Prospects and Challenges of Postharvest Storage and Losses of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Central highlands of Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

In Ethiopia, potato is becoming a prominent source of income since the crop is the most important cash crop for smallholder farmers in the mid-altitude and highland areas of the country. Post-harvest management in potato crop is a set of operations and functions between crop production and consumption. Potato is inherently perishable. During the process of harvesting, storage, distribution and marketing, substantial losses are incurred which range from a slight loss of quality to substantial spoilage. Post-harvest losses may occur at any point in the marketing process, from the initial harvest through assembly and distribution to the consumer. The causes of losses are many: physical damage during handling and transport, physiological decay, water loss, or sometimes simply because there is a surplus in the marketplace and potatoes are kept longer under inconvenient condition for some time. The tuber, once harvested, is susceptible to environmental influences and requires proper handling and processing in to value added products that have longer shelf-life. The increasing market demand for quality is requiring growers and others engaged in the industry to strictly follow appropriate principles and standards to ensure higher productivity and quality with reduced losses and minimum cost all along the potato value chain. There is a huge estimate of post-harvest losses for fruits, vegetables, roots and tuber crops that sometimes reaches as high as 50%. So far there are limited marketing options for the individual farmer in the major production regions and there are almost no storage facilities to help producers stabilize the low price during peak production. From the estimated potato acreage of over 0.3m ha, a total of 3.65 million tons of potatoes is produced annually. About 20–25% of the annual production is a post harvest loss. In Ethiopia most of the potato produced is mainly consumed as boiled, salad and stew preparations. Potato is consumed throughout the year, but with higher consumption during harvesting. Use of alternative recipes like crisps, french fries, flakes, pre-peeled potatoes and various snack food items has not developed well. This in combination with the high post-harvest losses is believed to have limited the overall consumption of potato in the country to be one of the lowest for per capital consumption in Africa.

Keywords: Postharvest, Farmers Field School, Farmer Research Group, potato storage

DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-5-04

Publication date:March 31^st 2020