Abstract
Data on rice harvest and postharvest loss in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is scanty making it difficult for stakeholders to appreciate the loss and set priority areas for loss reduction along the value chain. To address this problem, a protocol was developed and validated for postharvest loss (PHL) quantification in SSA. Quantitative losses at each segment were determined by field measurements. Interactive effect of origin of rice (domestic versus imported) and type of processing (white versus parboiled milled) on rice price in 33 markets in Africa was used to estimate qualitative loss for both white and parboiled milled rice. Total PHL for rice in SSA in 2018 is estimated at about US$ 10.24 billion, representing 47.63% of the expected total production. The highest loss recorded was quantitative loss before and during harvesting, followed by qualitative loss along the entire value chain, quantitative loss during milling, parboiling, threshing in that order, with the lowest being quantitative loss during drying. Priority areas to be targeted for PHL reduction in SSA and some loss mitigation tools and technologies piloted or suitable for SSA are proposed.
Highlights
Data on rice harvest and postharvest loss in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is scanty making it difficult for stakeholders to appreciate the loss and set priority areas for loss reduction along the value chain
Paddy rice production in SSA in 2018 was estimated at 26.5 million tons from a total of 11.95 million hectare of harvested area (IRRI, 2020), but this quantity did not reach the table of consumers due to postharvest loss (PHL) that can be subdivided into quantitative and qualitative loss
Quantitative PHL in grains is estimated at 17%, but significant differences exist between directly measured losses and estimates obtained by interviews (Prusky, 2011; Minten et al, 2020), demonstrating the poor knowledge of actual losses by value chain actors
Summary
Data on rice harvest and postharvest loss in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is scanty making it difficult for stakeholders to appreciate the loss and set priority areas for loss reduction along the value chain.
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