Determinants of post-harvest losses of tomato value chain in Ikire, Osun state, Nigeria

Food loss, especially along the post-harvest food supply chain, have been identified as one of the major causes of food shortage in most countries and in Nigeria particularly. Vegetable farmers such as tomatoes farmers often record great number of losses in produce which has been referred to as wastage of resources. This study examines the determinants of post-harvest losses of the tomato value chain in Ikire, Osun State, Nigeria. The analytical tools used in this study include descriptive statistics, Cobb Douglas production function and Kendall’s Concordance Coefficient. Regarding the demographic characteristics of farmers, the results revealed that 17.5% were artisans, 13.8% civil servants, 35% full-time farmers, 8.8% public transporters and 20% traders. This is an indication that most respondents were involved in other activities not related to farming and marketing of farm products. The findings from the Cobb Douglas production function show that variables, such as education (coefficient =-0.308: P=0.021), size of household (coefficient =-0.255: P<0.05), total amount of harvest = 1.844: P<0.05) and selling price (coefficient -1.766: P<0.05) were major determinants of farm-level losses of tomatoes. The study recommends that farmers are to seek technical and financial information from various institutions on credit facilities and technical support. The use of modern tools and facilities will help improve farmer’s efficiency and reduce post-harvest losses caused by mechanical factors.