Factors affecting postharvest losses in the onion supply chain : an empirical study in Maharashtra | |
| Author | Nikam, Nilima Devdatta |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AB-20-03 |
| Subject(s) | Onions--India--Harvesting Business logistics--India |
| Note | A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agribusiness Management in Agribusiness Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Postharvest losses are vital problem in fruits and vegetables supply chain all over the world. The postharvest losses not only reduce the availability of fruits but also result in increase in per unit cost of transport and marketing. Onion is an important culinary ingredient in Indian food. Onions are less perishable than many other vegetables, but losses are unavoidable. Maharashtra is a leading onion producing State in India. Lasalgaon, which is known as “Onion Hub of Asia”, is located at Nasik district of Maharashtra. The specific objectives of this study are to map and analyze the quantitative postharvest losses in the onion supply chain at farm, wholesale and retail level in Nasik and Pune districts of Maharashtra, to identify and examine key causal factors of postharvest losses in onion supply chain in Nasik and Pune districts of Maharashtra. Structured questionnaires were used to interview 230 farmers, 36 wholesalers and 36 retailers from Pune and Nasik districts of Maharashtra. Averages, summations and percentages were used to compute the postharvest losses. The factor analysis a data reduction technique is used to determine the key factors responsible for postharvest losses in onion supply chain in India. The result from the study revealed that quantitative postharvest losses in Pune district at wholesale level (97.3 kg/t), retail level (150.4 kg/t), farmer level (205.6 kg/t) and in Nasik district at wholesale level (103 kg/t), retail level (131.5 kg/t), farmer level (68.7 kg/t). This large difference in quantity of postharvest losses in onion supply chain in between Pune and Nasik district is because of different growing seasons, different onion varieties, different storage methods in Pune and Nasik district. Along with this as per farmers perception regarding postharvest losses in onion supply chain; the final factors responsible for the postharvest loss of onion in Maharashtra were large number of intermediary present in channel, lack of best farming practices, improper infrastructure, harvesting inputs, and knowledge gap. |
| Year | 2020 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agribusiness Management (AB) |
| Chairperson(s) | Datta, Avishek |
| Examination Committee(s) | Pandey, Neeraj;Tsusaka, Takuji W.;Anal, Anil Kumar |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | AIT Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Am.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2020 |