Mitigating food losses : status and way forward for postharvest research and innovations in Malawi

Maize, rice, beans, cassava, sweet potato, fish and groundnuts are among the most important food commodities in Malawi. Losses along the post harvest (PH) chains are fuelled by inefficiencies in handling, storage and preservation methods. The paper recommends adaptive research leading to market-oriented innovations along commodity chains. The target should be transfer of technologies through organised farmer groups or small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as opposed to individual smallholder farmers. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa reducing post harvest losses is difficult because the baseline loss magnitudes are unknown or unreliable