ASSESSMENT OF CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF POST-HARVEST LOSSES OF VEGETABLES AMONG RURAL FARMERS IN NORTH-CENTRAL, NIGERIA

Vegetables form a substantial percentage of the major food crops cultivated in the tropics and a source of livelihood for a considerable section of the population.They come as edible plant parts like stems, stalks, roots, tubers, bulb, leaves, flowers and are generally consumed raw or cooked, with main dish which add variety to enjoyment, and a sense of satisfaction to the diet because of their appealing colours, flavour and texture (Ahmed, 2013, Ibeawuchi, et al; 2015).Examples of vegetables include onion, tomato, okra, pepper, amaranthus, carrot, and melon, among others (Ibeawuchi II., et al. 2015).Fruits and vegetables play very important roles in nutrition and health, especially as they contain substances which regulate or stimulate digestion, act as laxatives or diuretics, pectins and phenoic compounds which play a part in regulating the pH of the intestines (Ibeawuchi, et al; 2015).The production of fresh fruits and vegetables has its own challenges.Their perishability and hugeness make them difficult to manage easily during post-harvest period, unlike that of dry grains.As a result of the perishable nature of the produce and lack of knowledge of the management strategies, as well as shortage of capital, horticulture industry in sub-Saharan Africa countries like Nigeria is still at its infant stage (Gebru and Belew, 2015).According to Age (2017), fruit and vegetable produce are less hardy, perishable and vulnerable to natural and artificial phenomena, and if care is not taken in harvesting, handling, processing, storage and transporting them to the final consumers, they deteriorate or decay fast and become unwholesome for human consumption.Post-harvest loss is one of the general problems facing production in Nigeria and concerns everyone from the research scientist, to the extension/marketers in the field, to the farmers on the farm, and the government policy formulators (Chukwunta, 2014).Post-harvest losses are the measurable qualitative and quantitative damages or spoilage in the after harvest value chain caused by natural and artificial phenomena (Age, 2017).These losses affect both the quality and quantity of crop produce, thus reducing their economic value and the total income of the producers.Post-harvest losses can be caused by a wide variety of factors, ranging from harvesting conditions, handling to retail level.The elimination of post-harvest losses of agricultural products is, therefore, important to boost food security in the countries (Gebru and Belew, 2015).Minimizing post-harvest losses along the supply chain can be the only effective resource that can help strengthen food security, fight hunger, reduce agricultural land needed for production, and develop rural areas and improve the living ABSTRACT:The study assessed the causes and effects post-harvest losses of selected vegetables among rural farmers in North-Central, Nigeria.Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select 203 respondents from 5338 registered vegetable farmers from Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi States ADP.Primary data were collected through the use of well-structured questionnaire and analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics.Results show that 61.6% of the respondents were females, married (64.0%), educated (62.6%) with a mean age of 40 years.Major causes of post-harvest losses of vegetables were lack of proper storage facilities ( =3.75), poor transportation facilities ( =3.55), poor packaging facilities ( =3.52), pest and disease infestation ( =3.50).Findings also indicate that reduce income of farmers ( =3.69), reduce availability of produce ( =3.60), increased food insecurity (3.59), among others were the major effects of post-harvest loss by the respondents.ANOVA result of the quantity of vegetables lost by farmers was significant (p=0.040) at 5.0% as against non-significant (p= 0.302) for monetary lost by the farmers across the states.The study concluded that causes of post-harvest losses of vegetables in the area were very strong with serious negative effects on the farmers.It was recommended that Government and private sector should establish agro-processing industries in rural areas for vegetable crops in order to reduce post-harvest losses maximize profit and improve their living standard.