Columnists
Cutting post-harvest losses is key to achieving food security
Wednesday August 09 2023
A farmer inspects maize crop destroyed by drought. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) estimates that the global population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050.
This presents a challenge to feed an extra 1.2 billion people for the next 27 years.
As the world examines the growing need to sustainably feed the current and future generations, one of the issues that is increasingly coming into focus is post-harvest losses (PHL), which is also referred to as food loss.
Post-harvest losses, which refer to the reduction in quantity and quality of agricultural produce that occurs between harvest and consumption, has significant implications for food security, economic stability, and environmental sustainability because it represents loss of valuable food produce as well as the inputs required to produce and distribute it.
At the global level, FAO estimates that the world loses at least one-third of the food it produces before it reaches the market every year.
These losses are said to be as high as 40 to 50 percent for root crops, fruits, and vegetables.
Reports by the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya indicate that nearly 40 percent of the food produced in the country’s horticultural value chain is lost either through poor post-harvest handling, knowledge gaps on best practice, and improperly structured markets.
The causes of PHL and the stages at which they occur are numerous and varied depending on the supply chain, the location, and a variety of other contexts.
PHL can be caused by challenges ranging from improper use of inputs to a lack of proper post-harvest storage, processing, or transportation facilities.
Given its substantial impact, reducing PHL will help create more sustainable and resilient food systems, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
PHL reduction can simultaneously optimise agricultural productivity and increase the incomes of small-scale food producers and associated value-chain actors, especially women, who are traditionally responsible for many post-harvest activities.
Banks in collaboration with governments and development organisations can support farmers to acquire storage infrastructure like cold storage and climate-controlled warehouses that will ensure the preservation of produce before it reaches the market.
The writer is Absa agribusiness specialist/ Vice President.
