And recommendations -- I. Rationale and directions for reducing food losses in perishable crops -- II. Post-harvest losses in perishable crops -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Factors related to the post-harvest system -- 3. Roots and tubers -- 4. Fruits and vegetables.

The reduction of agricultural losses, especially among smallholder farmers, should be an essential component of food security strategies in developing countries. Loss reduction strategies should be informed by evidence on optimal loss levels, or the point below which loss reduction efforts become economically unviable, characterized by reduction costs greater than benefits. Information on minimum losses can help provide a benchmark for farm management, formulation of policies, and investment decisions. This study connects information on minimum losses with farming practices or production technologies, to help in assessing the effectiveness of loss reduction practices and of the underlying policies and incentives that promote them. While most empirical research and data collection activities on losses tend to focus on average losses, this paper provides evidence on minimum losses levels for several commodities and regions of the world.

A study on post-harvest losses was conducted in Amhara, Oromiya and the Southern nation nationality and peoples regions of Ethiopia to pilot a methodology to produce national statistics of off-farm losses. The study was conducted by the Ethiopian Statistics Service (ESS), with technical and financial support from the Office of the Chief Statistician and the Statistics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).