Reducing Postharvest Losses

In the OIC Member Countries

In Pakistan, a survey in the late 1970s suggested that aggregate PHL were 17.1% in paddy rice

(Chaudhary, 1980).

In Niger, most producers store their paddy rice for only 2-3 months and consider storage pest

losses as a low to moderate problem (Baoua

et al

., 2015). In Benin, paddy rice weight losses of

1.6% were found after 7 months storage (Togola

et al

., 2013). Farmers typically store their rice

as paddy as the husk adds protection against storage pest attack.

Table 4: Postharvest losses along the rice chain in Bangladesh

Action

Description

Rice

Wheat Maize Rice

Farmer

level

PHL

Processor

level PHL

Wholesale

level PHL

Retail level

PHL

Global

PHL

Harvesting

Mainly done

manually with a

hand sickle,

losses occur if

harvesting is

delayed

1.6-

1.9%

#N/A

1.06-

6.50

Transportation

Mainly as

bundles of

panicles on the

head or on

carrying poles

over their

shoulders, or

animal power,

or boats or

mechanised

0.9%-

1.1%

#N/A

0.63-6

Drying

Typically

harvested at 24-

26%mc, sun

dried to 14%mc

by women or

children

2.2-

2.4%

#N/A

1.56-5

Threshing

Done by

trampling on the

harvested rice

panicles by

humans, animals

or tractors, or

beating panicles

on a tub,

threshing board

or rack or with a

stick. Some

pedal or

mechanical

threshing

1.1-

1.8%

#N/A

1.65-2

Storage

Either in milled

or paddy form,

at farm

homestead in

woven

cylindrical

containers

3.4-

4.1%

#N/A

1.5%

2.5%

3.0-7.5

Total

9.2-

11.3%

1.13-

1.3%

0.17-0.19

0.27-0.31%

3.6%

4.07%

7.9-27%

Note: PHLs at the processor, wholesaler, and retail levels were not found at different levels. Also PHLs for wheat

and maize were not recorded only in storage.

Source: Bala et al, 2010