Grains are the essential nutritional source as it provides food to one-third population of the world. Cereal grains such as wheat, rice and maize are widely grown in different parts of the world and used as staple food. However, these grains are affected by various factors which produce postharvest losses. It has been estimated that under storage condition 50–60% losses of cereal grains have been caused due to technical incompetence among which 10–30% of the grains losses has been caused by insect pests. Keeping in view the importance of stored grains and potential impact of insects and different control measures the survey conducted in different five agro climatic zones of Punjab, Pakistan. Total 225 respondents were interviewed and discussions were made to assess the farmer perceptions, knowledge and awareness about stored grains insect pests, their detection and current management practices used by farmers. Majority of the respondents used to store their product in godowns which were traditionally constructed granaries, only 10.2% of them were using modern grainary, mainly due to inability to afford these. Majority of the respondents were not measuring the storage temperature and humidity which is key factor for growth and development for insect pests and disease. Mostly farmers (45%) were using the plastic gunny bags for storage of grains. Different types of insects have been observed by farmers among which the Khapra beetle, Lesser grain borer, and Confused flour beetle were mostly observed under different storage structures. Farmers' perceptions regarding insect pest and their detection under storage structures were significantly associated with the level of education, farming experience and family size. As the farmers education and farming experience increase, the knowledge and awareness for storage pests, as well as the ability to detect and manage them. The respondents were found to be lacking in attending meetings, seminars or trainings regarding storage pests detection, identification and their management. The farmers also don’t contact extension department in case of any pest problem. The study highlighted the significance of the interventions such as training, extension services and importance of collaboration between agriculture extension and farming communities. The study also emphasised on the gap between conventional and modern techniques to improve the sustainability of agricultural practices while promoting food security and economic stability of the area.

Keywords: cereals grains, storage pests, sustainability, economic stability