Causes and Countermeasures for Post-harvest Loss across the Supply Chain

The process of grain storage and handling includes production and harvesting, storage, logistics and processing.

Grain production and harvesting is sometimes inefficient due to a low degree of mechanization, leading to a decrease in grain output. Farmers’ grain storage techniques, conditions and facilities are deficient. Moreover, there are no closed, specialized vehicles and equipment for transporting grain from the farmland. In addition, grain and oilseed processing standards need to be improved, and processing equipment needs to be further promoted. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve the quality and quantity of grain harvesting machines, and develop better standards for grain and oilseed processing.

During the production and harvesting process, seed loss may be attributed to a low germination rate caused by improper storage practices or to the poor quality of sowing machines. Inappropriate sowing techniques, bad sowing timing and excessive seed use in traditional planting methods may also inflict loss in the sowing process. Moreover, grain loss may occur because of outdated infrastructure, untimely harvesting and use of low precision harvesting machines.

During storage, transportation and processing, grain loss can be caused by various factors, such as obsolete storage facilities, incompliance with transportation standards, shortage of logistics equipment in rural areas, inefficient organization of transportation activities, as well as low extraction rates for flour and rice due to overprocessing and backward processing techniques.