Assessment of rice farmers' knowledge and perception of harvest and postharvest losses in Ghana

Farmers' knowledge and perception of harvest and postharvest losses in rice production across three agro-ecological zones of Ghana were examined using farm-level data collected from 108 randomly selected rice farmers. To examine the perception and knowledge of farmers on harvest and postharvest losses, means of a 5-point Likert scale were estimated compared with the values of the individual perception statements. Results indicated that rice production was male-dominated (80%) with an ageing farmer population (42 years on average), smaller farm sizes (~5 acres) with over 70% of farmers formally educated. This suggests the potential and need for mechanised interventions in rice production. Majority of the farmers sampled (over 95%) had experienced and were aware of harvest and postharvest losses in rice. Whereas over 50% of the farmers were cultivating the Jasmine rice variety, it was perceived by over 65% of the farmers to be associated with higher harvesting losses. Mechanical agents such as lack of appropriate harvesting machinery were perceived by over 40% of the farmers to cause harvesting losses. On the method of rice threshing, over 50% of the farmers used combines, 36% used the threshing by impact "bambam" method, 11% bag beating and 2% used mechanical threshers. Rice harvest and postharvest activities constituted 21% of total production cost, while accounting for nearly 20% of total grain loss. It is recommended that aside the mechanised interventions, efforts should be geared towards proper development of rice fields to ensure sustainable production and improved land productivity.