Assessing Fruit Farmers' Perceptions of Post-Harvest Losses in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Abstract— Post-harvest loss reduces food availability. The need to examine post-harvest loss in Africa is recognized in one of 2030 SDG goals for sustainable consumption and production. This goal appears to be a tremendous challenge as Africa expects to double its population from 1.2 billion to 2.5 billion. This paper examines fruit farmers’ perceptions about post-harvest loss in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. We interviewed 70 fruit farmers about the sources of post-harvest loss. We also assessed the relationship between their perceptions and socio-demographic characteristics. In revealing nuanced perceptions, we used the five-point Likert-scale in some questions. To determine the relationship between farmers’ perceptions and their socio-demographic characteristics, we conducted the multiple linear regression analysis. We found that the respondents were most concerned about their loss at market centers and storage. Loss during transportation was the least source of post-harvest loss perceived by the fruit farmers. The results from the regression analysis also showed that age, gender and farming experience were significantly associated with their perceptions. This paper then makes some recommendations to help reduce post-harvest loss for farmers.