GrainMate: Grain Moisture Meter

Control the moisture content of grains and reduce post-harvest losses.

The Grain Moisture Meter is a valuable tool for African farmers, helping them accurately measure grain moisture to prevent mold and post-harvest losses. Ministries of Agriculture, extension services, and food safety agencies can use this technology to support farmers by ensuring quality control, providing better storage advice, and enforcing market standards. Extension officers can train farmers on proper grain management, while regulatory bodies can maintain fair trade practices. This affordable and easy-to-use device enhances food security, improves market value, and reduces post-harvest losses at farmer and country levels.

This technology is pre-validated.

8•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 7/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Under 18: Positive high

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Does not improve environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Problem

Significant post-harvest grain losses: Poor post-harvest handling causes farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to lose an estimated 10–20% of their grain.
Unreliable traditional moisture assessment: Farmers rely on methods such as biting or tossing grains, which provide inconsistent moisture estimates.
Limited access to moisture measurement tools: Many farmers lack access to affordable and reliable grain moisture meters.
Mold and food-quality risks: Grain above 13.5% moisture has a high risk of mold development during storage, affecting food quality and safety.
Weak grain quality monitoring: Limited moisture data makes it harder for agricultural agencies to provide effective storage advice and monitor grain quality.

Solution

Accurate grain moisture measurement: GrainMate replaces subjective methods with direct moisture measurement.
Affordable access: The device costs approximately USD 45–60 and can be integrated into agricultural extension and food-quality programmes.
Better storage advice: Reliable moisture measurements help extension officers provide more accurate drying and storage recommendations.
Post-harvest loss reduction: Proper moisture management reduces spoilage and helps retain more grain for consumption and markets.
Improved grain-quality monitoring: Moisture data can support agricultural agencies in monitoring grain quality, identifying storage risks and improving food-security planning.

Key points to design your project

The GrainMate Moisture Meter stands out as a tool addressing challenges in traditional grain moisture measurement. It not only enhances efficiency in agriculture but also aligns with global sustainability goals, promoting responsible farming practices and ensuring a more resilient and equitable future for grain post harvest management.

To incorporate this technology into your project adhere to the following guidelines:

Assess the quantity of GrainMate Moisture Meters required for your project, taking into account a technology cost ranging from USD 45-60 per device.
Consider the technology's location (Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe) and factor in the delivery cost to the project site, including potential expenses related to import clearance and duties.

Training is crucial for effective utilization. Enlist a team of trainers to provide comprehensive training and post-training support during the implementation of the technology. Include the associated costs in your project plan.

Communication support for the technology should be developed (flyers, videos, radio broadcasts, etc.)

To implement the technology in your country, you could collaborate with agricultural development institutes and agro-dealers.

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	–Not adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	–Not adopted
Zimbabwe	–No ongoing testing	Tested	–Not adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

GrainMate Components: GrainMate is composed of a handheld reader and a probe. The probe, housing the sensor, connects to the reader through a USB cable.
Moisture Measurement Process: To obtain a moisture measurement, the user inserts the probe into a sample of grain, selects the grain type, and presses the TEST button on the reader.
Type Selection on Reader: Users need to choose the grain type on the reader and then press the TEST button.
Data Processing: The device processes the collected data to determine the moisture content of the tested grain.
Background Test: The moisture test runs in the background, and after 2-3 minutes, the moisture content is displayed on the LCD screen.

Last updated on Sep 21, 2026