Preventing Postharvest Loss:
an Initiative at the University of Illinois
R.S. Gates, Ph.D., P.E.
July 16, 2012
AGENDA
• Future food security challenges
• Several “views” of post-harvest loss
• The ADM Institute and its contributions
Global Food Demand Is Predicted to Increase
70% by 2050 (FAO; 2009)
Per capita food consumption
3500
kcal/capita/day
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
World
1964/66
Industrialized
Developing
countries
countries
1964/66-1997/99 Growth 1997/99-2030 Growth
Dietary changes in developing countries
Global Crop Demand Is Estimated to Double
From 2005 to 2050 (NAS, 2011)
2030 Food Demands Require
About 200 Million More Hectares (McKinsey; 2011)
McKinsey Global Institute’s
Resource Revolution
Commodity
Price Changes
Tell Interesting Story (McKinsey; 2011)
AGENDA
• Future food security challenges
X
• Several “views” of post-harvest loss
• The ADM Institute and its contributions
PHL Varies by Region (FAO; 2011)
DATA!
Per capita food waste and food loss (kg/year)
kg
per
year
PHL Varies by Commodity (FAO; 2011)
Post-harvest loss estimates in South & Southeast Asia
70%
66%
60%
49%
50%
consumption
40%
distribution
30%
processing and packaging
30%
22%
postharvest handling and storage
20%
agricultural production
10%
0%
Cereals
Roots & Tubers
Oilseeds &
Pulses
Fruit &
Vegetables
Cereal Losses Across the World (FAO, 2011)
PHL Varies Across Growing Conditions
(IBRD/WB; 2011)
Generalized loss profiles for major grains in Eastern and Southern
Africa
30.0%
25.0%
24.2%
market storage
20.0%
16.8%
18.2%
16.9%
14.6%
15.0%
transport to market
storage
transport to store
10.0%
winnowing
shelling/threshing
5.0%
drying
harvesting/field drying
0.0%
hot/humid
maize small
warm
maize large
arid/desert
sorghum
small
arid/desert
millet small
hot/humid
rice small
PHL Varies Between Countries:
For Same Crop (FAO; 2002)
Rice: Total post-harvest losses
6%
5.46%
4.78%
5%
3.74%
4%
3.47%
3.16%
3%
2.74%
Asia
China
2%
1.31%
1%
1%
0.85%
0.99%
0%
harvesting
threshing
drying
storage
milling
PHL Varies Between States
Within One Country (ADM Institute; 2012)
Estimated post-harvest loss of black gram in India
30%
25.28%
25%
22.68%
20%
grading & repacking
transport
storage
15%
threshing
drying
10%
harvesting
5%
0%
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
A More Specific Perspective:
Rice in SE Asia (IRRI; 2011)
In SE Asia, physical losses range from
15-25%.
Crop
Consumption
Quality losses range from 10-30%
(loss in value)
Reducing PHL and Increasing Yields
Have High Potential (McKinsey; 2011)
Little Attention Is Devoted
to PHL and Yields (McKinsey; 2011)
Why Reduce Post-harvest Loss?
