Post-harvest management and post-harvest losses of cereals in Ethiopia

Abstract

Recent and systematic evidence on the magnitude of post-harvest losses in sub-Saharan Africa is scarce, hindering the identification of interventions to reduce losses. Here, we unlock standardized and systematically collected information on post-harvest management and farmer-reported post-harvest loss estimates from the Living Standards Measurement Study -Integrated Surveys in Agriculture. Using the data from Ethiopia, the objective is to disentangle factors that induce or relate to post-harvest losses in cereals. The data of approximately 2500 households and 5500 cereal records were analysed. Cereal post-harvest loss was reported by only 10% of these households. The average self-reported post-harvest loss was 24%. Rodents and other pests were most frequently reported to cause these losses. Adoption of improved storage methods was limited and most cereals were stored inside the house in bags. Random Forests (RF) was applied to gain insight into factors and conditions favouring post-harvest losses. Application of RF explained 31% of the variation in postharvest losses reported by farmers. Three major factors associated with post-harvest losses were the distance of the household dwelling to the nearest market, the distance of the household dwelling to the main road, and average annual rainfall. Losses increased the further households were located from a market or main road, and losses also tended to decrease with higher rainfall. The standardized and nationally representative survey data from Ethiopia used were a good starting point for modelling post-harvest losses but the finally available information appeared to be partial. Therefore, this paper calls for better data collection, which could help to better target interventions needed to reduce post-harvest losses.

Farmers’ Grain Storage and Losses in Ethiopia

“…For a different view, seeHengsdijk and de Boer (2017).4 Note, however, that we are not suggesting that higher outputs cause storing of crops since households may, ex-ante, decide to store the crops and produce higher output simultaneously or in the order given.…”

Occurrence of mycotoxins in farm-stored wheat in Ethiopia

“…On-farm grain storage methods in Ethiopia represent poor barriers against environmental and biological deterioration agents, and grains are stored mainly inside the house in porous bags [7]. Dried commodities stored in woven porous bags can gain moisture from an environment of high relative humidity, enabling insect infestation and fungal infections [8].…”

Determinants of postharvest losses along smallholder producers maize and Sweetpotato value chains: an ordered Probit analysis

“…In a comprehensive review Affognon et al (2015) estimate the magnitude of postharvest loss in six SSA countries and report maize loss levels from 5.6 to 25.5%. Using Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS) data in Ethiopia, Hengsdijk and de Boer (2017) report average self-reported postharvest cereal loss to be about 24% amongst the 10% of households that reported any postharvest loss. In the LSMS survey, an average maize postharvest loss of between 21 and 27% of total maize production, was reported by smallholder farmers, but it is notable that few farmers responded stating they had any postharvest loss (i.e.…”

“…just 7% in Malawi, 22% in Uganda, and < 20% in Tanzania) (Hengsdjik and de Boer, 2017). However, there were a very high number of records (>88%) with 'missing data' on self-reported postharvest cereal losses in the LSMS Malawi and Tanzania (2008/09 to 2012/13) datasets, the reason for such a highincidence of missing data is unknown but would preclude most further analysis of the postharvest loss figures (Hengsdijk and de Boer 2017).…”