africa

Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again?
Figure 25.1: Food Waste as a Percentage of Total Food Supply
Source: FAOSTAT, 2014.
25.2.1 Post-harvest losses
For some years, various organizations have been compiling databases on postharvest
losses, putting emphasis on providing good quality representative data
that take into account climatic, biophysical, and technical conditions. For rice, for
example, whose losses have been widely studied and which is the second most
frequently consumed cereal by humans after wheat, global losses are estimated at
15 percent of harvested rice (Grolleau, 2002), though with wide variations among
countries, climatic zones and practices, and fluctuations in data reliability.
Post-harvest losses contribute the largest share of total food losses in most African
countries. For instance, 25 percent of the fruits and vegetables harvested are
lost during the processing and packing process (FAO, 2011). Post-harvest losses
have several causes, including poor timing of the harvest, inappropriate harvesting
techniques, equipment, and conditions. 2
Lack of adequate processing facilities causes high food losses in many African
countries (Table 25.1). Fresh products, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish
straight from the farm or after the catch, can spoil quickly in hot conditions if infrastructure
is missing for cooling, transport, storage, and markets (Rolle, 2006). In
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