Among the six presentations during the "Markets" oral sessions this morning, Nkoyo Bassey from the University of Bonn caught lots of attention. Her work promised to bring many benefits to farmers in Ghana by applying quality grading standards for maize to reduce post-harvest loss (PHL).

In her research "Marketers Consciousness for Quality Loss Reduction: A Case from Maize Marketers in Ghana", Nkoyo Bassey and her team experimented and analysed the influences of establishing a standard grading system for the quality of maize produced by farmers in two districts in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. Until now, the quality of harvested maize grains was decided mostly subjectively according to its physical appearance by farmers and buyers. Therefore, there is an increased possibility of losing certain amounts of usable grain, which costs the farmer. By comparing the existing scenario of current market situation on subjective grading and the hypothesized scenario with grading systems, her research found out a significant impact of grading standard. While the former scenario showed a low acceptability of marketers (around 44%), the latter one clearly confirmed the benefit of grading scale with a double rate of acceptance.

Her results are considered valuable because they suggest a simple method to lessen the unnecessary loss after harvest, increasing value. Based on the presentation it shows promise as a new method that will benefit farmers in Ghana. I strongly believe that similar research working on finding new solutions and strategies that can really support farmers should be encouraged more.