Postharvest Management Practices of Maize in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Postharvest losses and their management practices of maize production in Ethiopia were overviewed. Agriculture is vital for addressing food security problems in Ethiopia. Agriculture contributes to overcoming the food security problem through growth that distributes its benefits as widely as possible by increasing production and productivity. About 30 to 50 per cent postharvest loss is because of inappropriate collection, transport, storage and pest control systems in Ethiopia were found tremendous for different cereal grains. The review was done by collecting the various published and unpublished materials relevant informati on from different literature sources like libraries, research report, journals, books and Internet center. Postharvest quantity and quality loss of cereal grains in developing countries appear to be initiated mostly at the farm level, so the potential solutions for the problem are needed at the same level. To minimize losses and increase the shelf life of the food grains which inhibit the growth of pests and provide proper storage facilities, appropriate packaging materials and transportation facilities are required. A corrective suggestion on suitable approaches to loss reduction in postharvest handling of maize grains was reviewed. As the result of review, it concludes that further studies are needed concerning physical, bio-chemical and socio-economic aspects at each production level.