Protecting Your Harvest From Insect Infestation

Designed for Farmers – an easy to use, transportable long lasting woven sack that protects grains and cereals from most stored-product insects.

What Is GrainGard?

GrainGard® is innovative woven sack that protects grains and cereals from most stored-product insects such as large grain borers and weevils. GrainGard® is made by Adpack in partnership with ProvisionGard™. It can be used for rice, maize, wheat, flour, seeds and even animal and pet foods.


Similar to an impregnated mosquito bed net; a small amount of the special insecticide additive is incorporated into to the fibers that make up the GrainGard® bag. This treatment is called impregnation. This additive called an insect growth regulator (IGR) is non-toxic and safe for food and humans but quickly stops insects inside the grains more from coming inside, breeding and causing infestations that damage the grains.


Using a GrainGard® bag requires no special know ledge or training. You do not need to change how you pack and store your grains and cereals.

Grain Gard

Who Makes GrainGard?

GrainGard® is made in Kenya by the leading manufacturer of ‘Gunias’ or woven sacks. Adpack makes over 40 million sacks per annum for packing rice, fertilizers, sugar, animal feeds and many other commodities.

Adpack’s advanced manufacturing technology and weaving machines ensure the GrainGard® bags are of the highest strength and durability. GrainGard® bags are also fully recyclable and reusable ensuring that they not only significantly reduce post harvest losses but also have a minimal environmental footprint.

Why Is GrainGard Needed?

A staggering one in five people in Africa and almost 30% of Kenyans face food insecurity and poor nutrition each year. This alarming statistic underscores the severity of food insecurity in Kenya and on the continent.

Kenya’s acute food insecurity is driven by multiple factors:

  • Rapid Population Growth which has and continues to increase the demand for food. Agricultural capacity is strained and increasing yields to feed each new mouth has become an uphill battle.
  • Climate Change is creating erratic weather patterns and persistent droughts, challenging the Kenya’s ability to grow sufficient food each year.

A multi-faceted approach is needed and reducing post-harvest loss (PHL) has been identified as a critical strategy for tackling food insecurity in Kenya and around the world. Reducing PHL focuses on optimizing the use of current resources thus making a immediate impact on the problem.

Did you know …

  • That 30% of all grains and cereals harvested in Kenya are lost even before they reach the market?  Over 4.5m bags of maize for example are lost each year as a result of infestations and other post harvest related losses. The amount lost each year is actually greater than the total yield of Kenya’s short rain harvest and approximately equal to one-and-a-half month’s maize consumption for the entire country.
  • That many Kenyan’s just can’t afford to buy food each year – Kenya’s continuous food shortages require the importation of millions of dollars worth of grains and cereals each year (over $60m each year in maize alone). The huge amount of dollars spent importing maize for example weakens the economy and increases the price of basic food commodities to unprecedented levels each year.
  • That despite smallholder farmers producing over 60% of Kenya’s food, their families often eat fewer meals or have the smallest food portions. These farmers, among the poorest in society, bear a disproportionate burden of insect infestations related post-harvest losses. Lacking proper storage facilities, they experience significant losses to rain, rot, and insect damage, leading them to sell their produce immediately after harvest when prices are lowest, making little or no profits.

By utilizing GrainGard®

  • Kenya and Africa can significantly minimize food insecurity and reduce food costs.
  • Farmers retain the quality of their cereals and grains which they can now store food longer, safe from infestations.
  • Farmers can achieve better returns for their agricultural yields. Even holding their harvest for one extra month can bring 25% more profit for their families.

How Does GrainGard Work?

When insects are inside the GrainGard® bag they inhale and ingest the insect growth regulator (IGR), which stops their growth cycle. As a result, any insects that invade or reside in the stored product packaging will not be able to reproduce. They eventually die without ever having contributed to the growth of the insect population. This multi-action approach effectively controls both adult insects and larvae, greatly diminishing the chance of infestation and keeping stored food products secure from harm.

Rice infested by Rice Weevils

Maize/Corn Grains damaged the Lesser Grain-Borer

Farmers Are Already Choosing Graingard®

  • Safe and Efficient Grain Storage: Farmers are increasingly choosing GrainGard® for its ability to securely store grain for months, protecting against pest infestations.
  • Zero Losses, Higher Quality: GrainGard® virtually eliminates post harvest losses, preserving grain quality and enhancing market value and profitability.
  • Optimal Selling Times: Extended storage capability allows farmers to sell their produce when market prices are most favorable, avoiding low post-harvest prices.
  • User-Friendly Design: No specialized training or retreatment needed; GrainGard® is as easy to use as traditional woven sacks.
  • Durable Insect Protection: The insect protection properties of GrainGard® are long-lasting and do not diminish over time, ensuring long-term storage without the need for chemicals.
  • Eco-Friendly and Reusable: GrainGard® bags can be used multiple times, supporting environmental sustainability and offering economic advantages.

Institutions Are Building Graingard® Into Their Strategies to Combat Food Insecurity

  • More food is needed everywhere:  Food now travels from further away and storage periods are being extended increasing the chances of infestations.
  • Fumigation alone has many limitations:
  • Fumigation is Curative, Not Preventative: It only eliminates existing pests within a consignment but does not prevent future infestations.
  • Fumigation is an Incomplete Solution: While fumigation kills live insects, it fails to destroy their eggs, which may hatch soon after treatment.
  • Fumigation is costly and increasingly more every day.
  • Combatting Insect Infestations: Warmer climates increase the likelihood of insect infestations, threatening food security.
  • GrainGard® is pivotal in ensuring access to healthy, safe, and nutritious food, echoing Governments’ and NGOs’ dedication to combating food insecurity and guaranteeing essential nutrition.

Graingard® and Provisiongard™ are supported by decades of research

  • ProvisionGard™ the active ingredient in GrainGard® has been extensively used, tested and approved worldwide for nearly 50 years to control insect populations in stored grains (like maize, rice and wheat) and other foods including meat, milk, mushrooms, peanuts.
  • ProvisionGard™ has been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and meets the rigorous standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
  • ProvisionGard™ and GrainGard® are not harmful to children, birds, dogs, cats, other mammals, or bees. What differentiates this active ingredient from other widely used pesticides is that its technology is based on naturally occurring substances found only in insects.
  • ProvisionGard™ has also well recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its safe usage levels.
  • ProvisionGard™ also is compliant European Union’s Framework-Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 and the Indian Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011.

Graingard® Has More Than 95% Efficacy

GrainGard® stands out for its remarkable effectiveness in warding off a wide array of insect pests, such as larger and lesser grain borers, sawtoothed grain beetles, red flour beetles, khapra beetles, Indian meal moths, angoumois grain moths, rice weevils, among others.

During a two-year pilot procurement program, with a budget of around $600,000 USD, institutions including MIT, USAID, and USDA evaluated eight different packaging solutions. Among these, ProvisionGard™ the technology that GrainGard® is built on was selected by USAID for food packaging shipments to combat insect infestation and to cut down on shipping costs by eliminating the need for fumigation expenses. In another 2002 study performed in Brazil the impact was a 95% reduction of insects as compared
to the untreated packages.

This conclusion is reinforced by numerous studies conducted globally over the last twenty years by a diverse array of organizations. These studies uniformly confirm the exceptional effectiveness of ProvisionGard™, the active ingredient in GrainGard®, in significantly reducing insect populations. This evidence solidifies GrainGard®’s reputation as the only choice for maintaining the safety and quality of stored grains.

Frequently asked questions