Elita Chikwati-Senior Agric Reporter

While this year’s harvest has brought so much excitement in Zimbabwe and made most people to take pride in being in tune with what’s out in our crop fields, a huge danger lurks in the murky waters of post-harvest handling. 

This year’s bumper harvest, no doubt is an exciting time for farmers and the whole country — the culmination of a long season where they finally get to reap what they sow as the year gets to the halfway mark.

Harvest time is such an important time of year on the farming calendar and with that can come a variety of emotions — excitement, anxiousness or in some cases, worry.

And, it is no secret that the country has attained a bumper harvest — the highest yield in 20 years as a result of the normal-to-above-normal rainfall received during the 2020/21 farming season. Good rains last season brought good cheer after the country had endured consecutive droughts. 

The figures are evident enough.

According to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, final Crop and Livestock Assessment Report, cereal production is estimated at 3 075 538 tonnes against a national cereal requirement of 1 797 435 tonnes for human consumption and 450 000 tonnes for livestock. 

A surplus of over 820 000 tonnes of cereals is expected this marketing season, the highest yield since the 2000/01 season. 

The joy over the bumper crop can be short-lived if we are not cautious about the huge losses that come with poor post-harvest handling.

Every effort must be made to ensure that our produce, in whatever form is handled well and carefully so that wastage and losses can be brought to a bare minimum.

While most farmers are celebrating the bumper harvest, the happiness could be short-lived if they do not institute proper measures to protect the harvest particularly grain against fires, pests and rodents. 

Post-harvest losses pose a huge headache for the country than anything else. Farmers and all agricultural sector value chains need to take measures quickly to secure the country’s grain and other crop products.

Post-harvest handling losses, presents, not only a loss of food and nutrition, but also all the inputs used along the crop production and storage chain such as land preparation, fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and transportation. 

Experts say that post-harvest losses can be as high as 30 percent so it is important the farmers adopt the best post-harvest handling skills for them to protect their food so it lasts until the next harvest. 

The Environmental Management Agency has also urged farming communities and members of the pubic to be careful and stop veld fires as these may destroy the bumper harvest. 

Due to the heavy rains recorded this season, there is increased crop yields and vegetation, both of which could be destroyed by veld fire if communities do not put in place preventive measures. 

EMA is encouraging farmers to undertake pre-fire suppression measures such as fireguard construction, biomass reduction and early controlled burning. The farmers can also harvest the grass for use as stock feed and realise an income. Farmers are discouraged from starting unnecessary fires. 

Besides fire, grains can also be destroyed by pests and rodents. 

Use of grain protectants also reduces post-harvest losses. According to the agriculture experts, storage of crops is important. After the harvest, crops may be affected by moulds, bacteria, sprouting or over spilling. 

The Department of Mechanisation came up with a project of training rural farmers to manufacture metal silos after research showed that the storage facilities protected grain for a longer period. 

The department states that the technology involved the use of air-tight metal silos and super grain bags. The metal silo keeps the grain for long with no damage and lasts for up to 30 years. 

Storage facilities should always be clean and farmers are encouraged to constantly check on stored grain to monitor and control pests. 

In closed structures such as granaries, warehouses and metal silos, control of cleanliness, temperature and humidity is particularly important. 

Damage caused by pests such as insects, rodents and moulds can lead to deterioration of facilities and result in losses in quality and food value as well as quantity. 

It is advisable that farmers ensure their storage facilities are in good condition. If storage facilities are not in good condition, they should be repaired on time. 

Farmers should store grain when it has the correct moisture content. 

Grains with high moisture content can rot. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) recommends moisture content of 12,5 percent. 

Anything above that may result in the crop rotting or developing fungi. 

Before bringing in the grain for storage, farmers should also ensure the room or silo is clean and free from pests. Fumigation before storing grain is advisable. 

Caution should, however, be taken when buying pesticides and fumigants to protect grain. Farmers should avoid dangerous substances that not only destroy pests, but could be harmful to their own health and expert advice should be sought when not sure. 

Some unscrupulous business people sell fake pesticides while others sell expired ones and it is advisable to buy from reputable dealers only. 

It is important that farmers desist from buying backyard and adulterated pesticides as these may not be effective or may have dangerous substances. For effective results, farmers should use, read and understand labels before use or seek assistance. 

Farmers also use chemicals that can also affect their health. For instance some farmers rely on Aluminium Phosphide tablets. 

Although farmers have testified that they are effective in controlling pests, the pesticide is a restricted use only. 

This means it must be used by people who are trained to handle pesticides and must not be used in the home. The chemical is usually appropriate for huge storage facilities such as silos and not suitable for homes. 

Thus while it is important to protect grain, farmers should also be wary of the chemicals they use as this may affect their health. 

Before consumption, farmers are encouraged to observe safety periods. Safe period refers to the time from application of the pesticide to the time when the pesticide is adjudged to have disintegrated so that it will not pose health threats to the consumer. 

This is stated on labels in days. Consumption before the lapse of this period will cause health problems. Besides pests and rodents or thieves, farmers can also lose their stored crops to fire. People should not start fires carelessly as this may impact negatively on the environment and also affect household food security.

According to the UN World Food Programme, global food production has reached a record high in recent years, however, one third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, equivalent to 1,3 billion tonnes. 

The UN agency says post-harvest food loss is a leading cause of food insecurity for millions families across the world. For Zimbabwe to achieve zero hunger by 2030, we will require that no more food is lost or wasted.

By preventing post-harvest losses in our food systems, we can increase the availability of food in Zimbabwe and to other parts of the SADC region.

Food losses happen at every stage of the supply chain, as commodities become damaged, spoiled or lost while harvested, handled, processed, stored and transported. 

These losses are most significant in Zimbabwe and most other developing countries, where farmers lack appropriate technologies to secure their harvest.

Post-harvest losses have a significant nutritional, health, and financial impacts to the country as a whole.

With the country experiencing an increasing frequency of droughts, the joy of a bountiful crop could turn into misery if our farmers, NGOs and Government do not raise the red flag over the need for intensification of campaigns to manage post-harvest drying, cleaning and storage. 

For the majority of our smallholder farmers, many of whom already live on the edge of hunger, lost food means lost land, water, fertiliser and income for those who can least afford it. 

Lost food also deprives farmers of the opportunity to grow and strengthen their businesses.

All this means that we as a country need to take urgent measures to encourage collaboration in reducing post-harvest losses and working together to try to fill the gaps in all disruptions that occur in our agricultural value chain process.