Agricultural experts have linked poor post-harvest activities such as improper harvesting, transportation and storage to agricultural losses among farmers in the country.

Speaking at a five-day workshop on skills acquisition and vocational training on grains processing and storage for women and youths in Kogi State, held at National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM), Idofian, Kwara state, Executive Director, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Ilorin, Dr. Patricia Pessu, and facilitator of the programme, Dr. Olabisi Awoniyi, said post-harvest mistakes by farmers had caused huge losses.

The experts, who said that good agricultural practices mean doing things well in agriculture, added that there are sets of principles to follow in agriculture to increase production, maintain farmers’ welfare, good environment and consumers’ satisfaction.

“Despite enormity of crops by our farmers, majority goes to waste.

“A major problem in agriculture today is improper harvesting culture. When you harvest when you are not supposed to harvest. When you harvest and you don’t handle the harvest well. For instance, when you harvest maize during rain, to dry becomes a problem. The maize retains moisture content and it won’t store well. So, when you dry maize for instance, give it safe moisture content. Store in airy place to avoid dampening, so that micro organism won’t grow on it. Transportation is another key factor, especially fruits, vegetables and tubers. This is important so they are not wounded or bruised and thereby causing losses.

“Farmers also make mistakes and lose a lot due to poor post-harvesting pratices. For instance, there is danger in delaying harvesting of crops like soya. Smoking during harvest can cause fire disaster. Use of contaminated bags, for example, fertilizer bags to harvest can introduce contaminants to produce. Harvesting without proper storage handling, e.g. when crops are not allowed to dry well or when stored on ground can bring losses,” they said.

Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/poor-post-harvest-activities-cause-losses-hamper-quality-farm-produce-experts/