ESTIMATING THE MAGNITUDE OF PHL IN SSA
In the 1970s, the popular view was that PHL were high at the
farm level and that traditional practices were the problem.
However, some authors have argued that traditional practices
are an unlikely culprit, as farmers have survived diffi cult conditions
over long periods by adapting their practice to prevailing
circumstances (Greeley 1982); others argue that they have
come to accept high PHL as part of a more complex overall
livelihoods strategy that trades off these losses against the
cost of reducing them. Nevertheless, serious losses at the
farm level do sometimes occur as a result of multiple factors
such as agricultural developments for which the farmer is not
pre-adapted. These include the introduction of high-yielding
varieties that are more susceptible to pest damage, additional
cropping seasons that result in the need for harvesting and drying
when weather is damp or cloudy, increased climate variability,
or farmers producing significant surplus grain that must be
stored on the farm in larger quantities and for longer periods.