Reducing On-Farm Food Losses

In the OIC Member Countries

Figure 3.15: Damage Observed on Plantains during the Harvest

Source: On-Farm Visits

Banana Weevil is the most damaging insect pest of bananas in Uganda, and East Africa as a

whole. Damage is most in neglected plots. The weevil lives, feeds and breeds in pseudostems for

periods up to two years. It lays eggs against the sides of the stems. After hatching the larva

burrow into pseudostems thereby weakening them and making them liable to wind damage.

With 9 million tonnes of plantains produced annually in Uganda, and taking a conservative

estimate of on-farm losses of only 5%, total annual food losses are on the order of 450,000

tonnes. Plantains have a food value of 1220 kilocalories per kg. The on-farm losses in food value

equal approximately 549 billion kilocalories that could have fed 602,000 persons for a full year

at 2500 kcal/day. Even with a low market value of US$120 to $140 per tonne, economic losses

for plantain farmers in Uganda are in the range of US$54 to $63 million per year.

Table 3.15: Summary of the Volume and Market Value of On-Farm Losses of Plantains in Uganda

Total Volume Produced

per Annum

Conservative

Estimates of On-

Farm Losses

Losses in

Volume

Market Value

per Tonne

Losses in

Value

9 million tonnes ($1.08

to 1.26 billion)

450,000

$120

$54 million

450,000

$140

$63 million

Source: On-Farm Visits

3.6.3. Causes of On-Farm Losses

While losses in plantains and bananas in Uganda were found to be relatively lowdue to the direct

market linkages with buyers, there are several obvious causes of on-farm losses, including rough

handling and long delays between harvesting and loading onto transport vehicles.

Rough handling damages produce during harvesting, carrying and loading. Bananas and

plantains are harvested, and heaped in stacks according to size and then loaded on truck. There

are no standards that are followed as grading is done on farm according to relative size of

bunches: the bigger the bunch, the higher the offered price. Any size is taken to market provided