Ensuring Food Security through the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste

BASF 150 Year Science SymposiumSustainable Food Chain

Chicago, USAJune 23-24, 2015

Dirk E. Maier, Ph.D., P.E.Professor, Grain Science & Industry

Senior Post-Harvest Engineer, IGP InstituteFounding Director, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the

Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss (www.reducePHL.org)

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for theReduction of Post-Harvest Loss

Funded by:USAID: Global Hunger and Food Security Research Strategy:

Climate Resilience, Nutrition, and Policy(RFA-OAA-12-000036)

Program Area 5:Reduced Post-Harvest Losses and Food Waste

University Partners:Kansas State University

University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignOklahoma State UniversityFort Valley State University

South Carolina State UniversityUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln

University of Kentucky

USDA-ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research

Focus Countries

BangladeshEthiopiaGhana

Guatemala

• U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative aimed at transforming lives toward a world where people no longer face the agony and injustice of extreme poverty, undernutrition and hunger. – Underlying belief: Global hunger is solvable.

• Feed the Future agencies work with partner countries to develop their agriculture sectors and break vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

• Feed the Future works from farms to markets to tables to improve incomes & nutrition.

Feed the Future Initiative

GuatemalaHonduras

Haiti

EthiopiaKenya Malawi

Mozambique Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Zambia

BangladeshCambodia

Nepal Tajikistan

GhanaLiberia

Mali Senegal

Feed the Future Initiative

Definition of Food SecurityFood security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. (FAO)

Food Availability and Postharvest loss

“Another priority in the poorest countries must be to reduce the tragic waste of losses after harvest from inadequate storage, transportation and pest control.” “.. we urge …a goal of cutting in half these post harvest losses by 1985”Henry Kissinger. 7th special session of the U.N. General Assembly. September 1, 1975Adopted as a resolution of the U.N. General Assembly. September 19, 1975

“There should be a target in developing countries to halve postharvest losses by 2023 and make it a primary goal of the Feed the Future initiative. Without adequate infrastructure to store and transport crops, enormous amounts of food are lost on their way from farms to consumers’ tables.”The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Advancing global food security: The power of science, trade, and business, p. 81. May, 2013.

Consumer Food System

Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste

Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste• Approximately one-third of food produced for human

consumption worldwide is lost or wasted between farm and table

• Developing countries lose more of their food earlier in the value chain• Approximately three-fourths of food losses (in terms of

kilocalories) experienced in Sub-Saharan Africa come from the stages “closest to the farm”• production, harvest, post-harvest handling, storage

• Approximately 56% of food wastage occurs in the developed world• Mostly food wasted at the consumption level

Post-Harvest Loss and Food WasteCurrent estimate of food waste levels EU28

Source: Dr. Toine Timmermans, University of Wageningen

Households50%

Production27%

Processing9%

Food service11%

Whole sale and retail

3%

A More Specific Perspective:Rice in SE Asia (IRRI; 2011)

ConsumptionCrop

Physical losses range from 15-25% (loss in quantity)

Quality losses range from 10-30% (loss in value)

Mycotoxins of Greatest Concern in Grains and the Molds that Produce themMycotoxins Molds

Aflatoxins Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. nomius

Ochratoxin Aspergillus ochraceus, A. nigerPenicillium verrucosum

Fumonisins Fusarium verticillioides (moniliforme)F. proliferatum, F. subglutinans

Moniliformin F. proliferatum, F. subglutinans

Deoxynivalenol Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorum(DON, Vomitoxin) F. pseudograminearum

Zearalenone Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorumF. crookwellense

Mycotoxin Global Occurrence in 2013

www.biomin.net

• On average, in the >4,200 samples:

• AFLA: 30%• ZEA: 37%• DON: 59%• FUM: 55%• OTA: 23%

Geographic Pattern of Mycotoxin Occurrence

www.biomin.net

Post-Harvest Quality Loss and Food SafetyGuatemala: Mean total aflatoxin (B1+B2) concentration in μg/kg and mean total fumonisin (B1+B2+B3) concentration in mg/kg shown as a ratio preceded by the department (province/state) abbreviation. Yellow boxes are departments (provinces/states) that import maize from the departments (provinces/states) in green boxes which are sufficient in maize production and also are exporters of maize.

Source: Torres et al. (2015)

PHL loss reduction matters because its absence…1. reduces absolute availability of food at all levels

• For countries that are food insecure, food loss reduces available nutrition for local populations, forcing already poor countries to import food

2. reduces farmer incomes, increases consumer costs, and unnecessarily burdens ecosystems

3. reduces food quality and condition• affects access to market, saleable volumes,

effective prices, returns to farmers, and sometimes safety or nutritional value

4. effectively raises the costs of productionhandling, storage, transport, marketing and distribution

5. lowers sectoral value-added opportunities• Flour milling, feed manufacturing, food processing

6. slows economic growth

Highest Potential: Reducing PHL and Increasing Yields(McKinsey & Company 2011)

& PHL

PHL Innovation Lab Goals• Enhancing capacity to improve drying, conditioning, handling,

storage, pest management, transportation, grading, standardization and marketing of their crops

• Expanding access to Post-Harvest Service Centers utilizing "Warehouse Receipt Systems" (WRS) (value chain access)

