Postharvest Loss, Causes, and Handling Practices of Fruits and Vegetables in Ethiopia: Scoping Review

Abstract

Abstract Fruits and vegetables are the horticultural crops playing a significant role in Ethiopia's food security, livelihood, and economy. However, the postharvest loss results are a severe challenge for the producers, and this review summarizes this problem. The total postharvest loss of horticultural crops, including fruits and vegetables, at various stages: harvesting, storage, transportation, and marketing ranges from 15 to 70%. Postharvest loss of vegetables alone is about 40%. Fruits like mango, banana, papaya, avocado, sweet orange, etc., take the largest share of the total postharvest loss. The postharvest causes of losses are diseases, insects, rodents, thefts, mechanical damage, premature harvesting, harvesting of overmature crops, improper harvesting and storage techniques, shortage of appropriate packaging and marketing system, seasonal fluctuation of the products, and gender inequality. Therefore, applying a possible and convenient loss reduction strategy is imperative to increase the supply of fruits and vegetables in the country.