Indonesia like any other tropical countries, has experienced very high losses due to its inability to maintain grain quality. Various pests of stored products cause loss and damage to stored grain, and among those pests, insects and fungi contribute most significantly to the loss. In addition, the initial quality of grain prior to storage exerts a significant effect on the storability of the grain. Therefore, grain drying, processing and treatment carried out by farmers should be observed to ensure the initial quality of the grain.
To overcome the problems, a concept of integrated storage pest management has been implemented since the early eighties in the storages managed by the National Logistics Agency (BULOG), which enabled to minimize loss and maintain the grain quality successfully.
The concept basically integrates all measures to remove factors affecting grain quality deterioration from the stored grain. The strategy starts with the selection of grain quality during the procurement, maintenance of the hygiene and sanitation of storages throughout the storage period, inspection, application of various pest control measures and the implementation of controlled atmosphere storage technology for grain intended for long-term storage. The combination of measures which are applied in a fully integrated manner leads to a more efficient and cost-effective grain quality maintenance.
The management plays a key role in determining the successful adoption of such a strategy, since the decision on determining and selecting grain for storage will have a direct impact on the measures taken to maintain the grain quality.