• Pilot testing of promising “on the shelf” and “in the field elsewhere” best practices and technologies

• Using local artisans, business people and workers to create and develop locally-produced tools and technology to aid in sustainability of resources and practices

• Employing advanced information technology-based systems to more rapidly evaluate and disseminate promising PHL reduction innovations

Improve On-farm Grain Drying

Improve On-Farm Grain Storage

USDA-ARS developed moisture meter could sell for $50-$70

Affordable Moisture Meter

Solar Dryers (German & Indian Designs)

Solar Bubble Dryer by GrainPro

Solar Grain Dryer by S4S

Examples of stored-product insects

Rice weevil Indianmeal mothLesser grain borer

Red flour beetle

Immature stages of weevil

Live at 17-45oC and at 10-65% humidityOptimum, 28-32oCEgg-to-adult development, 30-40 days at optimum

Eggs Larva

Pupa

Adult

Lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica) damage

0 days 28 days 56 days 76 days 106 days 128 days

100 adults left in grain for 7 days and then removed 30oC

Hermetic Storage Bags (Israeli & U.S. Designs)

Hermetic storage bags by GrainPro

Extrusion of oxygen barrier plastic film

Triple layer hermetic storage bags by Purdue University

Small-scale Metal Silos (CIMMYT/SDC Design)

Post-Harvest Loss in Ghana• Much of the Ghanaian agricultural system struggles

with post-harvest loss• Up to 35% of maize and 34% of cassava produced is

lost along their respective value chains

Activity % LossField (Over-Maturity, Harvesting, Heaping*)

5.0

Shelling or Threshing 1.5Drying 0.5Storage (Mold) 15.0Storage (Insect Pests) 8.0

Total 30.0

Major (Wet) Season Maize Post-Harvest Losses in the Middle Belt of Ghana

*Heaping refers to piling of ears of corn into heaps in the field pending threshing (shelling)

Activity % LossField (Over-Maturity, Harvesting, Heaping)

6.0

Shelling or Threshing 1.0Drying 0.2Storage (Mold) 2.0Storage (Insect Pests) 10.0

Total 19.2

Minor (Dry) Season Maize Post-Harvest Losses in the Middle Belt of Ghana

*Heaping refers to piling of ears of corn into heaps in the field pending threshing (shelling)

• Maize is the main food source (115 kg / person / year).

• More than half of Guatemalan corn is consumed as tortillas.

The rate of chronic malnutrition in the highlands of northwestern Guatemala (Huehuetenango) is 69.5%

Guatemala, Centro América

PHL Innovation Lab Initial FtF Focus Countries

Training for assessments

Assessment Methodology

Daily preparation in the community

Assessment Main Results

93.5% of corn producers practice drying:• 3.5% in the corn field before cutting the cob• 10% after cobs are shelled• 86.5% of cobs are mostly dried by sun

38.21%

61.79%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Mazorca Grano

Maize Stored as Cobs (Ear Corn) orKernels (Shelled Corn)

Cobs Kernels

2% 1%

74%

23%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Troja Tradicional Troja Mejorada Tapanco Mancuerna

Type of Storage for Maize Produced by Farmers

Traditional Box Improved Box Attic Hanging on Beam

81%

14%

2%7%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Costal Silo Tonel Cajón

Type of Storage for Maize Purchased byFarmers

Bag Silo Container Box

Common Practices for drying and storage of maize among farmers

NOTE: Farmers only produce about 25-33% of their anual consumption and buy thebalance until the next harvest.

Current drying practices / Guatemala

Sun/solar exposure of unhusked ears of maize outside or in bags

Attic (accumulated heat & smoke) or on top of the roof

Hanging ears of seed maize

Field drying

Current storage practices / Guatemala

Shelled maize in metal silo

Ear maize in outdoor pile

Ear maize pile with husks

Ear maize in attic above kitchen or sleeping room

Shelled maize in bags

Assessment Main ResultsQuantification of losses:Reported by farmers as a loss at this stage last season varied, depending on the volume of production of each farmer.

Township CornProduced

Loss Reportedin harvest % of loss

Todos Santos 1,197* 82.6* 6.9%

Chiantla 1,040* 64.2* 6.2%

70%

20%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Se lo dan a losanimales

Lo consumen Lo tiran / lo desechan

Damaged corn destination:

*Quintales (= 100 lbs)

Animal Feeding Food Discard

Lack of awareness of PHL issues and effective mitigation measures

Identify, educate, and train drivers of change, e.g., nucleus farmer aggregators, value chain service providers, farmer-based organizations, women groups etc.

Engagement, Education and Training

Summary – Challenges and Solutions

• Addressing food security through reduction of post-harvest loss is a very important and complex field• merits more serious thought and considerably more action and

attention than it has been getting in past 20 years

• Most technical and best practices solutions already exist but…• substantial “application/adaptation/adoption” research,

demonstration, scale up, value chain analysis, consensus-building still needed

• Although technological advances are critical, there are impediments related to…• behavioral, organizational, marketing, social, cultural, gender,

environmental and political nature that must be addressed to make progress

“I will always be a pessimistic optimist, but the effort to lift people out of the dehumanizing and painful state of food insecurity will always be worth it. And sometimes it will even work.” – Howard G. Buffett (40 Chances)