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18 - Returns to Investment in Reducing Postharvest Food Losses and Increasing Agricultural Productivity Growth
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- By Mark W. Rosegrant, Director of the Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA, Eduardo Magalhaes, Consultant, EPTD, IFPRI, Rowena A. Valmonte-Santos, Senior Research Analyst, EPTD, IFPRI, Daniel Mason-D'Croz, Research Analyst, EPTD, IFPRI
- Edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhagen Business School
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- Book:
- Prioritizing Development
- Published online:
- 30 May 2018
- Print publication:
- 07 June 2018, pp 322-336
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
The 2008–2011 food price spikes brought the issue of postharvest losses (PHL) back to the forefront of policy debate, and observers are again calling for a reduction in PHL as a tool to feed the expanding global population. Food losses due to improper postharvest handling, lack of appropriate infrastructure, and poor management techniques have once again become a matter of serious concern. Food losses, defined as “any decrease in food mass throughout the edible food supply chain,” can occur in any point of the marketing stages–from production (e.g., crop damage, spillage), postharvest and processing stages (e.g., attacks from insect or microorganisms during storage), distribution, and retail sale until home consumption (e.g., spoilage, table waste; Rosegrant et al., 2013). Kummu et al. (2012) suggest an additional 1 billion people could be fed if food crop losses were halved, which could potentially relieve some of the pressure on the significant increase in production that would be required. Achieving lower levels of food losses, however, requires both investments in technologies that help prevent losses as well as in overall infrastructure. Understanding the magnitude of these investments and their impact is key to establishing that a reduction in PHL has, in fact, an impact on food security.
Seeking to better understand the levels of investment required to effectively reduce PHL requires several steps. First, it is necessary to understand how infrastructure impacts losses. The second step is to quantify the levels of investments required. Third, a cost-benefit analysis of the required infrastructural investments is done to assess economic returns to PHL reduction. Results are subsequently compared to investments in agricultural research and development.
Overview of the Postharvest Loss Debate
A large number of papers have been published focusing on four aspects of PHL: (1) estimates of the magnitudes of losses, (2) the economic impacts of losses in general but also on the poor and the hungry in particular (Gómez et al., 2011), (3) alternatives to decrease losses through the use of both new and traditional technologies, and 4) the economic costs of losses as well as their remedies.
Chapter 18 - Returns to Investment in Reducing Postharvest Food Losses and Increasing Agricultural Productivity Growth
- Edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhagen Business School
-
- Book:
- Prioritizing Development
- Published online:
- 30 May 2018
- Print publication:
- 07 June 2018, pp 322-338
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
The 2008-2011 food price spikes brought the issue of postharvest losses (PHL) back to the forefront of policy debate, and observers are again calling for a reduction in PHL as a tool to feed the expanding global population. Food losses due to improper postharvest handling, lack of appropriate infrastructure, and poor management techniques, have once again become a matter of serious concern. Food losses, defined as “any decrease in food mass throughout the edible food supply chain,” can occur in any point of the marketing stages–from production (e.g., crop damage, spillage), postharvest and processing stages (e.g., attacks from insect or microorganisms during storage), distribution, and retail sale until home consumption (e.g., spoilage, table waste) (Rosegrant et al. 2013). Kummu et al. (2012) suggest an additional 1 billion people could be fed if food crop losses were halved, which could potentially relieve some of the pressure on the significant increase in production that would be required. Achieving lower levels of food losses, however requires both investments in technologies that help prevent losses as well as in overall infrastructure. Understanding the magnitude of these investments and their impact is key to establish that a reduction in PHL has in fact an impact on food security.