A review of global postharvest loss assessments in plant-based food crops: Recent findings and measurement gaps

Authors

  • Lisa Kitinoja The Postharvest Education Foundation, La Pine, Oregon 97739, USA. Author
  • Vijay Yadav Tokala Global Cold Chain Alliance, Arlington, Virginia 22202, USA. Author
  • Amanda Brondy Global Cold Chain Alliance, Arlington, Virginia 22202, USA. Author

Keywords:

Postharvest losses, Food loss assessment, Quantitative losses, Qualitative losses

Abstract

Since the FAO “Global Food Losses and Food Waste” report in 2011 estimated one-third of all the food produced globally was being lost,  researchers have been using many different methodologies to assess and measure postharvest food loss and waste. Several international  research organizations and large-scale projects have included postharvest loss assessments in their project agendas, and hundreds of journal  articles have been published. Estimated losses have been determined and reported in several different ways, including quantitative losses,  qualitative losses, and economic losses. This review provides an overview of the measurement methods and findings of 268 postharvest loss  assessment studies on plant-based crops from around the world. 

References

Affognon, H., Mutungi, C., Sanginga, P., and Borgemeister, C. 2015. Unpacking Postharvest Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Meta-Analysis. World Development, 66: 49–68.

AGRA. 2013. Establishing the status of post-harvest losses and storage for major staple crops in eleven African countries (Phase I). AGRA: Nairobi, Kenya. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

AGRA. 2014. Establishing the status of post-harvest losses and storage for major staple crops in eleven African countries (Phase 2). AGRA: Nairobi, Kenya. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Ahmed, M.D.S. 2013. Needs Assessment of Postharvest Handling and Storage for Selected Vegetable Crops in Bangladesh. Prepared for the AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center.

Ambler, K., de Brauw, A., and Godlonton, S. 2017. Measuring Postharvest Losses at the Farm Level in Malawi. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01632, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division.

ANSAB Nepal. 2015. Final Report: Assessment of Postharvest Loss on Tomato and Cauliflower Value Chains in Two Districts of Nepal. Submitted to AVRDC.

Appiah, F. 2013a. Report on Commodity System Assessment of Amaranth SPP in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Arusha, Tanzania: AVRDC.

Appiah, F. 2013b. Report on Commodity System Assessment of Tomato in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Arusha, Tanzania: AVRDC.

Chahhal, H., Chahine-Tsouvalakis, H., and Tohme, S. 2017. Case Study Report on Food Losses in Apple Value Chain in Lebanon. FAO and Save Food.

Chahine-Tsouvalakis, H., Wheeler, L., and Kitinoja, L. 2017. Commodity Systems Assessment Study: Report on Tomatoes in Rwanda. Reducing Postharvest Losses in Rwanda Project.

CIPHET. 2015. Report on Assessment of Quantitative Harvest and Postharvest Losses of Major Crops and Commodities in India. All India Coordinated Research Project on Postharvest Technology (ICAR), Ludhiana.

Dari, L. 2013. Report on Postharvest Loss Assessment Survey in Northern Region of Ghana. AVRDC.

Daystar, J.S. 2017. Greenhouse Gas and Energy Assessment of Postharvest Operations in Rwanda’s Horticultural Sector. USAID’s Reducing Postharvest Losses in Rwanda Project. ABA Inc.

Emana, B., Afari-Sefa, V., Nenguwo, N., Ayana, A., Kebede, D., and Mohammed, H. 2017. Characterization of pre- and postharvest losses of tomato supply chain in Ethiopia. Agriculture and Food Security, 6(3): 1-11.

FAO. 2014. Food Loss Assessments: Causes and Solutions, Case Studies in Small-scale Agriculture and Fisheries Subsectors. Rome, FAO. Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. Kenya case studies.

FAO. 2015. Food Losses and Waste in Latin America and the Caribbean, Bulletin No 2, Rome

FAO. 2017a. Chickpea Value Chain, Food Loss Analysis: Causes and Solutions, State of Andhra Pradesh – India. Rome, FAO.

FAO. 2017b. Mango Value Chain, Food Loss Analysis: Causes and Solutions, State of Andhra Pradesh – India. Rome, FAO. FAO. 2017c. Rice Value Chain, Food Loss Analysis: Causes and Solutions, State of Andhra Pradesh – India. Rome, FAO. FAO. 2011. Global Food Losses and Food Waste – Extent, Causes and Prevention. Rome, FAO.

Gautam, S. and Buntong, B. 2015. Assessment of Postharvest Loss in Vegetable Value Chains in Cambodia. Tomato and Leafy Mustard in Siem Riep and Battambang Provinces. AVRDC and USAID.

Genova, C., K. Weinberger, S. Sokhom, M. Vanndy, K. Koh, and E. C. Yarith. (2006). Postharvest loss in the supply chain for vegetables – The case of tomato, yard long bean, cucumber and Chinese kale in Cambodia. AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center, Shanhua, Taiwan. AVRDC Publication No. 06-683, Working Paper No. 16, 47 pp.

Gill, G.S. 2017. Reducing postharvest losses in Rwanda. In: AAPC (2017). The 1st All Africa Post Harvest Congress and Exhibition. Reducing food losses and waste: Sustainable solutions for Africa. Book of Abstracts. (2017, March). P.52

GIZ. 2013. The Ecological Footprint of Cassava and Maize Post-Harvest Losses in Nigeria: A Life Cycle Assessment.

Kamrul Hassan, M., Chowdhury, B.LD., and Akhter, N. (2010). Post Harvest Loss Assessment: A Study to Formulate Policy for Loss Reduction of Fruits and Vegetables and Socioeconomic Uplift of the Stakeholders. NFPCSP, Final Report (Bangladesh), PR #8.08.

