– can range from 15 to 50 per cent of agricultural produce
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is calling for significantly greater investment in cold and dry storage infrastructure and first stage processing equipment in the agricultural and agro-processing sectors in order to considerably reduce what it says is a significant amount of post-harvest food losses.
The FAO says its urging that developing countries invest in technology, training and support facilities to reduce post-harvest losses in the agricultural sector is designed to halt the reduction in the volumes of yield available either for domestic consumption or for export. With world population expected to near its peak in 2050 and given current trends towards greater urbanization in developed countries, the FAO says larger quantities of higher-value foods, particularly agricultural produce will have to be moved over long distances and greater efforts would be needed to significantly reduce food losses in the overall food chain.
Estimates indicate that post-harvest losses could range from 15 per cent to as high as 50 per cent of what is produced and contribute significantly to high food prices by removing part of that supply from the market. Post-harvest losses also have an impact environmental degradation and climate change as land, water, human labour and non-renewable resources including fertilizer and energy are used to produce, process, handle and transport food which no one consumes.
The FAO cites harvesting at an incorrect stage, spillage, and rough handling during harvesting, loading, packaging or transportation as being among the reasons for post-harvest losses in the agricultural sector in developing countries.
In Guyana, post-harvest losses have resulted mainly from inadequate or inefficient transportation. Agricultural produce cultivated in the North West District and the Essequibo region rely largely on a less than reliable ferry service and the rotting and subsequent dumping of high volumes of spoilt produce have become commonplace. The absence of processing facilities for fruit and vegetables has also been identified as part of the reason for the high volume of spoilage of reaped citrus among other crops.
The FAO in collaboration with the World Bank has conducted training programmes in the agricultural sector in several countries designed to improve post-harvest handling and correct erroneous transport and packing practices. The FAO has also cited inadequate and insecure storage facilities in several developing countries and says that its intervention in collaboration with donor agencies to correct this problem can make a significant difference.
Guyana is among countries which have faced quality assurance challenges associated with the export of fruits and vegetables to developed countries where supermarkets have long implemented mechanisms that grade produce according to generally acceptable trade standards. Where produce is bruised, wilted, unripe, misshapen, of incorrect size or otherwise generally unsightly it will not be put on shelves. Invariably, there is no alternative market for such produce and it has to be thrown away.