About APHLIS

The African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) is the premier international effort to collect, analyze and disseminate data on postharvest losses of cereal grains in sub-Saharan Africa. In its next phase, called APHLIS+, the service will expand the range of crops covered and include estimates of the economic and nutritional dimensions of postharvest loss. APHLIS+ will also improve its interactive tools for accessing loss data and will expand its network of African experts.

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How APHLIS estimates loss

APHLIS provides evidence-based data on postharvest loss at a large scale that would be prohibitively expensive to obtain by direct observation. It does this by combining loss data from academic research with contextual observations from local experts.

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Explore the data

Data tables

View loss estimates of all crops for a specific country or region. Compare the losses of different crops within a country. View data for all crops in a given location over time, or across value chain steps for a single year.

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Maps

View postharvest losses per crop and per year on an interactive map. Zoom in to the region of your interest and switch between map layers to discover if rain at harvest, presence of large grain borer, or climate classification might be affecting losses.

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Video tutorial

This video will help you navigate the APHLIS data tables, demonstrating how to filter, download and share the available data. We will also show you how to find the underlying contextual data and academic literature used to calculate the loss estimates.

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APHLIS News

New APHLIS tool estimates the financial cost of postharvest losses

Postharvest losses are widely understood to have serious financial consequences for farmers. Such losses waste not only food, but also the land, water, labour and other inputs used in agricultural production. The African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) has developed a new tool that enables users to uncover the financial...

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Postharvest losses and the road to food security

Food loss includes the physical loss of food as well as quality losses that can diminish the economic value of a crop, or make it unsuitable for human consumption. Food waste, by contrast, refers to food that is discarded or used for non-food purposes, despite being safe and nutritious for...

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New map series to warn of aflatoxin risks

APHLIS is producing a series of maps that provide early warning information on climate-based risks of aflatoxin contamination, a major threat to plant, animal and human health A powerful poison The map shows — for each province — the percentage of periods prior to harvest (over the years from 2004...

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Climate change and postharvest loss

Stemming postharvest loss will be critical if we are to feed the world in the face of a changing climate. At the same time, climate change is creating conditions that could make postharvest loss an even greater challenge. Efforts to reduce postharvest loss are critical in the face of climate...

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Bellagio Statement on Postharvest Management

Improving crop postharvest management at scale will reduce losses, improving food and nutrition security and incomes...

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Introducing the new APHLIS website

Welcome to the first in a series of releases to improve the accessibility of APHLIS data, and present new outputs being developed under APHLIS+ . This first release introduces our new website design and provides basic access to APHLIS loss estimates via the country- and crop-focussed datatables. Future releases will...

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Estimating nutritional postharvest losses – the Nutri-P-Loss project

The amount of food lost or wasted after harvest adds up to 1.3 billion tonnes every year. These losses have a major impact on economic and food security, especially for people in the developing world. Now, a new project is helping us to understand the nutritional implications of postharvest losses...

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APHLIS releases tool for measuring nutritional impacts of postharvest losses

(updated on 20 March 2020 and 25 February 2021) Postharvest losses do not only squander food, and the land, water, labour and other inputs used to grow crops. A new APHLIS tool  reveals the considerable impacts of such losses on the nutritional requirements of people.  Postharvest losses can affect nutrient...

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Understanding the role of gender in postharvest loss

One of the greatest challenges for agricultural research and development is to feed the world’s growing population – expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 – while crop yields are increasingly threatened by the changing climate. Most of the attention around this challenge focuses on improving production, yet reducing postharvest...

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Using postharvest loss data to support food policy in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of APHLIS

APHLIS leads the effort to increase the use of scientific information to inform postharvest loss reduction policies at national and international levels. The Malabo Declaration commits African governments to cutting their postharvest losses in half by 2025. (Image: Pecold/ Shutterstock)   In December 2018, APHLIS hosted a masterclass for scientists and...

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APHLIS welcomes ambassadors from 23 African nations

Postharvest loss experts from sub-Saharan Africa met in Rwanda in August to consider the challenges involved in collecting data on postharvest losses. Participants pledged their commitment to finding solutions, including by raising awareness about the harmful impacts of such losses among policy-makers, donors and agricultural researchers. Postharvest experts from sub-Saharan...

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APHLIS contributes to tracking of Sustainable Development Goals

APHLIS+ lead Dr Bruno Tran (NRI) and core team member Prof Brighton Mvumi (University of Zimbabwe) attended an Expert Consultation on Sustainable Development Goal 12.3   "Measurement and action to meet the target on reducing food loss and food waste" in Rome during 28 th – 29 th September. The...

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Improving postharvest practices in Rwanda

Agriculture is the backbone of Rwanda’s economy, accounting for 80% of employment, mostly on smallholder farms. Agriculture meets 90% of national food needs and generates more than 50% of the country’s export revenues. Following the devastation of the 1994 genocide, the government allocated significant resources to agricultural development, achieving large increases...

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