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Post-harvest crop wastage in Sri Lanka

19 Feb 2021

  • Farmers, consumers most affected groups due to crop wastage

  • Around 40% fruits, vegetables wasted post harvesting

  • Laws, regulations need to be practical

  • Govt. says more awareness is key

  Ancient writings claim that there was a time when Sri Lanka – during King Parakramabahu’s era, to be precise – was a leading paddy cultivator and an exporter in the world, aptly known as the “Great Barn of the East”. While we take pride in this historical fact even today, those glory days are no more. Sri Lanka, however, still has an agriculture-based culture and economy that largely depend on crop exports. Agriculture and farmers are an extremely important part of the country, so much so that uplifting the country’s agriculture sector has become one of the primary election promises. However, this is not something Sri Lankans can be proud of, as this only highlights the fact that their issues continue to remain unaddressed, despite the change of governments and countless promises. It is not an exaggeration to state that Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector is now facing more issues than any other sector in the country, and farmers complaining of the state of the sector and pleading for a solution is not at all a new phenomenon. In this backdrop, it is learnt that Sri Lanka’s first temperature and humidity-controlled warehouse complex for perishables is to be opened this year in Dambulla, giving a semblance of hope for the farmers struggling with post-harvest crop management issues. Even though this facility would only be available to farmers based in the Dambulla District, this is still an admirable start, as post-harvest crop management issues have existed for decades.   From farmers to consumers   According to the All Island Farmers’ Federation (AIFF), post-harvest produce wastage is an issue that has affected farmers of all areas in Sri Lanka and takes place at all economic centres as well as farms. The main issue, as pointed out, is the lack of a proper system to manage vegetable and fruit produce. Speaking to The Morning, AIFF National Organiser Namal Karunaratne said that Sri Lanka does not have a proper system in place to manage vegetable and fruit produce, and that the country is in dire need of cold storage facilities and alternative methods such as canning and drying in order to preserve and process vegetable and fruit produce. He said that alternative vegetable and fruit-based products are lacking in Sri Lanka, adding that in a context where almost all vegetables and fruits can be used to manufacture canned, packaged, and dried alternative products, Sri Lanka should consider going for alternative products. He also said that when there is adequate produce to manufacture such products, not doing so only leads to massive wastage. Even though The Morning attempted to contact Food Commissioner J. Krishnamoorthy to inquire about the authorities’ opinion about Sri Lanka lacking projects to preserve surplus food, she was not reachable. Meanwhile, Karunaratne added that other than the mere consumption of vegetables and fruits, Sri Lanka does not have well-organised, industry-centred round vegetable and fruit farming and agricultural lands. “There are seasons that provide ideal conditions to farm certain fruits and vegetables, and during these seasons, farmers produce more fruits and vegetables than the country needs. However, when considering the annual or long-term requirement of vegetables and fruits, it is not a surplus produce; it is just that the surplus produce is not necessary for the country at that particular time (during those seasons),” he explained. “If it is not feasible to sell all this produce or consume it before it is inedible, what needs to be done is to introduce systematic, alternative methods to process and store that surplus produce until such time it becomes necessary to fulfill the country’s requirement,” he added. This situation, Karunaratne said, affects the farmers’ economy as during these seasons, even though the produce (supply) increases, consumption (demand) does not, which in turn results in a decrease in prices. He said that in such circumstances, due to the lack of methods to preserve the surplus produce, farmers dispose of it and sometimes economic centres give that produce for animal food, which has been taking place for a long time. This wastage, in turn, affects the consumers, as it is one of the reasons why the prices go up. Karunaratne added that this situation discourages farmers, especially those farming during the seasons, sometimes to the point where they stop or reduce farming. This results in the amount of vegetable and food production declining every year. He also noted that farmers who produce food during off-seasons, which is less than those farmed during the seasons, earn more profit, even though there is a scarcity of food produce during that time due to the lesser number of farmers, among other reasons. “However, due to the intermediaries who play a huge role in this process between the farmers and the consumers, this profit does not reach the farmers to a considerable extent,” Karunaratne said, also noting that both farmers and consumers who have to pay higher prices suffer losses in this process. He explained that the process of selling produce comprises six stages: Farmer, first intermediary, wholesalers, second intermediary, retailers, and consumers.   Transport: Another major cause?   Speaking of poor transport practices, another major reason that contributes to food wastage and the increase in prices, Karunaratne said that the way vegetables and fruits are transported leads to a huge waste compared to other factors. He claimed that the lack of proper transport methods, including the use of gunny bags to package fruit and vegetable produce, contributes to food wastage, close to 40%. Adding that the use of gunny bags is an issue in this context, he also pointed out that the continuation of this practice is caused by practical issues that arise when using other methods such as using plastic crates to transport produce. In 2011, the Ministry of Co-operatives and Internal Trade made it mandatory to use plastic crates to transport vegetables and fruits, claiming that this move could save the country around Rs. 20 billion a year. However, farmers and others involved in the agricultural industry protested against this move and continued the use of gunny bags and other methods, paving the way for food wastage. This can be seen even today. According to Karunaratne, even though farmers have expressed willingness to use plastic crates to transport food, considering the less produce waste and the ability to protect the quality of their produce, several practical issues have hindered the adoption of this method. “The use of plastic crates reduces the amount of produce that can be transported in a vehicle by almost half. Farmers, therefore, have to use more vehicles than they used when using gunny bags. Also, farmers have to bring back these plastic crates from the