Abera Gezai, Ibrahim Ali M, Forsido Sirawdink Fikreyesus, Kuyu Chala G
College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Raya University, Southern Tigrai, Ethiopia.
Department of Post-harvest Management, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, P.O.Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2020 Apr 24;6(4):e03749. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03749. eCollection 2020 Apr.
One of the main challenges facing Ethiopia today is to ensure food security for its rapidly growing population. Although Ethiopia's production is much lower than the national demand, there are high post-harvest food losses. In meeting a country's food demand, increasing production by itself is not enough unless what has been produced is properly managed. In line with this, extensive assessment of post-harvest losses of tomato along the supply chain and the associated factors were evaluated in four purposively selected districts of East Shewa Zone of Ethiopia. The assessment was made using Commodity System Assessment Methodology from "farm-to-fork" to investigate the status of post-harvest losses of tomato along the supply chain and the associated factors in the pursuit of recommending appropriate mitigation strategies. Information was gathered from a total of N = 408 sampled chain actors (producers to consumers) and related institutions. Results revealed that losses of tomato due to improper care and handling of the commodity regardless of its high production in the study area were common problems for all chain actors. A loss of 20.5%, 8.6%, 2.9%, and 7.3% at the producer, wholesalers, retailers, and hotel and café level was recorded respectively with a total loss of 39.3%. Total losses across districts ranged from 17.2-33.3. Field, transportation and market display were major critical loss points identified. Practices such as market fluctuation, lack of temperature management, no/poor sorting and mixed handling of the crop, carelessness on the loss prevention and its impact were identified among the common causes for observed losses. Therefore, creating awareness on the effect of all causes of food loss and minimizing economic loss is recommended. Moreover, affordable and appropriate technology adaptation is needed to reduce observed food losses across the districts.
埃塞俄比亚如今面临的主要挑战之一是确保其快速增长的人口的粮食安全。尽管埃塞俄比亚的粮食产量远低于国内需求，但收获后粮食损失却很高。要满足一个国家的粮食需求，仅靠增加产量是不够的，除非所生产的粮食得到妥善管理。据此，在埃塞俄比亚东谢瓦州四个有针对性选择的地区，对番茄供应链上的收获后损失及相关因素进行了广泛评估。评估采用了从“农场到餐桌”的商品系统评估方法，以调查番茄供应链上收获后损失的状况及相关因素，从而推荐适当的缓解策略。从总共N = 408个抽样的供应链参与者（从生产者到消费者）及相关机构收集了信息。结果显示，尽管研究区域内番茄产量较高，但由于对该商品的不当照料和处理导致的损失，是所有供应链参与者面临的普遍问题。在生产者、批发商、零售商以及酒店和咖啡馆层面，损失率分别为20.5%、8.6%、2.9%和7.3%，总损失率为39.3%。各地区的总损失率在17.2%至33.3%之间。田间、运输和市场展示是确定的主要关键损失点。市场波动、缺乏温度管理、对作物无分选/分选不佳以及混合处理、对损失预防疏忽及其影响等做法，被确定为观察到的损失的常见原因。因此，建议提高对粮食损失所有原因影响的认识，并尽量减少经济损失。此外，需要采用负担得起且合适的技术，以减少各地区观察到的粮食损失。
