Monday theme 5 1430 1445 room 10 nabukera

1. Postharvest Management Practices and
Market Performance Along Ware Potato Value
Chains in Eastern Uganda
Caroline Nabukeera
MSc. AAE
MUK

2. Background of the study
• Irish potato is both a subsistence and cash crop of critical
importance to smallholder farmers in Uganda
• Annual production at 154,435 tonnes from 32,759 Ha
• Demand is on the increase in Uganda’s rural and urban markets
• Potato production is mainly rain fed and market supply is highly
seasonal:
- Gluts: Low prices/high losses
- Scarcity: High prices/low losses
• High Postharvest Losses (PHL) due to poor postharvest
management (PHM) along the value chain limit food availability,
reduce incomes and negatively affect market performance
(Bonabana-Wabbi et al., 2013)

3. Background of the study (cont’d)
There is need for a better understanding of current PHM
practices, the extent of PHL and how these two interact to
affect market performance of potato VC actors
Objectives of the study
• To investigate the PHM practices in eastern Uganda
• To identify the determinants of VC actors’ participation in
potato storage
• To assess the level of PHL incurred by VC actors

4. Methodology
• Study conducted in 4 purposively selected districts: Kapchorwa,
Kween-Benet, Mbale, & Kampala
• Used a multi-stage sampling procedure and semi-structured
questionnaires
• Data collection: 116 farmers, 34 wholesalers, 38 retailers, 34
processors and 85 consumers (July-September 2015)
• A structured checklist to collect information from 2 FGDs
• Data analysis:
- Descriptive statistics
- Tobit model: to assess determinants of participation in storage

5. Results and discussion
Seasonality of potato production
Potatoes planted Mar-Apr (1st season) and Aug-Oct (2nd season)
• Months of gluts with low prices: Jun to Aug and Dec to Jan
• Months of scarcity with high prices: Feb to May and Sep to Oct
Farm gate prices:
315 UGX/kg during peak; 697 UGX/kg during off season

6. Annual potato price fluctuations
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept
Pricesperkg
Months (2015/2016)
Owino Nakawa Kapchorwa Mbale
Wholesale prices in Kampala and eastern Uganda

7. Postharvest Handling Practices
• 62% of farmers protect tubers from direct sunshine
immediately after harvest (under shade, packed in bags, placed
in multi-purpose stores)
• Sorting and grading: 86% of producers sort potatoes
according to size, variety, level of damage and greening before
selling or storage :
 Small tubers: 58% for seed, 34% consumed, 7% sold and rest
given to hired labour
 Medium and large tubers: 93% sold and the rest consumed
 Cut and bruised tubers: 71% consumed, 18% wasted, 8% sold
and 4% given to hired labour
• Transport: from gardens to homesteads or main road by
donkeys or on head

8. Potato storage
• 56% of farmers store tubers after harvesting and they store
about 38% of harvested potatoes (av. 4 weeks) to be used
as seed, home consumption, wait for buyers or better prices
• 37% of traders store potato between purchase and selling
(av. 6 days) to wait for buyers or better prices, and to fill
trucks before transport
• 41% of processors store potato (av. 4 days) to ensure
consistent availability of raw materials

9. Where are potatoes stored?
Why short term storage?
• Fear of storage PHL
• Pest and disease
damage at harvest time
• Limited improved
storage facilities
• High family demands for
cash
• Ready market
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Percentage
Farmers Traders Processors

10. Determinants of farmer participation in storage
Dependent variable: Volume stored in both
seasons (kgs)
Coefficient Std Error
t-
value
Gender of the HH head (1= male, 2=female) 3,244.0600 760.7672 4.26***
Marital status (1=married) 4,229.9430 1,754.8690 2.41**
Education level (years) -135.0852 76.0872 -1.78*
Age (years) 231.6122 192.9012 1.20
Age squared (years) -2.5722 2.1062 -1.22
Household size (number) 47.0109 89.4154 0.53
Group membership (1=yes) 302.1821 632.6684 0.48
Potato farm size (acres) 758.5193 199.7253 3.80***
Price (Ugx/kg) -1.7020 1.8119 -0.94
Annual potato harvest (kgs) 0.1516 0.0410 3.70***
Postharvest losses (1= yes) -2,619.8200 1,240.7880 -2.11**
Training on marketing (1=yes) -623.1856 778.7631 -0.80
Training on storage (1=yes) 461.6815 823.1026 0.56
Distance to the market (km) 32.1893 28.9789 1.11
Access to credit (1=yes) -344.0710 571.0285 -0.60
Constant -13,343.8200 4,692.0110 -2.84
Number of observations= 116, Log likelihood = -582.53 , LR chi2(12)= 54.93, Probability
chi=0.000

11. Postharvest losses
 Most farmers (95%) experience PHL during harvesting,
storage and marketing of potatoes.
 Traders incur PHL mainly during peak harvesting months.
Most losses are due to bruises and cuts while harvesting
which result into rotting
 85% of traders and processors who store potatoes incur
PHL during storage compared to 78% of farmers. Most of
these PHL are due to poor on farm practices (varieties with
short dormancy, pests and diseases, cuts and bruises, poor
sorting)

12. Extent of PHL along the value chain
• 84% of farmers use hoes during harvesting
• Tools used are associated with cuts and bruises
Damages farm level Kgs/acre % of harvest
Quantity harvested per season 5,649
Quantity damaged by tools 239 4.2%
Quantity damaged by tools thrown away 53 0.9%
Quantity lost in the ground uncollected 132 2.3%
Quantity stored totally spoilt
Quantity stored partially spoilt
66
34
1.2%
0.6%
PHL (%) over 2 last years Farmers
n=51
Wholesalers
n=38
Retailers
n=34
Processors
n=34
Physical losses
9% 15% 7% 7%
Economic losses
6% 10% 8% 8%

13. Types of damages
30%
25%8%
35%
2%
Trader
Cut
Bruised
Greened
Rotten
Others (pest damages)
33%
23%7%
33%
4%
Processor
Cut
Bruised
Greened
Rotten
Others (pests damages)

14. Major causes of PHL
 Varieties with short dormancy period (early sprouting and loss of moisture)
 Harvesting of immature potatoes
 Rudimental harvesting tools damage potatoes during harvesting
 Limited harvesting skills of hired labor (bruises and cuts)
 Harvest during and immediately after rains which increases bruises and cuts
 Pest and diseases such as rats and bacterial wilt
 Poor sorting and use of poor packaging materials e.g. nylon bags
 Mishandling: dropping, stepping and dragging during loading and off loading
 Limited market infrastructure (roadside sales expose potatoes to rain, mud
and sun)
 Poor roads and transport means lead to bruise of tubers, particularly in rainy
seasons

15. Mishandling of potatoes during marketing

16. Conclusion and recommendations
Potato production and marketing is profitable but there are
challenges along the value chain. These include extreme
seasonal price fluctuations and high PHL.
Improved PHM practices and adoption of suitable and cost-
effective storage technologies can contribute to even out
market supplies, fetch better prices and reduce PHL along
the chain.

17. Recommendations
 Sensitize VC actors in good management practices during
production, harvest and postharvest
 Adopt improved low-cost storage facilities made with locally
available material
 Encourage collective action to pool resources to implement
collective storage and marketing
 Adopt varieties with a longer dormancy period
 Empower women in PH activities, including storage and marketing
 Research for assessing the effect of storage on VC actors’ market
performance is ongoing

18. Acknowledgements
Dr. Alex Tatwangire
Dr. Diego Naziri
Potato farmers, traders & processors
European Union
IFAD