In 2018, Ghana's annual estimated postharvest losses were 414,426 tonnes for maize, 91,340 tonnes for rice, 39,230 tonnes for sorghum, 20,255 tonnes for millet. The highest and lowest estimated postharvest loss percentages are 18.0% for maize and 11.2% for millet. The costliest estimated postharvest losses in USD are for maize: over 142 million USD, which corresponds to 1.2% of national agricultural GDP.
Within the value chain, for all crops the majority of loss is estimated to be happening at harvesting/field drying. Within Ghana, the highest postharvest losses in tonnes occur for maize in Eastern, for rice in Volta, for sorghum in Northern, for millet in Northern. Regarding the nutritional losses, the estimated maize grain lost postharvest could have met the annual energy (kcal) dietary requirements of 1,693,066 people.
To view the list of studies used to estimate these losses, please see the References tab.
Top 4 crops with the highest production quantity in tonnes.
Maize | Rice | Sorghum | Millet | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Production quantity in tonnes | 2,306,384 tonnes | 769,401 tonnes | 316,237 tonnes | 181,564 tonnes |
Loss % | 18.0% | 11.9% | 12.4% | 11.2% |
Losses in tonnes | 414,426 tonnes | 91,340 tonnes | 39,230 tonnes | 20,255 tonnes |
Financial value | > 142 million USD | > 87 million USD | > 14 million USD | > 9 million USD |
% of national agricultural GDP | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
# of people whose annual energy (kcal) requirements could have been met by the lost crop | 1,693,066 people | 373,154 people | 157,973 people | 86,304 people |
See full postharvest losses data tables with loss percentage › | losses in tonnes › | losses in USD › | financial impact › | nutritional losses ›
See full value chain data table with estimated losses in percentage › | tonnes › | USD ›