The role of maize storage in stabilizing annual household maize consumption: an application of generalized propensity score matching

Rural households in developing countries face yield risks and seasonal production amidst the desire for stable household consumption. While storage has been cited as one of the ways of smoothing consumption during the lean periods, there is little empirical evidence on the subject. The current study used a generalized propensity score approach to examine the impact of storage on maize consumption smoothing. Maize was found to be the main crop, mostly grown for home consumption. The amount bought increased during the leaner periods when the prices were higher. In addition, the coefficient of variation for total maize consumption for decreased with increase in the length of storage, indicating that indeed storage helps to smoothen consumption across the year and consequently improve household food security.