Mitigating food losses in Benin : status and way forward for postharvest research and innovations

Access to extension services was found to be an important factor for adoption of post harvest (PH) technologies in Benin. Consequently, there is need to give more impetus to outreach programmes. Training and dissemination of simple cost-effective handling and shelf-enhancing technologies can easily reduce losses associated with harvesting and handling, especially for fruits and vegetables. Innovations to mitigate post harvest losses need to be holistic, addressing the whole system rather than individual components. This brief reviews literature associated with post harvest losses in sub-Saharan Africa, and makes recommendations for interventions along value chains to increase food security

Gaps and outlook for postharvest research and innovation in Ghana

To overcome food insecurity and poverty in food deficit countries, losses occurring post-harvest need to be halted. This brief features innovations that focus more on supply and value addition segments of value chains, as opposed to an on-farm segment. Some national policy and legislation actions are suggested that could fast track initiatives for PH loss reduction in Ghana, such as: facilitating access to credit and markets by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), PH extension policy to promote postharvest best practices and build local capacity, formal-informal sector gap bridging policy to promote participation in entrepreneurships

Tackling food losses : outlook for postharvest research and innovation in Mozambique

Mitigation of postharvest (PH) losses are part of a major effort to overcome food insecurity and poverty in food deficit countries. Where data quality is poor, government, development agencies, donors and research institutions need to invest in rigorous and systematic field-based studies to assess losses in Mozambique, and to identify matching loss mitigation innovations. Moreover, building local capacity and strengthening policy on PH is essential. New models can include organized farmer groups as well as small and medium agro-enterprises operating in postharvest segments of value chains

Addressing food losses : status and way forward for postharvest research and innovations in Kenya

Overcoming postharvest (PH) losses has re-emerged as a vital part of the broader undertaking to ensure food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Dominant issues in PH chains of important food commodities in Kenya comprise inefficiencies in handling, food storage and food preservation technologies, as well as local marketing channels burdened with high transaction costs and poor postharvest infrastructure. PH mitigation through methods of technology transfer, training, and reinforcing of simple food handling and preservation practices are suggested, as well as some national policy and legislation actions that could fast track PH loss reductions

Fighting food losses in Tanzania : the way forward for postharvest research and innovations

Huge postharvest (PH) losses are a threat to food security, incomes and livelihoods of many households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Annual value of PH losses for grains alone exceeds USD 4 billion. In Tanzania domestic food production is barely sufficient to meet national food needs. Many households experience protracted periods of food shortage. As a result, over USD 200 million is spent annually to import food. Managing PH losses could potentially offset this food deficit. Past interventions to reduce PH losses targeted improvement of handling and storage practices through transfer of single and standalone technologies, particularly for root crops and maize. Efforts were channelled to individual smallholder farmers. Success stories of this strategy, however, are not many. Since the food crisis that began in 2006, the global food situation has become a critical issue. There is now global consensus that mitigating food losses that occur between harvesting and consumption offers the single, most enormous opportunity for contributing to hunger alleviation in SSA. However, with changes in demographics and consumer needs that have taken place in the recent past, governments, development agencies, donors and research institutions must adopt new PH loss mitigation strategies adapted to specific conditions. Demand-driven approaches that explore worth in value addition and alternative uses of postharvest products and by-products should be given attention

Mitigating food losses : status and way forward for postharvest research and innovations in Malawi

Maize, rice, beans, cassava, sweet potato, fish and groundnuts are among the most important food commodities in Malawi. Losses along the post harvest (PH) chains are fuelled by inefficiencies in handling, storage and preservation methods. The paper recommends adaptive research leading to market-oriented innovations along commodity chains. The target should be transfer of technologies through organised farmer groups or small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as opposed to individual smallholder farmers. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa reducing post harvest losses is difficult because the baseline loss magnitudes are unknown or unreliable

Unpacking postharvest losses in Sub-Saharan Africa : a meta-analysis

Reducing postharvest losses (PHL) is key to food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, knowledge of PHL magnitudes is limited. For instance 85% of loss estimates generated using appropriate methodologies did not qualify for statistical meta-analysis because a standard deviation was not assigned to them nor could be computed. Many datasets do not account for the interaction of various loss agents, and are single-point measurements which omit influence of exogenous factors such as local food use patterns, practices, and coping strategies. Overall, technologies for loss mitigation need to address dynamics of supply chains, and more rigorous PHL assessment is needed

On-farm maize storage systems and rodent postharvest losses in six maize growing agro-ecological zones of Kenya

Rodents are one of the major postharvest pests that affect food security by impacting on both food availability and safety. However, knowledge of the impact of rodents in on-farm maize storage systems in Kenya is limited. A survey was conducted in 2014 to assess magnitudes of postharvest losses in on-farm maize storage systems in Kenya, and the contribution of rodents to the losses. A total of 630 farmers spread across six maize growing agro-ecological zones (AEZs) were interviewed. Insects, rodents and moulds were the main storage problems reported by farmers. Storage losses were highest in the moist transitional and moist mid-altitude zones, and lowest in the dry-transitional zone. Overall, rodents represented the second most important cause of storage losses after insects, and were ranked as the main storage problem in the lowland tropical zone, while insects were the main storage problem in the other AEZs. Where maize was stored on cobs, total farmer perceived (farmer estimation) storage weight losses were 11.1 ± 0.7 %, with rodents causing up to 43 % of these losses. Contrastingly, where maize was stored as shelled grain, the losses were 15.5 ± 0.6 % with rodents accounting for up to 30 %. Regression analysis showed that rodents contributed significantly to total storage losses (p < 0.0001), and identified rodent trapping as the main storage practice that significantly (p = 0.001) lowered the losses. Together with insecticides, rodent traps were found to significantly decrease total losses. Improved awareness and application of these practices could mitigate losses in on farm-stored maize