Evaluation of Factors Driving Post-Harvest Losses among Arable Crop Farmers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The problem of post-harvest loss is a major challenge facing the attainment of food security and livelihood of farmers in Nigeria. In a world of diminishing agricultural resources like arable lands and water with a continuous increase in the demand for food due to population increase, any little investment in the reduction in post-harvest losses will not only translate to making more food available but also improve the income of farmers. This study evaluated the factors driving postharvest losses among arable crop farmers, the level of knowledge and skills about post-harvest handling among arable crop farmers in Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Nigeria. Multistage random sampling techniques were used to select 120 respondents from three (3) Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the study area. Collected data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages with result presented in charts and tables. Findings revealed that majority (70%) of the respondents were between the age range of 41-70 years and most (82%) were small scale farmers cultivating less than 1-3ha with only 18% of them cultivating 3-5ha. Majority of the respondents were also male (69%) and had no formal education (59%). Leading drivers of postharvest losses among respondents were found to include poor transportation network, lack of modern storage/processing facilities, lack of local processing industries, inadequate training about modern post-harvest handling techniques and high cost of processing equipment. The study also finds out that majority (73%) of the farmers had not received any form of training about postharvest handling in the last two (2) farming year. The study recommends an improvement in infrastructural facilities like good roads for easy and timely evacuation produce, stable power supply to increase processing activities and also farmers’ training/enlightenment on post-harvest handling activities and local development of post-harvest technologies.

Keywords: Post-harvest losses, spoilage, Storage, Transportation, food security, Nigeria.

DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/13-6-01

Publication date:March 31^st 2022