Part 7 Aquaculture Part 8 Plant production Too much of the world's food harvest is lost to spoilage and infestations on its journey to the consumer. In developing countries, where tropical weather and poorly developed infrastructure contribute to the problem, losses are sometimes of staggering proportions.
Losses occur in all operations from harvesting through handling, storage, processing and marketing.
Most often, postharvest losses are a symptom rather than the problem. Knowledge of their cause is, therefore, essential for deciding measures to prevent them. Such measures may have to be taken by the small farmer, the private trader, a cooperative, the marketing board or other operator, handlers and transporters, wholesale and retail markets, etc. Early FAO assistance concentrated on improving storage on small farms. Thus over time FAO has shifted attention to the total postharvest chain, using loss assessment as a tool for understanding when, where and why losses occur.