Reducing On-Farm Food Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
109
9. Unbalanced nutrition program, fertilization scheduling, or use of uncertified fertilizers
leading to unbalanced crop load, poor crop quality, and short postharvest shelf life of
produce.
10. Ineffective pest control programs causing increased pest damage to produce.
11. Incorrect or poor management for planting time, grafting, pruning, thinning, pollination
or application of growth regulators which is a main source for decreased productivity,
quality, and shelf life of produce.
Harvest Causes of Losses
Causes of harvest loss can be broken down in a variety of ways. Generally, they can be due to
harvesting at an improper stage of development or mechanical damage caused by equipment
and perhaps rough handling. Many losses can be accounted for by the presence of disorders such
as sunburn, cracking, pest damage, sap damage, and frost damage, and in some cases spray
residues or spray damage. On some occasions, spillage in the field during collection of the
harvest means some crops are simply left in the field. Finally, high crop temperature and high
water loss result in reduced crop quality and shelf life.
Many on-farm production, harvesting and handling practices can lead to higher losses later in
the food supply chain. The practices that have been associated with on-farm losses include:
1. Poor Production Practices
a. Pest and disease management
b. Nutrition, feeding, and fertilization practices
c. Irrigation management
2. Climate and Weather Events
a. Rainstorms, hail and sunburn
b. Moisture influx due to low night temperature; high altitude
c. Cold night causing abortion of fruitlets in early season fruits such as loquat
d. Warm nights causing lack of color development in some citrus
3. Poor Timing of the Harvest
a. Harvesting too early can cause poor shelf life, poor eating quality
b. Harvesting too late can reduce shelf life and market value
c. Not having enough labor during harvest can increase unharvested portions
d. Improper harvest indices (i.e. high moisture in cereals and pulses at harvest)
can contribute to higher losses in storage due to fungal attack and aflatoxin
contamination
e. Improper harvest indices (i.e. too lowmoisture in cereals and pulses at harvest)
can lead to losses due to shattering in the field
4. Rough Harvesting and Handling Practices
a. Damaging the crop, livestock, or fish during harvesting can lead to rapid
deterioration during the postharvest period
b. Using poor quality containers for the harvest can increase physical damage and
increase the rate of deterioration
c. Using inappropriate tools for harvest can increase losses
5. Poor Temperature Management
a. Leaving the harvested crop, livestock, or fish in the sun during harvesting