Research Article
Quantitative Postharvest Loss Assessment of Tomato Along the Postharvest Supply Chain in Northwestern Ethiopia
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-030-80621-7_8, author={Eskindir E. Tadesse and Hirut Assaye and Mulugeta A. Delele and Solomon W. Fanta and Dawit F. Huluka and Melkamu Alemayehu and Getachew Alemayehu and Enyew Adgo and Jan Nyssen and Pieter Verboven and Bart M. Nicolai}, title={Quantitative Postharvest Loss Assessment of Tomato Along the Postharvest Supply Chain in Northwestern Ethiopia}, proceedings={Advances of Science and Technology. 8th EAI International Conference, ICAST 2020, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, October 2-4, 2020, Proceedings, Part I}, proceedings_a={ICAST}, year={2021}, month={7}, keywords={Load tracking method Tomato Postharvest loss Supply chain}, doi={10.1007/978-3-030-80621-7_8} }- Eskindir E. Tadesse
Hirut Assaye
Mulugeta A. Delele
Solomon W. Fanta
Dawit F. Huluka
Melkamu Alemayehu
Getachew Alemayehu
Enyew Adgo
Jan Nyssen
Pieter Verboven
Bart M. Nicolai
Year: 2021
Quantitative Postharvest Loss Assessment of Tomato Along the Postharvest Supply Chain in Northwestern Ethiopia
ICAST
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-80621-7_8
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine postharvest loss of tomatoes along the postharvest supply chain in Northwest Ethiopia. The study was conducted on tomato fruits produced in three productive kebeles (Chimba, Gumara, and Kudmi) of Northwest Ethiopia following the FAO load tracking and sampling assessment method. Postharvest losses of tomatoes ranged from 6.17 to 8.62%, 1.23 to 8.24%, 3.35 to 4.30%, and 9.38 to 12.58% at the farm, transportation, wholesale, and retail levels, respectively. The mean total postharvest loss of tomatoes was 25.91 ± 1.04% along the supply chain in the study area with in a period of 5 days. Storage and handling of tomatoes at ambient temperature and low relative humidity for a relatively long period of time were the main causes of postharvest losses of tomatoes along the supply chain. Besides, inappropriate postharvest handling practices, lack of storage facilities at wholesale and retail levels, and lack of reliable market system and market information were also identified as contributors for the high postharvest losses of tomatoes observed in our study.
