Search

Abstract Background Investing in postharvest technologies is one way of reducing food losses with the aim of achieving food security, but it is often overlooked. In this study, we assessed the losses and costs associated with the harvest and postharvest practices used by smallholder bean farmers in Uganda. We also estimated the grain Moisture Content (MC) associated with traditional storage practices. Results Harvest and postharvest handling practices result in a loss of about 22% of the crop harvest. The cost associated with this loss is 17% of the output value. In addition, the common storage practices used by farmers are unable to maintain the required grain MC of ≤ 13%. As even a slight change in grain MC can significantly impact storage duration, we found that 74% of farmers fail to meet the required MC, resulting in a loss of anticipated price premiums over an average storage duration of 80 days. Our econometric estimates suggest that storing grain in bags placed above the floor surface could reduce MC by an additional 1.5%. Conclusions Our predictions indicate that farmers who use traditional practices should store bean grains for less than 60 days, or they should adopt better storage practices to increase shelf life and ensure food safety. If more farmers had placed their grain above the floor surface, 48% rather than 26% would have met the required MC at 90 days. It is worth noting that poor postharvest handling has significant economic implications and can lead to food safety concerns due to quality failures in the grain. To address these issues, there is a need to scale up interventions that increase farmer access to postharvest technologies.

Land tenure security is central to food security of rural agricultural‐dependent communities, but there is limited evidence linking the state of agrobiodiversity to perception of land tenure security and access to and quality of food eaten. This study explores this relationship using data captured from 1,279 households in Acholi and Teso subregions of Uganda, and the relationships are established using a study sample of 1,227 women of reproductive age (WRA). Sixteen percent of respondents perceived themselves to be land tenure insecure. Although approximately 275 species were reported available for food, household access to a variety of plant and animal species is limited to <10 species by 69% of the study population. Dietary diversity was also low, with 53% of women meeting minimum diet diversity. Evidence from estimation of a generalized Poisson regression reveals that dietary diversity of WRA is consistently, positively correlated with species diversity available for food and negative with land tenure insecurity. A unit increase in species diversity led to 18% increase in dietary diversity of WRAs. Land tenure insecurity was likely to reduce dietary diversity of WRAs by 26% (p <.05). Interventions with an aim to increase species diversity can deliver positive dividends for food and nutrition security. Land policy reforms and interventions that strengthen land tenure security for both men and women are likely to contribute positively to dietary diversity leading to improved food and nutrition security of vulnerable communities in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]