illinois.edu Report based on research funded by the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss at the University of Illinois. Full report available at: https://tinyurl.com/yynlvs89