Resource type:
Reports and discussion papers
Peer review evidence on why it does not always make sense for farmers to harvest crops. This evidence is important in the fight against food loss and demonstrates that there are many problems requiring solutions from pubic private engagement. Challenges to harvesting include:
- Price volatility
- Labour cost and availability
- Cold chain infrastructure
- Aesthetic standards and customer preferences
- Quality based contracts
- Policy constraints
- Challenges to estimating food loss on the farm and in pre-retail stages
Potential solutions are given on page 19 of the report, focusing on source reduction and redistribution. Business models geared towards either of these approaches will require effective partnerships and linkages between public and private actors.
This resource has been peer reviewed