Giving the delicate nature of fruits and vegetables, it is often a huge task to see them get to the market unhurt.
Despite the method of farming used in their production, a good amount of these produce start damaging from the point of harvesting to the time they get to the table of the last trader which in most cases is a very rigorous journey.
These fruits and vegetables suffer this same fate on their way to the point of storage and in most cases, storage will have little or no effect on the produce which can suffer bacterial and fungal attacks as well as rots from the point which they have been bruised due to mishandling during harvesting, packaging or transportation.
According to Mustapha and Yahaya [1] the complex and long chain of marketing system of vegetables between the farmers and consumers makes it difficult to assess the level of damage in many crops in Nigeria. However, generally, about 30 % fruits and vegetables are rendered unfit for consumption due to spoilage after harvesting. This is a huge loss of valuable food even when the minimum food requirement of the population is not met. In 1989, FAO report indicated that Nigerian vegetables have not been able to meet world standards because of poor harvest handling. Therefore, it is important not only to grow more, but also to save what is grown at high cost.
Although much is not being done in the area of increasing the amount of food that gets to the final consumer with a corresponding reduction in the amount of food lost after harvest, the World Food Conference has as early as 1987 declared that there could be a significant increase in the food available for storage and consumption if post-harvest losses are reduced.
In Nigeria only few farmers have formal education and this is a huge issue as most of them find it difficult to follow modern ways of farming. In most cases, they have not been educated in these areas and it becomes an issue for their fruits and vegetable produce which are often faced by the primary causes of post-harvest losses.
The losses start from the mishandling of the fruits and vegetables during harvesting, packaging, transportation and storage. These first factors pave way for microbial activities. Bacterial and fungal attacks are the major challenges facing fruits and vegetables especially those with bruises. Beyond all these, there are still environmental factors like temperature, climate and others which the farmers in their capacities cannot control.
Post-harvest losses have come to stay, but should not be entertained as an unsolvable issue. ColdHubs Limited believes that with investment in education, infrastructure and cold storage facilities, a lot can be achieved.
So far, ColdHubs Limited has through using 100% solar-powered walk-in cold storage facilities provided the storage solution for smallholder farmers especially and while work is ongoing towards the unveiling of more ColdHubs across the country, it is being backed up with a post-harvest education programme for farmers and traders in the areas where those ColdHubs are located.
With a target of training more than 50 traders per location, ColdHubs Limited expects to train more than 1,500 farmers and traders across 30 new hubs across Nigeria.
With these programmes, ColdHubs will ensure that produce coming in for storage is in good condition. This will also ensure that those taken directly to the markets are in good condition and with a significant amount of post-harvest losses eliminated across the country, more food will be available for consumption, which is more income for farmers especially and a significant upward movement in the drive to achieve food security in Nigeria.
ColdHubs is advocating for more investment in this post-harvest education programme, as one best way to achieve food security. The ripple effect of training more than 1,500 farmers and traders across Nigeria in knowing the right handling methods, temperature management, packaging best practices and other ways to prevent post-harvest losses will be a game changer.
Budgeting about 50 persons per location, ColdHubs has already exceeded that number by training more than 100 persons at Yankaba Market in Kano State, Nigeria. With more farmers showing interest in the programme, the number is expected to rise to more than 3,000 at the end of the programme which is twice the initially estimated figure.
References
1. Mustapha Y, Yahaya SM (2006) Isolation and Identification of Post- harvest fungi of Tomato (L. esculentum) and Pepper (Capsicum annum) sample from selected Irrigated sites in Kano. Biological
Yahaya SM, Mardiyya AY (2019) Review of Post-Harvest Losses of Fruits and Vegetables