Reducing Postharvest Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
95
4.2.3. Causes of Postharvest Losses
Naziri et al, 2014b reported on the causes and mitigation of losses for gari and fufu made from
cassava in Nigeria (Table 46). It can be seen that there a variety of causes of losses at the on-
farm, trading, transport and handling, processing and retail and consumption stages for both
Gari and fufu, two main products produced from fresh cassava in Nigeria. The most important
area of postharvest loss in the cassava sector in Nigeria was identified as harvest and
processing. According to Naziri et al., 2014 there is no single measure that will reduce losses
but rather a number or series of interventions which together will lead to reduced physical
and economic losses. The most critical are locating the centre of processing close to the farm
and processing fresh roots with minimal of time delays.
Specifically, in a separate study, Oguntade 2013 reported that the main challenges for gari
processors were that tubers were too small (5.8%) and too woody (4.1%), as these could not
be peeled correctly and were thrown away. The main reasons for losses of gari were at the
marketing level due to moisture (4.5%) and rodents (2.5%) during storage, whereas
transportation accounts for around 2.5% of losses. Improved cassava peeling technology was
suggested as a way to reduce postharvest physical losses.