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Reasons for Post-Harvest losses in Pakistan - Coggle Diagram
Reasons for Post-Harvest losses in Pakistan
Harvesting Stage
Wrong timing (harvesting too early or too late)
Manual harvesting damages fruit (e.g. mango sap burn)
Cotton picked with trash and polypropylene contamination
Sugarcane left in the field too long before crushing, losing sucrose
Farmers lack proper tools and trained labour
Handling & Packaging
Wooden crates and jute bags cause bruising
Overfilled and poorly stacked packaging
Produce left on bare ground in the field
Few pack houses for sorting, grading and washing
Kinnow and mango not always graded before sale
Transportation
Poor farm-to-market roads in rural areas
Open trucks and overloading
Hardly any refrigerated (reefer) vehicles
Long delays at mandis and checkpoints
Heat exposure during transport in summer
Storage
Wheat stored in open "ganji" stacks under tarpaulin
Pests: khapra beetle, weevils, rats and birds
Too few cold storage facilities
Electricity load-shedding switches off cold stores
Moisture causes aflatoxin in rice, maize and red chillies
Traditional mud bins (kothi) at the household level
Climate & Weather
Extreme summer heat (45°C+) speeds up spoilage
Monsoon rains during harvest (e.g. wheat in April-May)
Floods (e.g. 2022) damaged crops and stored grain
High humidity promotes mould and fungus
Dates (Khairpur) dried in the open are exposed to rain and dust
Pests & Diseases
Fruit flies in mango and guava
Post-harvest fungal rots (anthracnose, stem-end rot)
Insect infestation in stored grain
Limited and improper use of fumigation
Market & Economic Factors
Long chain of middlemen (arhtis) slows the supply chain
Glut at harvest time pushes prices down, so produce is left unsold
Farmers can't afford modern storage or packaging
Weak market information and price forecasting
Export rejections over quality standards (e.g. hot water treatment for mango)
Processing & Value Addition
Few agro-processing industries
Surplus fruit (e.g. kinnow) not turned into juice or pulp
Old and inefficient rice husking mills cause broken grains
Food processing units rarely located near farms
Institutional & Policy Issues
Low investment in agricultural infrastructure
Weak extension services and farmer training
Poor quality standards and enforcement
PASSCO and provincial food department storage too small
Little research on post-harvest technology
Knowledge & Awareness
Farmers unaware of post-harvest handling practices
Low literacy among small farmers
Modern methods (hermetic bags, pre-cooling) rarely used
Traditional practices passed down without improvement