market, which further increases their expenses. Purchasing and storing plastic crates also is an issue, as farmers have to spend for that as well,” he explained. This, in turn, compels farmers, intermediaries, and sellers to raise the prices of fruits and vegetables, which again affects the consumers, he noted. “One may argue that due to the lack of wastage and the high quality of food, profits would increase. But due to the additional expenses that the use of plastic crates entails, that is not always the case.” Karunaratne added that the government merely introducing laws would not resolve the existing issues in the industry, and that a proper mechanism as well as guidance to ensure the proper, smooth implementation of these laws is also necessary. “When intermediaries/sellers purchase produce from farmers, farmers only get around 60% of the income they should receive, as intermediaries/sellers reduce a certain amount, taking into account the aforesaid 40% wastage, even though in most cases this wastage is less than 40%. Sellers charge this amount from consumers, but farmers do not get to profit from this,” he stressed.   Farmers need to be made aware: Agri. Dept.   Department of Agriculture Director General Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon, while acknowledging that farmers face various practical issues when using plastic crates to transport their produce, said that proper packaging methods aimed at reducing produce wastage is necessary. He said that even though farmers opposed it after the introduction of this method, the Department as well as the Institute of Post Harvest Technology are continuing to raise awareness among farmers and others involved in the agricultural industry in a bid to encourage them to adopt this method. Dr. Weerakoon stressed that when buyers purchase produce from farmers, they cannot lie to the farmers about the weight of the produce, as it is properly packaged. “In addition to post-harvest wastage, to address other pressing concerns such as the quality of the produce and the income received by farmers, the Department has implemented an awareness-raising programme,” Weerakoon said, adding that pre-harvest factors such as the use of fertilisers and pesticides, forming techniques, and proper methods of harvesting agricultural crops are also parts of this programme. He added that the Department aims to raise awareness among at least 25% of farmers in a bid to enhance the quality of the produce. According to Dr. Weerakoon, there is a traditional way of farmers doing things, and certain such practices also affect the post-harvest food quality. He explained that in many cases, farmers obtain seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides on credit from traders in the agricultural industry, and in return, following harvesting, are bound to give their harvest to them for sale. He also said that these traders, in order to make profits, use improper methods to transport produce to economic centres, without any consideration about the quality of the produce. “Despite the advice of the authorities, using unsuitable methods to transport the produce is still taking place. To address the issues faced by farmers, foldable plastic crates have been introduced.”   Sri Lanka’s situation   According to a research conducted by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI), in 2018, post-harvest losses of fruits vary between 20% and 40%, with the highest loss recorded for papaya, while for vegetables it was between 20% and 46%, with the highest loss recorded for okra. This had been due to unsatisfactory packaging, lack of ventilation in the lorries, poor facilities for handling produce in the Colombo wholesale market, and the extreme traffic congestion and inordinate delays before unloading. The study said that the loss in supermarket chains and export chains was reported as 2-6% and 5-10%, respectively. However, when queried as to whether this is the case with supermarkets that collect fresh produce directly from farmers, Karunaratne said that even though this system helps farmers to prevent or reduce losses, it does not significantly contribute to reducing the losses suffered by the agriculture industry. The study said that improved technologies alone cannot prevent post-harvest losses because the effect of the pre-harvest factors such as crop management and field sanitation also contribute to crop losses. The study also emphasised the importance of a national policy to minimise post-harvest losses of fruit and vegetable produce as well as the government taking initiatives and allocating resources to improve post-harvest handling conditions, which is expected to improve the socioeconomic status of those engaged in fruit and vegetable supply chains. The study further said that training farmers on post-harvest handling and food safety, both for the domestic market and international trade, is also important.   Post-harvest crop wastage in the SAARC region   Issues pertaining to post-harvest crop wastage are not limited to Sri Lanka. Even though the nature and scale of wastage varies, studies conducted in this regard show several common causes, with the main cause being improper handling and the transportation of produce. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO), agricultural systems in the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) countries, including Sri Lanka, are dominated by smallholder farmers. The FAO said that post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables in these countries are high, ranging between 20% and 44%, adding that these high levels of losses are largely the result of improper handling, transportation, and packaging; poor storage; and weak post-harvest-specific infrastructure, which result in seriously diminished returns to producers while reducing the net availability of these food commodities for consumption. An underlying cause of these losses in the SAARC region, according to the FAO, is the limited awareness and knowledge base of stakeholders in the traditional supply chains where these losses occur. “These high levels of losses also negatively impact on food availability, food security, and nutrition. In addition, the safety of fresh produce is also compromised by the lack of awareness of chemical and microbiological risks in horticultural chains and mechanisms for mitigating these risks,” the FAO added. Post-harvest crop wastage is merely one issue faced by the agriculture sector. It is also affected by a myriad of other issues, such as irrigation-related issues, microfinance debt trap, deforestation, environmental pollution, and overall destitution, which in turn have resulted in traditional farmers leaving the profession and sometimes even committing suicide. Even though resolving farmers’ issues has been discussed countless times in the past decades, in reality, their issues are being resolved, if at all, at a snail’s pace while new issues keep emerging. Farmers’ issues do not remain just “farmers’ issues” – they are also consumers’ issues and the entire country’s issues.


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