By Chinoyi Chipulu
Economist Kelvin Chisanga says Zambia urgently needs to address the adverse effects of post-harvest losses on agricultural output as it impacts both farmers and the broader economy.
Chisanga said with approximately US $15 million in financial and technical interventions committed by key strategic stakeholders, efforts were now being scaled up to mitigate these losses.
Recently agriculture permanent secretary for technical services, John Mulongoti, disclosed that Zambia had continued to lose between 30 to 40 percent of its maize and soya beans harvests every season, attributing the losses to inadequate storage, poor handling practices, and limited access to affordable preservation technologies.
Mulongoti said this during the launch of the REGAIN Project, officially known as Scaling Solutions for Food Loss in Africa.
And commenting on the same, Chisanga stated that the recent launch of the “Scaling Solutions for Food Loss in Africa” initiative by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) marked a major step forward as it would support food storage and processing models.
He described the project as a significant step to reduce post-harvest losses, which undermined farmers’ incomes and achieving national food security.
Chisanga stated that the initiative would introduce effective food preservation techniques, and build capacity across the entire food value chain to reduce waste.
He stated that the timely intervention was critical for Zambia, which continued to face the aftermath of a devastating drought in the last farming season.
“Despite this, the country has historically recorded bumper harvests, making it all the more important to protect those gains from being lost after harvest,” he stated.
Chisanga stated that when farmers lost a portion of their produce, they also lost a vital source of income.
“At the national level, this translates into reduced economic value and weakened food security,” he stated.
Chisanga stated that combating post-harvest losses was not just a matter of improving efficiency but a strategic imperative for sustainable agriculture and national development.