Some Hypotheses
• Estimates suggest 1/3 of agricultural production is “wasted”
and doesn’t reach food consumer
• Investment required to reduce PHL could be modest
• Technology advances should make reduction more feasible
and less expensive
• Arable land, water, energy are in limited supply – reducing PHL
can lessen pressure on scarce resources
AGENDA
• Future food security challenges
X
• Several “views” of post-harvest loss
• The ADM Institute and its contributions
X
Timeline of the ADM Institute
Fall, 2010
Jan 19, 2011
Initial conversations
Official announcement & celebration
$10 Million gift
India/Brazil emphasis
Staple crops
Feb, 2011
Seed research efforts initiated
$0.4 million in funding allocated
Mar /Jul, 2011 Visioning processes
Fall, 2011
RFP issued
$2.1 million in funding allocated
Throughout 2011 – Prospecting for collaborating entities
The ADM Institute for the Prevention of
Postharvest Loss
Vision Statement
Key elements include:
• To be an international information and technology hub
• To encompass technologies, practices and systems
• To focus on staple crops in key agricultural domains
Research Themes
Measurement & technology
development
Systems informatics & analysis
Policy analysis
Education, training, & information
transfer
2011 Funded Projects
Measurement &
technology
development
Systems
informatics &
analysis
Policy analysis
Education,
training &
information
transfer
• Mary-Grace Danao
• Measurement, Documentation and Postharvest Processing for the Prevention of
Postharvest Losses of Soybeans and Corn
• Peter Goldsmith
• Managing Grain Losses in Continuous Cropping Systems of the Tropics through OnFarm or Cooperative Storage
• Ximing Cai
• Appropriate Technology Development and System Integration for Post-Harvest Loss
Prevention
• Luis F. Rodríguez
• Concurrent Science, Engineering, and Technology for the Prevention of Postharvest
Loss
• Kathy Baylis
• Supply Chain Policy and Strategy Analysis for Prevention of Postharvest Loss
• Mary Arends-Kuenning
• The Nature of Small Landholder Agriculture in the Brazilian States of Sao Paulo and
Parana and Implication for Understanding Postharvest Loss
• Barry Pittendrigh
• Education, Training and Information Transfer to Minimize Postharvest Losses –
Scientific Animations Without Borders
Activities (Jan-Mar 2012)
UFV
Developed
partnerships
 Measured harvest losses
(3 Brazilian states)
 Gathering information
on storage conditions
Instituto Nacional de
Pesquisas Espaciais
 Gathering information
on tracking trucks
 Identified farm for our silo
bag feasibility test in June
 Gathering climate data
for storability risk
calculations
Measurement, Documentation and Postharvest Processing for the Prevention of Postharvest Losses of Soybeans and Corn
(Danao, Gates, Eckhoff, Paulsen, Rausch)
Measuring pre-harvest, combine header,
and threshing/cleaning losses
UIUC
UFV
UFMT
Using a standard method for
measuring harvest losses
developed by EMBRAPA,
faculty and students traveled
from Jataí, Goaís to Sinop,
Mato Grosso (1,034 km) to
conduct field measurements.
UFG
Combine
Mean
MC [%]
Estimated yield at
13% MC [kg/ha]
Total loss
[sacks/ha]
Loss as % of yield
at 13% MC
Combine
speed [km/h]
S2
11.0
4296
2.47
3.5
4.0
S6
18.0
3814
0.89
1.4
5.5
S7
16.2
3421
1.26
2.2
4.2
Measurements from soybean harvest (February 2012) and corn harvest (July 2012) completed.
Quantity and quality loss assessments in
graneleiros & trucks; exploring use of silo bags.
How can we increase efficiency in
graneleiros?
Can silo bags serve as temporary storage?
How can we minimize
losses during transport?
Our Aspirational Contributions
Measurement of
loss
Challenge
Investable
Quantum jump
implementation
technology
framework
Reference
Resources
• ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss. (2012). Mapping the production system
and the supply chain and study the crop losses of black gram.
• FAOSTAT. (2012). Crops production. Retrieved from
http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567#ancor
• Grolleaud, M. (2002). Post-harvest losses: Discovering the full story. Rome: FAO.
• Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., Sonesson, U., van Otterdijk, R., & Meybeck, A. (2011).
Global food losses and food waste. Rome: FAO.
• Hodges, R. J., Buzby, J. C., & Bennett, B. (2010). Postharvest losses and waste in
developed and less developed countries: opportunities to improve resource use. Journal of
Agricultural Science, 149 (51), 37-45.
• International Rice Research Institute. (2011). Postharvest technologies, learning alliances,
and the private sector [powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from:
http://aseanfoodsecurityfoodproduction.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/11-rfs-alfred-schmidleypostharvesr-technologies-learning-alliances-and-the-private-sector.pdf
• McKinsey Global Institute. (2011). Resource revolution: Meeting the world’s energy,
materials, food, and water needs.
• Tilman, D., Balzer, C., Hill, J., & Befort, B.L. (2011). Global food demand and the sustainable
intensification of agriculture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United
States of America, 108(50), 20260-20264.
• World Bank. (2011). Missing food: The case of postharvest grain losses in sub-Saharan
Africa. Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The
World Bank.
Director: Steve Sonka -- ssonka@illinois.edu
http://postharvestinstitute.illinois.edu