Determinants of post-harvest grain losses in Nigeria

Food-grains play significant roles in food supply and utilization in the Nigerian economy. The major grains include maize, rice and cowpea. Nigeria is a major producer of the grains but still depends on food imports in order to meet domestic demand for food. In spite of growing food imports a large number of people are undernourished in the country. This is aggravated by postharvest food grains losses attributable to a host of factors. The study therefore investigates factors determining food-grain losses at various nodes of food-grain supply chain using primary data which were collected in a survey by means of well-structured questionnaires. The data included factors affecting post-harvest food-grain losses and extent of the losses. The data were analyzed using regression technique. The results showed length of stay on the field after harvesting significantly and positively affected post- harvest loss for maize. In the case of rice, use of traditional technique of storage positively and significantly affected the loss in rice. For cowpea, the long distance of farm to store positively and significantly affected post- harvest loss at farm-level. At processing level, the scale of operation was a significant factor. At marketing level, the longer the length of storage, the higher the losses incurred. Creating market opportunities for small scale actors and agri-business development is an important strategy for reducing post -harvest losses of food-grains in the country. This can be achieved through investment in rural infrastructure and improved processing technology.