Copyright: Sinograin Chengdu Storage Research Institute

From August 27th to September 26th, 2024, the WFP Centre of Excellence for Rural Transformation (WFP China COE) organized a comprehensive series of webinars on post-harvest loss reduction, with the support of the Academy of China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (NAFRA).

Post-harvest loss (PHL) is recognized as one of key contributors to food insecurity. These losses range from 17% for durable commodities to over 50% for perishable commodities such as fruits, vegetables, roots, and tubers. The value of lost grain is estimated to be up to USD60 billion, and these grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asian countries could meet the annual food or dietary requirements for several million people. Substantial post-harvest grain losses exacerbate the pressure on global food production, given the growing population and deteriorating climate change.

China has made significant progress in addressing post-harvest loss reduction in recent years through various proactive measures. Investments in modern storage equipment and facilities, the adoption of advanced technologies for post-harvest handling and innovative equipment for food processing have played a crucial role in reducing post-harvest loss. Grain storage losses in China's grain depots have been largely eliminated, with the overall loss rate controlled within 1% during the grain storage period. Additionally, the grain storage loss rate of Chinese farmers has dropped from 8% a decade ago to around 3% now.

The objective of this series of webinars is to share China’s extensive experience, technologies, and practices in reducing post-harvest loss. Across two modules, a total of 16 Chinese presenters showcased China’s experience and practices in post-harvest management, with a focus on grain reserves and storage management, post-harvest service systems, and standards frameworks. Furthermore, they also demonstrated China’s technologies and practices for grain post-harvest handling by aggregators at various stages of the post-harvest management process.

You can access the 16 presentations by clicking on the provided links for each session in the table below.

Access to the links of each session in French is also provided here.