Reducing On-Farm Food Losses

In the OIC Member Countries

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The ranges of food losses as reported for the six commodity groups are very large, varying from

very low losses to extremely high losses, which reflects the reality since these kinds of local

assessments and case studies provide only a snap-shot view of the current conditions, which can

vary widely by location and change rapidly over time. With so many gaps in the available

information it is not possible to generalize to all the OIC Member Countries, but with key

informant surveys and case study field visits filling in some of the missing information, on-farm

losses for crops can be organized into three categories.



Production:

lost yield due to pests (insects, weeds, fungi), poor planning, poor water

management, lower quality due to poor quality seeds, irregular fertilization practices;



Harvesting:

physical damage, poor quality due to improper maturity or moisture

content, smallholder farmers using manual labor or rudimentary mechanization; and



On-Farm Handling:

physical damage on-farm after harvesting, use of poor quality

containers, spillage, exposure to sun, heat, pests, conditions that promote contamination

with aflatoxins.

For broiler meat in Turkey and for aquaculture in Indonesia, on-farm losses were relatively low

since more modernized production practices were being implemented on relatively large scale

operations, along with proper sanitation, good quality feeds, pest control and rapid

handling/marketing after harvesting.

From the CSAM process used for conducting the eight case studies, some general

recommendations can be made on the following three aspects of reducing on-farm losses.

General Recommendations

Research Needs:

Technical issues in general appear to be well addressed, within

available resources. Global research institutes readily share their findings and solutions

with other potential users.

Extension or Training needs:

Most of the causes of on-farm losses identified in this

study can be immediately addressed via targeted training, extension and outreach

activities.

Advocacy Issues:

These are problems found at the macro level, and that must be

addressed by policy makers and investors. In various OIC Member Countries, these

include missing infrastructure, lack of access to extension services, poorly regulated

input suppliers (such as poor quality seeds or feeds), poorly regulated contracting

practices, and lack of access to credit.