Review of Major Grains Postharvest Losses in Ethiopia and Customization of a Loss Assessment Methodology

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Review of Major Grains Postharvest Losses in Ethiopia and Customization of a Loss Assessment Methodology 1 2 3 4 5 6 REVIEW OF MAJOR GRAINS POSTHARVEST LOSSES IN ETHIOPIA AND CUSTOMIZATION OF A LOSS ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY November 2018 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Cover Photo 1: Mobile multi-crop thresher in Aoromia (Zewai), 2016, Ali Ibrahim Cover Photo 2: Hermetic Storage – Metal Silo, 2018, Ali Ibrahim Cover Photo 3: Traditional Threshing in Amhara Region, 2017, Ali Ibrahim Cover Photo 4: Stacked Maize, 2018, Abraham Tadesse Cover Photo 5: Threshing floor in preparation, Amhara Region, 2017, Ali Ibrahim Cover Photo 6: Traditional store (Gota) in Amhara Region, 2017, Ali Ibrahim REVIEW OF MAJOR GRAINS POSTHARVEST LOSSES IN ETHIOPIA AND CUSTOMIZATION OF A LOSS ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY November 2018 Agriculture Knowledge, Learning, Documentation and Policy Project (AKLDP). Report authors: Ali Mohammed and Abraham Tadesse Suggested citation: Mohammed, A. and Tadesse, A. (2018). Review of Major Grains Postharvest Losses in Ethiopia and Customization of a Loss Assessment Methodology. USAID/Ethiopia Agriculture Knowledge, Learning, Documentation and Policy Project, Addis Ababa. Implemented by: Feinstein International Center Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Tufts University Africa Regional Office PO Box 1078 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251 (0)11 618014 www.fic.tufts.edu www.agri-learning-ethiopia.org This study was funded by USAID under AKLDP, contract number AID-663-C-14-00002. AKLDP is implemented by the Feinstein International Center, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. The study team acknowledges the support of AKLDP in designing the study, providing resources, and assisting with field work. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Glossary of technical terms ................................................................................................................... 7 Acronyms and abbreviations ................................................................................................................. 9 Executive Summary................................................................................................................................... 10 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 11 1.1. Status and importance of grain crops production ............................................................................ 11 1.2. The ignificances of postharvest losses in grain crops ........................................................................ 11 1.3. Objectives of the study .................................................................................................................... 12 2. The study approach and methodology ..................................................................................... 13 2.1. Review of PHLs and practices in the postharvest system ................................................................. 13 2.2. Customized crop post-production loss assessment methodologies development ............................... 13 3. Major findings ...................................................................................................................................... 14 3.1. Postharvest operations and associated causes of losses in grain crops ............................................... 14 3.2. Major factors causing postharvest losses in grains ............................................................................ 18 3.3. Postharvest loss of grain crops in Ethiopia ....................................................................................... 19 3.4. Comments on available PHL assessment studies .............................................................................. 22 3.5. Review of development interventions on postharvest loss management ........................................... 23 3.6. Management options for reduction of PHLs .................................................................................... 26 4. Review of existing PHL assessment methods ........................................................................ 31 4.1. Review of globally used postharvest loss assessment methodologies ................................................. 31 4.1.1. FAO 4-S or load tracking method ...................................................................................... 31 4.1.2. African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) .................................................... 32 4.1.3. Rapid Loss Appraisal Tool (RLAT) ..................................................................................... 33 4.1.4. Methods of loss assessment due to bio-deterioration .............................................................. 34 4.1.5. Other protocols and systems ................................................................................................ 38 4.2. Review of postharvest loss assessment methodologies used in Ethiopia ............................................ 39 5. Proposed methodology for PHL assessment of grains in Ethiopia ............................... 40 5.1. Planning and preparations for loss assessment ................................................................................. 40 5.2. Desktop study ................................................................................................................................. 40 5.3. Field research phase: actual survey work .......................................................................................... 41 5.4. Load tracking and sampling (sampling) .......................................................................................... 41 5.5. Summary loss matrix ....................................................................................................................... 46 5.6. Solution finding (synthesis) ............................................................................................................. 47 4 Conclusion and recommendations ...................................................................................................... 48 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 49 Appendix Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 56 List of tables in Appendix Table 1. Postharvest protection measures commonly practiced by farmers in Ethiopia ........................................ 56 Table 2. Grain postharvest loss calculation during six months storage where grain is withdrawn for consumption ............................................................................................................... 57 Table 3. Conversion factors to obtain cereal grain weights at 14% MC* (multiply by) ........................................ 57 Table 4. Conversion factors for selected crops ...................................................................................................... 57 Review of Major Grains Postharvest Losses in Ethiopia and Customization of a Loss Assessment Methodology 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to duly acknowledge the Government of the United States of America for providing us with funds to undertake this assignment that is timely and yet neglected for various reasons. The team would like to thank the Agriculture Knowledge, Learning, Documentation and Policy Project (AKLDP), Feinstein International Center, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University for providing us with the opportunity to undertake this task. Particular credits go to Dr. Berhanu Admassu and Dr. Fentahun Mengistu for their guidance at every stage of the assignment and all the arrangements that were made to make the timely and successful completion of the task very smooth. Credits also go to all institutions and individuals who contributed as sources of information with regard to postharvest research and development in Ethiopia and research methodology used, both at national and global levels. 6 GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS Agricultural value chain: a supply chain that comprises the activities of input supply, production, postharvest management, storage, processing, marketing, and distribution, or any other activity involved in the “farm-to-fork” continuum for a given product. Assessment: the process of gathering information using various methods to systematically gauge the effectiveness of the domain. Critical loss points (CLPs): stages or points in the food supply chain (FSC) where food losses have the highest magnitude, the highest impact on food security, and the highest effect on the economic result of the FSC. Damage: the superficial evidence of deterioration, e.g., holed or broken grains, from which loss may result. Drying grain: the practice of removing moisture from grain in order to lower the moisture content to a level recommended as safe. Estimation: the process by which measured basic data are combined and interpreted; experience and judgment are combined during the process to bear on the factual data. Food: any substance, whether processed, semi-processed, or raw, that is intended
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