FAO supports farmers with improved grain stores
Globally over one-third of food produced is lost or wasted, and this amounts to 1.3 billions tons of food per year. In developing countries including Ethiopia, about 40 percent of food is lost at post-harvest handling and processing stage. These losses could be enough to feed the 800 million hungry people worldwide.
Speaking at the workshop on “reducing food losses through improved postharvest management practices”, Mr. Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative in Ethiopia said, “A large amount of food is wasted before it reaches the consumers. This indicates poor functioning and inefficient food systems.”
“It is a missed opportunity to feed Ethiopia’s growing population, with potentially negative impacts on the sustainability of food system, food security and nutrition, he added.
Postharvest food losses are caused by lack of knowledge and skills, pest infestations, poor market facilities and infrastructures.
“In Ethiopia, Farmers store food grains in unsafe traditional storage structures,” said Tesfaye Mengiste, Extension Director General at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, “ These structures are subject to factors that inflict food losses through poor quality, rodents, birds, insect pests and fungi.”
In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched a project that aimed to contribute to improved food security of smallholder farmers through reduction of crop postharvest losses at farm and primary cooperatives level.
In addition to supporting with putting in place postharvest strategy, FAO supports with capacity building, promoting good post-harvest practices and technologies, assessing baseline assessment on the extent and causes of post-harvest losses and proposing postharvest management strategy on grain.
The project is funded by Swiss Development Cooperation.
For more information:
Contact: Tamiru Legesse I National Communication Officer I
[email protected]
Related website:
http://www.fao.org/ag/ags/post-harvest-management/en/
