Energy use in the post-harvest food (PHF) system of developing countries

Abstract

This paper reports on the methodology and results of the study on estimation of energy consumption in post-harvest-food systems in developing countries. The components of the PHF system are: food processing, transportation, storage and cooking. The study is rather ambitious in its coverage of 70 processed commodities in 90 countries of Africa, Latin America, the Far East and Near East. This was possible because of the considerable variety of computer data available at FAO for such an analysis. Of course, extensive checking was required for each country but much of the approximations remain, leading only to broad implications. Despite the difficulties with precise data, it seems reasonable to draw the following conclusions from the available information: the post-harvest-food system requires 2 to 4 times more energy than at farm level: the share of commercial energy which is often used for food processing, such as milling, crushing, and food transport, and to some extent for cooking, ranges between 22% in Africa and 80% in the Near East; the levels of energy consumption in the PHF system depends on income levels and extent of urbanization, and whether a country has locally available fossil fuels or forests. In addition, different components of the PHF system are sensitive to different parameters. For example, energy in food processing depends on cropping, dietary patterns, and whether food is exported or imported, whereas food transport depends on the size of the countries and location of urban areas with respect to farms. These parameters are discussed here for the four worl regions as well as for the 90 developing countries as a whole. Country-specific insights are given graphically due to impracticability of reporting all data in detail.