An approach to measuring food losses in the potato chain in Ecuador and Peru

Abstract

Potato production and the related commercial and technological characteristics in the potato value chain, is one of the most important sources of income and food security of thousands of small-scale farmers in the Andes, who are increasingly challenged by trends of urbanization, volatility of agricultural prices, water and land scarcity, environmental stress, and weather shocks. Understanding food losses along the potato value chain and what role these losses play in food security has recently caught the interest of researchers and policy makers as reducing food losses can improve food availability without increasing agricultural inputs, use of land, or technological improvements on the production side. However, estimating food losses has proven to be a daunting task and efforts have yielded estimates that vary considerably. The methodology presented in this study distinguishes losses that are due to physical quantities from those due to quality and value. The results show that the most important losses occur in the production link and that the most important losses faced by small-scale potato producers occur due to crop management practices (before harvest), pests and diseases, frost and drought. Losses in production amount to an average of 95% of total losses in the value chain. This paper reports on the study conducted by the International Potato Center (CIP) through the CGIAR Program on Policy, Institution and Markets (PIM) lead by IFPRI, to evaluate the extent and sources of food losses taking as case study key potato value chains in Ecuador and Peru.

Quantification of Food Losses and Waste in Peru: A Mass Flow Analysis along the Food Supply Chain

“…They are related to the difficulties faced by farmers during production because of unfavorable climatic conditions, pests, and diseases [14,15]; the market inconsistency and product rejections by agri-food corporations due to quality requirements [29]; the immense diversity of supply channels in formal and informal food chains [24,25]; the lack of cold chain logistics in the agri-food and fisheries sectors [27]. Another determinant is that roads are asymmetrically distributed across regions in Peru, which decreases market access for producers and processors (for a complete discussion, please see Aguirre et al [28] and Martincus et al [38]).…”

“…The potato is probably the most lost or wasted tuber because it is one of Peru's main crops [40]. The studies conducted by Delgado et al [14] and Velasco et al [15] provide valuable information about food losses on the potato value chain in Peru. Through surveys among producers, intermediaries, and wholesalers, they found that the largest percentage of losses take place at the production step and that the main reasons for losses are the following: diseases, pest, rain, freeze (pre-harvest loss), bad harvest technique, and lack of costly labor (for product left in the field), laborer damages at harvest, transport and laborer damages at selection (post-harvest loss).…”

“…Part of this knowledge comes from a study that used aggregated data for 2007 to investigate the per capita quantity of FLW generated in the region, resulting in around 225 kg [13]. Another type of study conducted interviews and surveys with different stakeholders to measure the quantity of food wasted during the early and middle stages of the FSC-as in the case of beans and maize value chains in Guatemala and Honduras [14], potato value chains in Ecuador and Peru [14,15], or tomato value chain in Colombia [16]. Surveys also were used to study household food waste, as in Uruguay [17].…”

“…Drivers for food waste generation in Peru can be associated with the following: climatic conditions in highlands [15]; the immense diversity of supply channels in formal and informal food chains, such as dairy [24], and grain supply chain [25]; the lack of cold chain logistics in the fisheries and freshwater aquaculture [26,27]; the impact of rural road connectivity on farming activities [28]; the unequal relations between food stakeholders or market inconsistency due to quality requirements [29]; and others.…”