Postharvest Management Challenges and Opportunities of Horticultural Crops in Selected Districts of Southwest Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Initially identifying the constraints and opportunities in all the paths of horticultural crops value chain improvement targets are indispensable so as to secure food availability and accessibility. Post-harvest activities including market facilities are very important on top of productivity enhancement. Horticultural crops are highly productive compared with other crops, and also they are superior in nutrition content which is fundamental in balancing the diet. Derived from the research inquisition raised by society as a key point, the purpose of this study was to identify the post-harvest challenges and opportunities, and then generate baseline information that helps prioritize them for future intervention. Qualitative and quantitative data from both primary and secondary sources were collected from potential horticulture crops producing areas of the southwest Shewa zone, i.e., the selected three districts (Elu, Waliso and Wanchi) for this study. Finally, the data were analyzed with the help of SPSS software Version 20.0. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, frequencies), and SWOT analysis for better illustration of postharvest issues such as storage, marketing, transportation, and postharvest handling were also applied. According to the study, the area has potential for producing horticultural crops on account of conducive agro-ecologies, the presence of ample labor, market options, and high interest of the farmers to produce are some of the opportunities identified. To utilize these prospects, however, there is a need for farmers’ and experts’ capacity building through different mechanisms such as among others training, provision and adoption of the latest technologies (e.g. cold truck), creating reasonable market alternatives, modern storage facilities, and securing crop protection programs for better prices. Conclusively, there is high potential to boost horticultural crop production. However, because of the recurrent challenges particularly marketing and price fluctuation, storage and transportation facilities were identified as major bottlenecks at postharvest.