Kitinoja, L, Hell, K., Chahine-Tsouvalakis, H., and Brondy, A. 2016. Reducing On-Farm Food Losses in the OIC Member Countries. Standing Committee for Economic and Social Cooperation (COMCEC) for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – Ankara.

Kitinoja, L. and AlHassan, H.Y. 2012. Identification of Appropriate Postharvest Technologies for Small Scale Horticultural Farmers and Marketers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia – Part 1. Postharvest Losses and Quality Assessments. Proc. XXVIIIth IHC – IS on Postharvest Technology in the Global Market. Cantwell, M.I. and Almeida, D.P.F. (Eds), Acta Hort. 934, ISHS 2012.

Kitinoja, L. and Dandago, M.A. 2017. Maize CSAM Studies Report for the ABA World Bank Postharvest Project Rwanda, Nigeria and India Combined Report. WBG / Agribusiness Associates Inc.

Kitinoja, L. and Odeyemi, O. 2017. Tomato CSAM Studies Report for the ABA World Bank Postharvest Project Rwanda, Nigeria and India Combined Report. WBG / Agribusiness Associates Inc.

Kitinoja, L. 2010. Identification of Appropriate Postharvest Technologies for Improving Market Access and Incomes for Small Horticultural Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Slide Deck WFLO Appropriate Postharvest Technology Planning Project, BMGF Grant Number 52198.

Kitinoja, L., Tokala, V.Y. and Brondy, A. 2018. Challenges and opportunities for improved postharvest loss measurements in plant-based food crops. Journal of Postharvest Technology, In press.

LaGra, J., Kitinoja, L., and Alpizar, K. (2016). Commodity Systems Assessment Methodology for Value Chain Problem and Project Identification. IICA-San Jose, Costa Rica.

Kummu, M., de Moel, H., Porkka, M., Siebert, S., Varis, O. and Ward, P.J. 2012. Lost food, wasted resources: Global food supply chain losses and their impacts on freshwater, cropland, and fertiliser use. Science of the Total Environment, 438: 477-489.

Mohammed, M., Craig, K., Mpagalile, J. and Lopez, V. 2015. FAO study on postharvest losses of cassava, mango and tomato in three Caribbean countries: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and St. Lucia. In: The First International Congress on Postharvest Loss Prevention (2015, October 17-21). Developing Measurement Approaches and Intervention Strategies for Smallholders. ADM Institute for Prevention of Postharvest Loss. Pp. 87.

Mohammed, M. 2014. Analysis of the Postharvest Knowledge System: Case Study of Pumpkin. Trinidad: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA).

Molla, M.M., Islam, M.N., Nasrin, T.A.A., Bhuyan, M.A.J. 2010. Survey on Postharvest Practices and Losses of Litchi in Selected Areas of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Research 35(3): 439-451.

Musansae, S. and Kitinoja, L. 2017. Commodity Systems Assessment Study: Report on Green Chilies in Rwanda. USAID Reducing Postharvest Losses in Rwanda Project. ABA Inc.

Nanda, S.K., Vishwakarma, R.K., Bathla, H.V.L, Rai, A., and Chandra, P. 2012. Harvest and Post-Harvest Losses of Major Crops and Livestock Produce in India. ICAR, Ludhiana.

Naziri, D., Quaye, W., Siwoku, B., Wanlapatit, S., Phu, T.V., and Bennett, B. 2014. The diversity of postharvest losses in cassava value chains in selected developing countries. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 115 (2): 111-123.

Oguntade, A. E. 2013. Food losses in cassava and maize value chains in Nigeria: Analysis and recommendations for reduction strategies. GIZ GmbH, Bonn, Germany.

Owino, W. 2013. Final Report: Postharvest Loss Assessment Survey of Vegetables in Kenya. USAID AVRDC.

Rwubatse, B. and Kitinoja, L. 2017. Commodity Systems Assessment Study: Report on Cooking Bananas in Rwanda. USAID Horticulture Innovation Lab. ABA Inc.

Sharma, H.O. and Rathi, D. 2013. Assessment of Pre and Post Harvest Losses of Wheat and Soybean in Madhya Pradesh. Study No. 109. Agro-Economic Research Centre For Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh.

Tekpor, S. K. 2011. Effect of some processing and storage methods on the quality of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) fruits. Master’s Thesis, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. http://ir.knust.edu.gh/xmlui/handle/123456789/263

Tomlins, K., Bennet, B., Stathers, T., Linton, J., Onumah, G.E., Coote, C., Kleih, U., Priebe, J., and Bechoff, A. 2016. Reducing Post-harvest Losses in the OIC Member Countries. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) – Ankara.

Vayssieres, J., S. Korie, O. Coulibaly, L. Temple, and S.P. Boueyi. 2008. The mango tree in central and northern Benin: Cultivar inventory, yield assessment, infested stages and loss due to fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae). Fruits, 63:335- 348.

Weinberger, K., C. Genova II, and A. Acedo. 2008. Quantifying postharvest loss in vegetables along the supply chain in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation. 1: 288-297.

WFLO. 2010. Identification of Appropriate Postharvest Technologies for Improving Market Access and Incomes for Small Horticultural Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Food Logistics Organization Grant No. 52198.

Published

2018-11-30

How to Cite

Kitinoja, L., Tokala, V.Y., & Brondy, A. (2018). A review of global postharvest loss assessments in plant-based food crops: Recent findings and measurement gaps . Journal of Postharvest Technology, 6(4), 1–15. Retrieved from https://acspublisher.com/journals/index.php/jpht/article/view/15644