In 2018, Zimbabwe's annual estimated postharvest losses were 371,117 tonnes for maize, 9,432 tonnes for sorghum, 5,488 tonnes for millet. The highest and lowest estimated postharvest loss percentages are 19.6% for maize and 9.5% for millet. The costliest estimated postharvest losses in USD are for maize: over 105 million USD, which corresponds to 5.2% of national agricultural GDP.
Within the value chain the majority of loss is estimated to be happening at household-level storage for maize, at harvesting/field drying for sorghum, at harvesting/field drying for millet. Within Zimbabwe, the highest postharvest losses in tonnes occur for maize in Mashonaland West, for sorghum in Masvingo, for millet in Manicaland. Regarding the nutritional losses, the estimated maize grain lost postharvest could have met the annual energy (kcal) dietary requirements of 1,530,459 people.
To view the list of studies used to estimate these losses, please see the References tab.
Top 3 crops with the highest production quantity in tonnes.
| Maize | Sorghum | Millet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production quantity in tonnes | 1,897,932 tonnes | 77,514 tonnes | 57,929 tonnes |
| Loss % | 19.6% | 12.2% | 9.5% |
| Losses in tonnes | 371,117 tonnes | 9,432 tonnes | 5,488 tonnes |
| Financial value | > 105 million USD | – | – |
| % of national agricultural GDP | 5.2% | – | – |
| # of people whose annual energy (kcal) requirements could have been met by the lost crop | 1,530,459 people | 40,917 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 ›