Climate change and post-harvest agriculture
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Date
2018-03
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Publisher
Routledge; RFF Press, Taylor and Francis Group
Abstract
This chapter looks at the role of post-harvest losses (PHL) in adaptation to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 10%–20% of the total grain produced in that region is lost before the food reaches consumers. This loss is valued in billions of dollars a year and could meet the annual calorie needs of 48 million people. PHL also waste labor, land, water, fertilizer and energy, and generate unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, when resources are used to produce, process, and transport food that will not reach consumers. Losses occur during post-harvest activities, such as drying, storing, and transporting grain. PHL can be quantitative (e.g., bags of grain break and spill, or pests eat the grain) and qualitative (e.g., loss in nutritional value due to spoilage). A number of causes of PHL will be exacerbated by hotter average temperatures, greater rainfall variability, and more frequent extreme weather events. These factors are compounded by inadequate post-harvest handling practices and inadequate facilities and infrastructure. PHL can be reduced by investing in cold and dry storage, rural roads, rural and wholesale market facilities, and processing facilities. Training of farmers on proper practices and use of strategies such as hermetically sealed bags can reduce PHL.
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Keywords
Post-harvest losses, Climate change, Adaptation
Citation
Chegere M. J. (2018), “Climate Change and Post-Harvest Agriculture”, in Berck C. S., Berk P. and Di Falco S. (Eds), Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa: Food Security in a Changing Environment, Chapter 12, pp 283-294. RFF Press/Routledge, London and New York,