Empowering Farmers Through Better Post-harvest

The journey to food security is not a road without challenges. Even as the world produces enough to sustain everyone, nearly one-fifth of all food does not get to reach our plates — a loss amounting to 1 billion meals a day.

Food loss and waste are among the main drivers of world hunger, along and interconnected with poverty, conflicts, and other social issues. While the majority of food waste happens on household levels, food losses mainly happen on farm to post-harvest levels of food processing.

From an economic perspective, food loss and waste cost a worth of 1 trillion USD each year according to the World Food Programme. This problem also represents wasted resources and lost earnings, especially for smallholder farmers and their communities.

Multiple factors lead to food loss and waste. During post-harvest, among the common challenges faced by many farmers include or are related to: climatic factors, pests, and access to technology.

Common Post-Harvest Challenges

Weather and climate

Agriculture is heavily reliant on weather and climate from growing crops to post-harvest. For instance, hotter regions often experience higher household food waste and post-harvest food loss as high temperatures contribute to spoilage.

Severe and erratic weather conditions have also become common with present-day climatic shifts. Sudden and intense rains pose similar risks during post-harvest processing. Many smallholder farmers still rely on traditional sun drying, which is especially vulnerable to sudden rains. Additionally, commodities can also be compromised during storage and transport in the case of floods and delays due to heavy rains.

Pests and molds

Apart from yet also affected by climatic factors, pests are another major cause of losses throughout food processing as many insect species find sustenance on crops. Post-harvest infestations often happen due to a lack of adequate measures, especially during storage and transport, leading to a decrease in weight and compromised quality.

Molds are another problem, which may add more risks due to aflatoxins. As excess moisture is a major catalyst for mold growth, ensuring proper drying is necessary to safely preserve dry agricultural commodities during storage and transport.

Access to Technology

Post-harvest technologies have significantly improved in how they address common issues throughout the years. Access to these innovations is vital, however, may yet be another challenge, especially in emerging regions. Thus, many smallholder farmers still opt for traditional practices.

According to a 2023 study about post-harvest management of pulse grains, low productivity is a result of several factors from climate change to low investments and adoption of improved technologies. The study found that common harvest and post-harvest handling resulted in a 22% loss. Additionally, the usual storage practices could not maintain moisture content, negatively affecting storage duration and crop quality.

Empowering Farmers Through Better Post-harvest

Just as many interconnected variables lead to food loss and waste, multiple factors are also vital to food security — all intertwined with empowering the very producer of our food: our farmers.

Empowering farmers is crucial to achieving food security, especially smallholder farmers who tend to allocate their crops towards food supply. Today, smallholder farmers produce around one-third of the world’s food within just 24% of the world’s agricultural lands.

Addressing post-harvest food loss is a good start to empower smallholder farmers, boosting productivity and saving limited resources. One way to achieve this is by strengthening post-harvest systems with new technologies and innovations.

Fortunately, agricultural innovations have come a long way. Newly available solutions can work alongside and improve common practices, providing post-harvest systems with additional security and boosting climate resilience.

Innovations to Strengthen Post-Harvest Systems

In Photo: Setting up of the Bubble Dryer™ in Maféré

One example that improves sun drying is the Bubble Dryer™. This tunnel-shaped drying solution shields commodities from rain, small animals, and spillage.  It is also available in both solar and electric-powered variants, allowing faster drying rates in optimal conditions. For completely traditional sun drying, the Collapsible Dryer Case™ is an adaptable drying mat that utilizes foldability to protect commodities during sudden rains.

Related: How to Use Sustainable Climate-Smart Drying Solutions

After drying, Hermetic Technology provides safe, chemical-free, and energy-less solutions for post-harvest storage and transport of dry agricultural commodities. This time-tested concept uses airtightness to create a stable storage environment unaffected by external conditions and naturally eliminates risks of pests and mold growth.

Related: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Post-harvest Hermetic Technology

Hermetic storage, such as the Cocoon™, can store 1 metric ton and above worth of bagged commodities in either indoor or outdoor settings. This large-scale storage unit allows farmers to store for later seasons, protecting crops and seeds from infestations, quality loss, and extreme conditions like floods below its zipper line. For smaller-scale, Hermetic Bags™ work as an additional protective liner for traditional jute bags — an effective solution to ensure commodities’ safety and quality during storage and transport.

While strengthening post-harvest systems is but one of the many actions to achieve food security, it is a necessary step that empowers our farmers by boosting productivity, preventing food losses, and enhancing common practices with better adaptability, security, and climate resilience.

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