Valuing postharvest losses among tomato smallholder farmers: evidence from Ghana

Abstract

Tomato is a major vegetable crop produced in most towns in Ghana, especially in the Offinso-North District of the country, and serves as a means of livelihood in terms of the income to the producers. To critically reduce postharvest losses to help increase the amount of food available for consumption, this study examined the value of postharvest losses among tomato farmers in Ghana. The data, which were obtained from 203 tomato producers, were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance as well as fractional response and Box Cox regression models. The results revealed the quantity and the financial value of post-harvest losses among the tomato producers to be 3506.3 kg and GH₵3598.7, respectively. We also find that the primary cause of postharvest loss was mainly rot and bruise. This occurred as a result of unavailability of reliable markets. In addition, the results of the fractional response regression model showed that level of education and unavailability of market have significant positive effects on the proportion of tomato lost. Finally, the results of the Box Cox Regression model showed that whereas the value of postharvest losses and transportation cost have negative relationships with the revenue generated from sales, quantity of tomato harvested exerted a positive influence on the revenue obtained. The study recommends the need for stakeholders’ intervention in the building and provision of storage facilities, good road networks, processing factories in tomato producing towns, ready markets, as well as dams to help supply water all year round for continuous tomato production.

Keywords:

• Tomato
• Postharvest loss
• Determinants
• Income
• Financial value
• Quantity lost

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Data will be made available by the Corresponding Author on request

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Camillus Abawiera Wongnaa

Dr. Camillus Abawiera Wongnaa Dr. Camillus Abawiera Wongnaa has PhD in Agricultural Economics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and currently a Senior lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension of the same university. Before joining KNUST in August, 2016, he had worked for five (5) years as a Lecturer and later a Senior Lecturer and a Head of Department of Agropreneurship of Kumasi Technical University, a department he established. Dr. Wongnaa has published over 50 peer reviewed journal articles, two book chapters and an Editorial Board Member of African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AfJARE) as well as an Associate Editor of Heliyon-Agriculture, an Elsevier Journal. Camillus has consulted for African Development Bank, Winrock International for Agricultural Development, etc. His research areas are agricultural economics and Agribusiness.

Emmanuel Dapaah Ankomah

Mr. Emmanual Dapaah Ankomah Emmanuel Dapaah Ankomah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture with specialization in Agricultural Economics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He worked as a teaching, research and extension assistant at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension of KNUST for the 2021/22 academic year. He assisted and has been acknowledged in many research works in KNUST and abroad.

Temitope Oluwaseun Ojo

Dr. Temitope Oluwaseun Ojo Temitope is an Agricultural Economist, with areas of specialisation in Agricultural Finance and Environmental Economics. His research focus is premised towards planning and implementation of national and local level adaptation programs in account for existing climate change adaptation strategies, climate change financing and CSA practiced by farming households for improved livelihood. He has been involved in a number of funded researches within and outside the University as a research fellow in Consumer Acceptance, Varietal adoption and Profitability Analysis of Investments in Vitamin A Cassava in Nigeria facilitated by IFPRI/Harvest Plus/IITA/OAU. Also, a consultant for the “Survey Monitoring and Implementation of Quality Assurance in the Model Village Qualitative Impact Evaluation Survey on Vitamin A Cassava in Nigeria funded by HarvestPlus; Entrepreneurial risk linked to water quality, water security for urban based farming and agro-processing funded by Water Research Council, South Africa. Temitope has several academic publications indexed in scopus.

Emmanuel Abokyi

Emmanuel Abokyi Dr. Emmanuel Abokyi currently works as a Senior Consultant at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). He has hands on experience in econometric modeling as well as analysis of qualitative data. He has great experience in food security issues in Ghana. As a former banker, Emmanuel has a good experience in agricultural finance and credit analysis. He developed and trained several Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) under the MiDA Credit Facility. He also has expertise in Project Planning, Implementation and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gender Assessment, Baseline Survey, etc. He has developed several survey instruments for many studies and has very good data collection skills.

Gifty Sienso

Dr. Gifty Sienso Dr. Gifty Sienso currently works at the Department of Applied Economics, School of Management Sciences, University for Development Studies. Gifty does research in Resource Economics, Nutrition Economics, Agricultural Economics and Gender and Development.

Dadson Awunyo-Vitor

Prof. Dadson Awunyo-Vitor Prof. Dadson Awunyo-Vitor is a Fellow of Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), UK and a member of Institute of Chartered Accountant (ICA) Ghana, Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIT) Ghana. Dadson obtained PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana. He is a graduate of Imperial College, University of London, where he studied for MSc Agricultural Economics. He is currently the head of Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.