Empowering farmers: Essential practices to tackle post harvest losses

Content:

• introduction  and factors that lead to the losses
• Objectives of post harvest loss reduction
• Ways of reducing post harvest losses
• Conclusion

 Post harvest losses is defined as the unintentional quantitative for example weight and qualitative for example nutrient content decrease in the quantity of food produced for human consumption at all stages of the food supply chain. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), an estimated a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted each year, however there seems to be consensus in the literature that post harvest losses in developed countries are relatively high at the consumer end , while in developing countries, they are relatively high in the early stages of the post harvest system at farm level. The critical role of Post harvest loss reduction is to support the attainment of SDG 2-Zero Hunger.

Factors contributing to these losses include poor handling techniques, inadequate storage facilities, environmental challenges etc. With a deep understanding of these challenges , farmers can equip themselves to implement effective solutions.

What we ought to achieve by reducing post harvest losses

• Decrease in Post harvest losses could improve all four pillars  of food security, through increase in food availability, improvement of food access due to reduction in prices, increase in food utilization, higher stability obtained by an increase in stored food.
• Improvement of food safety, some post harvest losses occur due to fungal or pest implications which can cause severe human implications.
• Increase environmental sustainability.
• Post harvest loss reduction can lead to economic benefits and well being of food supply chain actors through increased profits.

How can we then reduce post harvest losses?

Grains and cereals:

• Grains should be dried in such a manner that damage to the grain is minimized and moisture levels are lower than those required to support mold growth during storage (usually below 13-15%
• Harvesting at the proper maturity  stage and at peak quality.
• For some grains, particularly millet and sorghum, threshing may be delayed for several months after harvest and the unthreshed crop stored in open cribs. In the case of maize, the grain may be stored on the cob with or without sheathing leaves for some months, or the cobs may be shelled and grain stored. Some machinery suitable for small small-scale operation exists such as: maize shellers; Rice mechanical threshers.
• For storage,  It is important that stores be constructed in such a way as to provide: -dry, well-vented conditions allowing further drying in case of limited opportunities for complete drying prior to storage; -protection from rain and drainage of ground water; and -protection from entry of rodents and birds and minimum temperature fluctuations.

Roots and tubers:

• Provision of the proper tools and equipment for harvesting and training workers in their correct use should be a priority prevention of food loss activity.
•  During packing in the field care must be taken to minimize physical damage that results from impact bruises due to stacking and overfilling of bags, abrasion or vibration bruises due to root movement against each other. Therefore packages should be neither loose (to avoid vibration bruising during transport) nor overfilled, and should provide good aeration. 
• Temperature management is critical during long distance transport, so loads must be stacked to enable proper air circulation to carry away heat from the produce itself as well as incoming heat from the atmosphere and off the road also selection of suitable containers for commercial scale marketing requires very careful consideration. Among the various types of packaging material that are available: natural and synthetic fibre sacks and bags as well as moulded plastic boxes seem to be more suitable and have greater promise for packaging roots and tubers and for their transport to distant markets. 
• Carefully select only top quality roots and tubers without any signs of handling or pest or disease damage for storage, keep them in specially designed stores and check the stores at regular intervals.

Fruits and vegetables

• harvesting during the coolest time of the day (early morning) is desirable; the produce is not exposed to the heat of the sun and the work efficiency of the harvesters is higher.
• Because of their soft texture, all horticultural products (fruits and vegetables) should be handled gently to minimize bruising and breaking of the skin.
• Systematic sorting or grading coupled with appropriate packaging and storage, will extend shelf life, maintain wholesomeness, freshness, and quality, and substantially reduce losses and marketing costs. Sorting is done to separate poor produce from good produce, and further classify the good produce based on other quality parameters like size 
• Proper packing is essential to maintain the freshness of leafy vegetable. Packaging should be designed to prevent premature deterioration in product quality, in addition to serving as a handling unit. Use clean, smooth and ventilated containers for packaging. 
•  Use clean, well ventilated vehicle covered at the top for transportation. Transport crops during the cool part of the day by driving carefully over smooth roads to minimize damage to crop.
• Processing is essential to improve on the shelf life, examples of processing technologies include drying, salting, fermenting etc.

Conclusively, addressing post harvest losses is important for enhancing food security and livelihoods of farmers. If farmers adopt the above and a wide range of strategies out there, quality and quantity can be maintained and improved.

Reference;

Bautista, O.K.; Acedo, A.L. Jr. 1987. Postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables. Philippines..