Post-Harvest Management of Fruits and Vegetables: Addressing Urban Nutrition and Food Security Challenges

Victor Abanyam, Emmanuel Eneji, Chinwe Onyekwuluje, David Uwoghiren and Adeniyi Ojomu

Background and Objective: Postharvest losses have been a serious challenge around the world and Benin City, Nigeria, is not left out of the problem. Most households in the urban areas are being affected by losses of perishable farm produce such as fruits and vegetables. This study investigated post-harvest handling of fruits and vegetables: A key panacea for nutritional and food security challenges in urban areas in Benin City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A structured questionnaire titled “Post-Harvest Losses of Fruits and Vegetables in Urban Areas Questionnaire (PHLFVUAQ) was used to solicit information from the respondents. The questionnaire was validated by three experts, while Cronbach’s Alpha was used to test the reliability of the instrument and the result was 0.74. The instruments were later administered to farmers, food vendors and consumers who were randomly selected and used for the study. Data gathered were analyzed using statistical mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at the 0.05 level of significance. Results: The findings showed some of the postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables in the study area, such as washing before eating, storing in clean containers, using of refrigerator for preservation and keeping away from direct sunlight. Major causes of postharvest losses were also discovered to include transporting fruits and vegetables on bad roads and wrong packaging materials and inadequate modern facilities for storage, among others. The influences of the losses on availability and affordability include bruises, which cause a reduction in market value and quantities, as well as scarcity. The findings also revealed some levels of awareness and adoption of modern postharvest technologies, such as the use of cold storage, the use of plastic crates to transport produce and cleanliness while handling fruits and vegetables. Conclusion: The governments at all levels, non-governmental organizations and spirited individuals should help in providing modern technological facilities for the storage of fruits and vegetables, such as evaporative coolers and solar dryers, among others, while the use of hazardous chemicals for storage should be discouraged.

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