Reducing Postharvest Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
101
The local processing industry representing the formal segment of the domestic market for
groundnuts and groundnut products is quite small. It absorbs less than 4% of the total volume
of groundnuts produced in the country. The bulk of the crop – about 82%) – goes through the
informal channel. Quite often the processors buy through agents who are linked to rural-based
traders for whom volume traded is more important than quality. The chain also includes
artisanal processors with operations similar to what is shown in These operators are
highly unlikely to have the capacity to enforce quality standards at the point of procurement of
groundnuts. Their products are also traded in informal markets where they are not subjected
to controls by national standards authorities.
There are similar scale-related capacity issues among microenterprises processing groundnuts
for the local informal and unregulated confectionary groundnuts market. Due to these inherent
features of the groundnuts supply chain, the contaminated nuts are not “sorted/graded” out,
implying physical or quantitative loss. Furthermore, as the trade, especially in rural markets, is
volume driven, no quality premium is paid for instance to farmers or traders marketing
Aflatoxin-free nuts.
Figure 15: Artisanal processors