An Economic Analysis of Post-Harvest Losses in Vegetables in Karnataka

Abstract

Outputs of all agricultural commodities produced in the field have to undergo a series of operations such as threshing, transportation, processing, storage and exchange before they reach the consumer, and there are appreciable losses of outputs during these stages of their handling. The sum quantity of outputs lost in these operations at all of these stages is referred to as “post harvest losses”. The seriousness of the problem of post-harvest losses has been discussed at several meetings, conferences, symposia, etc., at national and international levels. Many studies have been conducted for estimating the post-harvest losses particularly in the developed countries. However, the importance of post-harvest losses in agricultural commodities is not fully recognised in developing countries where agricultural production is not fully linked with marketing. The number of scientists involved in production research in these countries is significantly higher than those concerned with post-harvest losses in agricultural commodities. It is distressing to note that so much time is being devoted to the culture of the plant, so much money is spent on irrigation, fertilisers and crop protection measures, but little attention is paid and resources devoted to the issues related with post-harvest losses resulting in failure to meet food requirement of the hungry millions. The wastage of agricultural commodities would mean not only monetary loss but also destabilisation of the economy and a decline in the nutritional standards that is already low in developing countries (FAO, 1980). In perishable crops like fruits and vegetables, proper and scientific storage, packaging, transport and handling technologies are not adequate and hence, considerable amount of produce is wasted. The vegetable crops because of their moisture content are inherently more liable for deterioration in quality and quantity especially under tropical conditions. Moreover, they are biologically active and carry