Ineffective or inappropriate food processing technologies, careless harvesting, and inefficient post-harvest handling practices contribute significantly to high post-harvest food losses in West African countries.
Poor road networks, declining rail systems, bad market practices, and inadequate or absent storage facilities, packing houses, and market infrastructures further aggravate these losses.
Fermentation remains one of the oldest and most vital traditional food processing and preservation methods in the region.
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Key Socio-Economic and Technological Challenges in Crop Processing and Preservation
Significant post-harvest losses negatively affect the economy and welfare of farmers, consumers, and traders. Several socio-economic and technological factors must be addressed to reduce these losses effectively.
1. Size of Land Holding: The extent of post-harvest losses varies with land holding size. Small, medium, and large farms experience different levels of losses at the farm and handling points. Comparative studies of these groups help identify suitable post-harvest technologies tailored to specific farmers.
2. Educational Background and Training of Farmers and Traders: The level of education and participation in informal training related to post-harvest technology influence the adoption of better handling practices. Attendance at seminars and workshops increases receptivity to improved methods.
3. Attitude of Farmers Towards Post-Harvest Handling: Some farmers remain unaware of proper handling practices due to focus on pre-harvest losses from flood, drought, or pests. Others attribute losses to fate, divine intervention, or bad luck, which affects their approach to loss reduction.
4. Level of Income of Farmers: Income impacts the ability to invest in better packaging and storage facilities. Low income restricts capital, resulting in the use of inadequate containers and premature harvesting of crops, especially fruits and vegetables, which reduces product quality.
5. Presence of Middlemen in the Marketing Channel: In Nigeria, middlemen often finance small farmers but charge high interest rates. Well-organized cooperatives could reduce post-harvest losses compared to individual operations.
6. Capital Investment and Financing: High capital investment is required for exporters, transporters, and cold storage owners due to costs of buildings, vehicles, and equipment. Research on the relationship between capital investment and post-harvest losses is essential.
7. Consumer Behaviour and Its Impact on Post-Harvest Losses: Consumer education, income, preferences, and family size influence food losses. Higher education correlates with less food waste. High-income groups prefer sorted, quality-assured produce, while low-income groups choose assorted items at lower prices. Over-purchasing of perishable produce often leads to wastage.
8. Role of Mass Media in Post-Harvest Education: Mass media dissemination of post-harvest information through advertisements and promotion programs encourages proper attitudes toward food loss reduction at the consumer level.
9. Participation of Policy Makers in Post-Harvest Industry Development: Policy makers play a vital role by creating conducive policies and supporting research and extension efforts to develop appropriate post-harvest technologies at farmer and processor levels.
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Strategies for Enhancing Crop Processing and Reducing Post-Harvest Losses
The future of post-harvest research and development must consider the following constraints and solutions:
1. Climatic Constraints at Harvesting: Rainfall during harvest delays critical operations like threshing and drying, promoting disease and pest infestation and reducing seed quality. High temperatures decrease yield and increase disease risks.
2. Improvement of Harvesting, Threshing, Cleaning, and Sorting Methods: Research and extension should focus on developing appropriate machinery for these key operations to improve efficiency.
3. Drying and Field Transportation Systems: Effective drying remains a challenge, especially in regions with extended wet periods. Grain legumes lose viability quickly under high humidity, and fungal attacks cause spoilage.
4. Storage Technologies for Food Grains and Legumes: Though research exists, suitable storage technologies are still needed. Developing home-level drying and storage methods is essential.
5. Handling and Transportation Facilities: Poor transport infrastructure, lack of mechanical handling, and absence of mobile refrigeration worsen post-harvest losses. Improved packaging technologies for perishable crops and processed products are needed.
6. Processing and Preservation Techniques: Utilizing wastes from fruits, vegetables, and tuber crops, extending shelf life, and promoting home-level processing technologies are vital for reducing losses.
Future Priorities for Post-Harvest Research in Crop Processing
1. Genetic manipulation for longer shelf life and disease resistance
2. Modeling cultivation conditions to improve crop quality and reduce stress effects
3. Environmentally friendly pest control methods
4. Objective determination of optimal harvesting dates
5. Post-harvest treatments such as heat, UV, irradiation, CO2, and chemicals to improve storage
6. Monitoring and improving refrigeration systems
7. Optimizing storage conditions for tropical fruits and processed produce
8. Development of modified atmosphere packaging and sensors
9. Prevention of pathogens in packaged products
10. Adaptive storage control with biological sensors
11. Storage during transport and quarantine measures
12. Application of humid forced air precooling
13. Minimizing bruising during sorting and packaging
14. Non-destructive quality and maturity measurement techniques
15. Environmentally friendly packaging solutions
16. Research on consumer and trader quality preferences
17. Cost-benefit analysis of post-harvest technologies
18. Fundamental research on senescence, ripening, respiration, ethylene effects, chilling, fermentation, and browning
Importance of Addressing Post-Harvest Losses for Food Security
Post-harvest losses of fruits, vegetables, and other food items remain a significant concern for food security at both macro and micro levels.
Inadequate processing and preservation facilities must be prioritized to reduce these losses. Short-term preservation methods apply mainly to horticultural crops consumed soon after harvest, focusing on maintaining the product’s life and respiration.
Such preservation does not stop microbial or enzymatic activity, leading to continued deterioration accelerated by harvest and handling stress. Long-term preservation aims to inactivate or control microorganisms and enzymes and minimize chemical reactions causing food deterioration.
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