Smallholder Farmer Perceptions of Postharvest Loss and Its Determinants in Fijian Tomato Value Chains
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Location
2.2. Survey Design
2.3. Data Collection
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Farmer Socio-Demographics and Land Access
3.2. On-Farm Postharvest Infrastructure
3.3. Loss During On-Farm Postharvest Handling Practice
3.4. Postharvest Loss Associated with Specific Types of Postharvest Handling Practice
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Socio-Demographic Characteristics | Category | Sigatoka Valley z (%) | Eastern Viti Levu y (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 62 | 70 |
Female | 38 | 30 | |
Age of farmer (years) | <35 | 23 | 5 |
35–50 | 38 | 40 | |
51–65 | 37 | 47 | |
>66 | 2 | 8 | |
Farming experience (years) | <10 | 22 | 26 |
11–20 | 23 | 42 | |
21–30 | 29 | 14 | |
31–40 | 22 | 16 | |
>41 | 6 | 2 | |
Location of place of residence | On-farm | 83 | 88 |
Off-farm | 17 | 12 | |
Mean household size | 4.8 (2.1) a x | 4.3 (1.4) b |
Land Resource | Category | Sigatoka Valley | Eastern Viti Levu |
---|---|---|---|
Land use (ha) | Mean area available for cultivation per farm | 2.1 (1.3) a x | 2.9 (2.5) a |
Mean area under tomato production | 0.8 (0.3) a | 0.4 (0.3) a | |
Holding (%) | Leased native land | 54 | 45 |
Freehold land | 38 | 15 | |
Leased crown land z | 8 | 35 | |
Native land (%) | Leased from i-Taukei land trust y | 55 | 67 |
Tenancy at will | 9 | 5 | |
Communal | 25 | 8 | |
Landowner/tenant arrangement | 11 | 20 | |
Lease period <5 years | 71 | 63 | |
Crown land (%) | Lease period <5 years | 100 | 40 |
Variable | Group | Sigatoka Valley (%) | Eastern Viti Levu (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Postharvest infrastructure | Dedicated purpose building z | 0 | 0 |
Multiple purpose building | 100 | 100 | |
Multiple purpose building | |||
Structure design | Enclosed shed | 20 | 28 |
Open shed | 60 | 47 | |
Vacant space in farm house | 20 | 25 | |
Roof structure | Corrugated iron (permanent) y | 91 | 70 |
Corrugated iron (temporary) | 9 | 30 | |
Sidewall structure | No side walls | 53 | 65 |
Closed with windows and doors | 35 | 30 | |
Half-way closed | 12 | 5 | |
Floor structure | Wooden | 6 | 33 |
Concrete | 82 | 49 | |
Bare-ground | 12 | 19 |
Product Loss z | Sigatoka Valley (%) | Eastern Viti Levu (%) | Reasons for Loss |
---|---|---|---|
Pre-harvest | 0.4 a y | 0.1 b | Birds, wind and rain |
Harvesting | 7.6 a | 8.9 a | Pests, diseases, unable to harvest due to rain, soil contact, unsold |
Sorting | 6.1 a | 4.4 a | Insect damage, soft fruits |
Storage | 8.6 a | 10.1 a | Decay, overripe, insect damage |
Grading and packaging | 3.5 a | 4.0 a | Failed to ripe, overripe, blemishes x, size |
Total loss w | 26.1 a | 27.6 b |
Harvesting and Postharvest Practice | Variable | Mean Percent Postharvest Loss Per Location z | |
---|---|---|---|
Sigatoka Valley | Eastern Viti Levu | ||
Time of harvest | Early morning (before 7 am) | 30.2 b | 31.4 b |
Morning | 21.2 c | 21.5 c | |
Mid-day | 28.6 b | 28.4 b | |
Afternoon (after 2 pm) | 29.3 b | 32.5 a | |
Person harvesting | Farmer only | 20.1 f | 25.1 e |
Hired-labour | 30.6 b | 36.2 a | |
Farmer and family labour | 26.0 d | 28.8 c | |
Number of harvests per week | 1 harvest per week | 9.3 a | 10.7 a |
2 harvests per week | 7.0 b | 7.8 b | |
3 harvests per week | 4.9 b | 6.2 b | |
Mean time from harvesting to transport to the packing shed | 1 h | 18.7 d | 19.0 d |
2 h | 19.9 d | 21.9 d | |
3 h | 22.5 cd | 21.9 d | |
4 h | 26.8 bc | 23.9 c | |
5 h | 29.0 bc | 32.8 b | |
≥6 h | 32.8 b | 37.2 a | |
Sorting undertaken prior to on-farm storage | Yes | 22.2 c | 26.0 c |
No | 30.6 b | 34.7 a | |
Frequency of sorting undertaken during on-farm storage/ripening | Daily | 23.3 c | 21.5 c |
Every second day | 27.2 b | 26.7 b | |
Every third day | 32.8 a | 33.6 a | |
On-farm packing or storage shed design | Open shed (no side walls) | 30.2 b | 34.6 a |
Enclosed shed | 20.8 c | 22.2 c |
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Kumar, S.; Underhill, S.J.R. Smallholder Farmer Perceptions of Postharvest Loss and Its Determinants in Fijian Tomato Value Chains. Horticulturae 2019, 5, 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5040074
Kumar S, Underhill SJR. Smallholder Farmer Perceptions of Postharvest Loss and Its Determinants in Fijian Tomato Value Chains. Horticulturae. 2019; 5(4):74. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5040074
Chicago/Turabian StyleKumar, Salesh, and Steven J. R. Underhill. 2019. "Smallholder Farmer Perceptions of Postharvest Loss and Its Determinants in Fijian Tomato Value Chains" Horticulturae 5, no. 4: 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5040074
APA StyleKumar, S., & Underhill, S. J. R. (2019). Smallholder Farmer Perceptions of Postharvest Loss and Its Determinants in Fijian Tomato Value Chains. Horticulturae, 5(4), 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5040074