Reducing On-Farm Food Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
26
crops ranging from 4-12% due to harvesting practices which included: over-
maturity/immaturity, direct exposure to sunlight, inadequate filed containers, mechanical
damage due to rough picking and handling in the field, and delays in marketing. Each fruit and
vegetable faces its own causes for loss such as parasitic nematodes that reduce yields in bananas
and plantain crops by 12.3% (ADMI 2015).
Affognon et al (2014) reviewed more than 130 documents on postharvest losses in Africa, and
reported their summary findings as listed below:
 Mango: 55.9% +/- 25.4 average losses in 9 documents
 Tomato: 33.7% +/- 19.3 average losses in 8 documents
 Bananas: 35.7% losses in one document
 Okra: 23.4 +/- 4.5 losses in 3 documents
 Oranges: 18.8% +/- 15.6 losses in 2 documents
Comparisons of reported losses in cases where interventions were made to reduce losses via
improved handling and cool storage showed results of approximately 50% decreases.
In Sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso), Asian Vegetable Research and
Development Center (AVRDC) studies on fresh leafy vegetable nutritional value losses reveal
that these traditional vegetables, once harvested, immediately start to lose their nutritional and
sensory quality. Being very perishable, they are often sold at loss during the season of
availability. Persistence of the green color and freshness of leafy vegetables (amaranth, African
nightshade, jute mallow and Roselle) is maintained up to seven days after harvesting via an
improved evaporative cool storage system compared to one day with traditional storage system.
In contrast, African eggplant and okra fruit kept their fresh characteristics, an indication of
vitamin content, for about 25 days (Parkouda et al 2015).
In Benin, WFLO (2010) measured physical losses for tomatoes (23% on farm, 31.2% at the
wholesale market, and 26.4% at the retail market), peppers (5.9% on farm, 6.2% at the
wholesale market, and 11% at the retail market), amaranths (17.3% on farm, and 17.3% at the
retail market), and oranges 10%on farm, 11.6%at the wholesale market, and 10.9%at the retail
market). Kodjogbe et al (2008) reported on harvesting losses for leafy vegetables at 36% and
for tomatoes at 13%. Vayssieris et al (2008) reported on harvesting losses for mangoes to be 17-
70% due to fruit flies infestations.
Olayemi et al (2010) measured losses in Nigeria for tomato (20% on-farm losses; 28% in transit
losses), bell pepper (12% on-farm losses; 15% in transit losses), and hot pepper (8% on-farm
losses; 10% in transit losses). The Federal Ministry of Agriculture Nigeria (FMARD) (2013)
reports that citrus is one of the crops affected most by postharvest losses, recording 40-50%
losses. According to Jolaoso (2011) over 50%of citrus fruits are lost in transit between farm and
market in Nigeria. The National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT, 2000) estimates that
30% of citrus is lost due to postharvest handling.