GIZ publications on post-harvest losses

Post-Harvest losses in potato value chains in Kenya
GIZ August 2014
78 pages

This study on post-harvest losses of potato contributes to the efforts of the Kenyan Government and private sector to improve the development of the potato value chain. To strengthen market linkages in the potato value chain, it is necessary to stimulate and enhance cooperation and coordination between the different actors. The introduction of standardised bags along with perweight payment and the expansion of contract farming present opportunities to support the market linkage of small-scale farmers. However, an important condition for cooperation is trust between the actors in the value chain.

Potato is the second most important food crop in Kenya after maize and is mostly cultivated by smallholders. The Kenyan Government has recognised the critical role potatoes play in alleviating food shortages given that potato provides higher yields compared to maize and is less affected by climate change. The issue of food loss is a highly important factor in securing the stable production required to combat hunger and raise incomes. Food security is a priority area of German development policy. Therefore, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) launched the special unit “One World – No Hunger” in order to intensify its dedication to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. This study, commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of BMZ, contributes to these efforts.

Related PAEPARD blog post: European Association for Potato Research
Jul 10, 2014. The scientific topics of this congress focused on all of the classical aspects of the potato sector, especially the latest knowledge about sustainable and innovative techniques.

Post-Harvest Losses of Rice in Nigeria and their Ecological Footprint

This second study is mainly based on primary data from field surveys analysing the production, processing and trading of rice in Kogi and Niger States: two states in which the Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) is supporting public and private sector parties along the value chain. The production chain in these two regions is typical for Nigeria and therefore representative of the entire country. The results of the two regions serve as a learning example for the rice sector in other states. The final results show an estimated post-harvest loss of 24.9 per cent, resulting in a substantial loss of revenue for farmers.

Nigeria is currently the largest rice producer in West Africa. Due to its large population, the country is also the region’s largest consumer of rice in absolute terms. Its estimated annual demand for milled rice is 5.2 million tonnes, while the average national production is 3.3 million tonnes. The supply and demand gap of 1.9 million tonnes can be bridged only by importing rice. Nigeria’s rice processing capacity is 2.8 million tonnes of paddy (Jica, 2013). In spite of these sizeable food imports, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2014) states that in 2012 about 9.4 million Nigerians or about 6 per cent of the population were undernourished and the poverty level in 2010 was estimated at 69 per cent (NBS, 2012). Given this level of poverty, food insecurity and undernourishment in Nigeria, food losses and waste, which occur along the entire food value chain, are unacceptable.

Food losses not only have effects on a social and economic scale, but also represent a waste of resources used in production such as land, water, energy and other inputs. This study considers the multifaceted impacts of food losses and thus has a twofold objective. First, it offers a sound analysis of the losses occurring along the rice value chain in Nigeria. Second, it highlights and assesses the consequential environmental impacts of the rice value chain activities.