Title : Effects of post-harvest losses on food security status of tomato value chain actors in Kano and Kaduna states, Nigeria
Abstract:
Post-harvest losses (PHL) in tomatoes represent a major challenge within agricultural value chains, reflecting inefficiencies in handling, storage, transportation, and marketing systems. These inefficiencies undermine market performance, reduce incomes, and weaken the food security of actors involved in the tomato value chain. This study examined the effects of post-harvest losses on the food security status of tomato value chain actors in Kano and Kaduna States, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select respondents. Four Local Government Areas (LGAs) were purposively selected from each of Kano and Kaduna States due to their prominence in tomato production. Respondents were then randomly selected across value chain categories in proportion to their population sizes, yielding 380 respondents comprising 308 producers, 35 marketers, and 37 processors. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering socioeconomic characteristics, production activities, post-harvest handling practices, marketing conditions, and household food security. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviations), Post-Harvest Loss Index (PHLI), Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) estimation, Tobit regression, and Ordered Logit Regression (OLR). Household food security status was assessed using the United States Household Food Security Survey Module (US-HFSSM). aResults showed that most producers (93.2%) and marketers (94.3%) were male, whereas the majority of processors (81.0%) were female. The mean age was 45 years for producers, 47 years for marketers, and 43 years for processors. Most actors were married, representing 87.3% of producers, 94.6% of processors, and 91.4% of marketers, with average household sizes of 9, 8, and 9 persons respectively. Access to credit remained limited, with only 14.3% of producers, 32.4% of processors, and 28.6% of marketers reporting credit access. Market structure analysis indicated a perfectly competitive market with a four-firm concentration ratio (CR4) of 1.47 and a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) of 27.18. The Lerner index (0.068) suggested low price mark-ups and weak market power. The 2SLS results confirmed strong instrument validity (F = 39.6) and showed that post-harvest losses, inadequate storage facilities, and limited market access significantly influence market performance. PHLI results indicated that 51.3% of producers experienced moderate losses, while processors (100.0%) and marketers (94.3%) largely recorded low loss levels. Tobit estimates showed that post-harvest training significantly reduced losses among producers, processors, and marketers, while high transportation costs significantly increased losses across actor groups.
