In 2018, Rwanda's annual estimated postharvest losses were 69,193 tonnes for maize, 19,190 tonnes for sorghum, 15,064 tonnes for rice, 1,882 tonnes for wheat. The highest and lowest estimated postharvest loss percentages are 16.3% for maize and 12.4% for sorghum. The costliest estimated postharvest losses in USD are for maize: over 20 million USD, which corresponds to 0.8% of national agricultural GDP.
Within the value chain the majority of loss is estimated to be happening at harvesting/field drying for maize, at harvesting/field drying for sorghum, at harvesting/field drying for rice, at household-level storage for wheat. Within Rwanda, the highest postharvest losses in tonnes occur for maize in Eastern, for sorghum in Eastern, for rice in Eastern, for wheat in Northern. Regarding the nutritional losses, the estimated maize grain lost postharvest could have met the annual energy (kcal) dietary requirements of 294,806 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 | Sorghum | Rice | Wheat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production quantity in tonnes | 424,204 tonnes | 154,692 tonnes | 113,879 tonnes | 13,476 tonnes |
| Loss % | 16.3% | 12.4% | 13.2% | 14.0% |
| Losses in tonnes | 69,193 tonnes | 19,190 tonnes | 15,064 tonnes | 1,882 tonnes |
| Financial value | > 20 million USD | – | > 14 million USD | – |
| % of national agricultural GDP | 0.8% | – | 0.6% | – |
| # of people whose annual energy (kcal) requirements could have been met by the lost crop | 294,806 people | 76,567 people | 63,474 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 ›