Ways to overcome post-harvest losses

nadequate handling contributes to high food prices in Nigeria. IFE ADEDAPO writes on measures to guard against it

Over the years, high post-harvest food crops losses, arising from limited food-processing and preservation capacity, are a major hindrance to food and nutrition security in developing countries of West Africa where seasonal food shortages and nutritional deficiency are still a major concern, research has shown.

According to Food and Agricultural Organisation report, significant quantities of grain in developing countries are lost after harvest, escalating conditions of hunger and resulting in expensive input such as fertilizer, irrigation facilities and human labour, being wasted. During post-harvest operations, there may be losses in terms of food quantity and quality.

In the past, experts say traditional food processing and preservation activities constitute an important indigenous knowledge handed down from parent to child over several generations. However, it is often underestimated.

Experts have pointed out that ineffective or inappropriate food processing technologies, careless harvesting and inefficient post-harvest handling practices, bad roads, bad market practices and inadequate or complete lack of storage facilities, lack of packing houses and market infrastructure are among the factors responsible for high post-harvest food losses in West African countries.

To this end, a Value Chain Development expert, Mr. Richard Ogundele, says these challenges that have been identified in harvesting and preservation of farm products can be managed if only they can be identified and interventions devised to curtail them. The interventions according to him are:

Adopt early harvest

Scientists have discovered that enzymes naturally present in food, are responsible for the ripening process in fruits and vegetables. Enzymes are responsible for texture, colour and flavour changes. For example, as a banana turns from green to yellow and then to brown, not only does the colour change, there is also a change in the fruit’s texture. They say the change in colour and texture is an indication of ripening, making the fruit tender and prone to damage.

Ogundele says one approach to guard against softening of fruits and its eventual damage is to educate farmers on early harvesting.

He says, “To reduce damage to vegetables, a way of grading the tomatoes from farm through collection centre to packing houses can be introduced. A tomato colour chart where we have six colour grades- the green, breakers and the red ripes- will be used to categorise the tomatoes.”

The expert says the process of grouping the products is referred to as product differentiation. In addition, he says the method ensures that the fruits are able to withstand the touching, handling washing, sorting and grading into categories before transport, coupled with easy pricing based on grades.

Replace raffia basket

Ogundele says the business of tomato haulage using raffia basket reduces the volume of wholesome tomatoes that get to the end primary market. He says the damage incurred is so bad that 41 per cent of the volume of tomatoes a truck carries are lost during haulage.

However, he says marketers are still able to sell them but at a much reduced price compared to what they would have sold if all the tomatoes get to the market in good condition.

The loss in profit affects all stakeholders including the farmer, wholesalers and retailers, he says.

According to Ogundele, the loss can be prevented if wholesalers and retailers can make use of more conventional packaging material that has proved to be effective in reducing damage to vegetables during haulage.

He says it can be in form of returnable plastic crates to convey the tomatoes over long distance. Plastic crates will ensure that when tomatoes are transported, at least a higher percentage of them in good condition will get to their primary end market.

The advantage of plastic crates over raffia baskets according to him is that when arranged into trucks, the upper crates don’t rest directly on the tomatoes below. They are easily moved with the way they are arranged compared to the raffia basket.

Eventually, he says the wholesalers and retailers receive improved quality wholesome tomato and they will not be under pressure to sell immediately due to extended shelf life of the produce and as a result, they are able to negotiate for higher prices at points of sale between themselves and finally unto consumers.

Ogundele says, “The consumers know quality comes at a cost and naturally they will be willing to pay. This for them is more value for their money and safe consumption of food to their health.”

Build a packing house

In the packing house, the expert says sorting, washing, grading, selection, cleaning, sizing and packaging into crates or specialised branded products depending on target end primary market will be done.

Ogundele says the opportunity the packing house offers includes employment generation for unemployed youths and women on a daily basis.

In addition, it can be run as a business and as a service to the perishable produce sector which all investors should take advantage of, he says.

He advises government at state levels to consider facilitating the development of these facilities in their domains to create employment.

Cold chain storage and transport services

The expert say storage is necessary to preserve and retain freshness under constant temperature for quality to be maintained.

Irregular power supply and the high cost are obstacles to establishing a cold storage for perishable farm produce. However, Ogundele says alternative power, in form of solar energy, is another option, although it is very expensive.

On the other hand, he says a gas-powered facility would make sense but the technology and delivery of LPG to such locations where this will be needed remain a challenge.

Moreover, he says transport of the same fresh perishables in cold trucks is also necessary to maintain temperature and ensure quality stays the same during the journey from the source the market and to attract appropriate price.

According to him, this is a specialised service and can also be run as a business to create employment and incomes.