108. Average percentage of smallholder post-harvest losses at the storage stage

108. Average percentage of smallholder post-harvest losses at the storage stage

VERSION

V1.0 - 2026.03 — NEW

INDICATOR CODE

108

N.B: This indicator is an update to a previous indicator (formerly known in CRF 2022-2025 as 30. Average percentage of smallholder post-harvest losses at the storage stage). In CRF 2026-2029 a mandatory disaggregation by food commodity group was introduced, making previous years’ results incomparable with new results.

TECHNICAL OWNER

PRG-R

INDICATOR TYPE

Country Level Outcome Indicator

INDICATOR CLASSIFICATION

Complementary

INDICATOR SCOPE

Programme specific

APPLICABILITY

This indicator applies to WFP value chain development work (aka Smallholder Agricultural Market Support – SAMS), combining procurement and programmatic activities along the value chain to promote improved access to stable and remunerative markets for targeted smallholder farmers. Interventions include but are not limited to: support to smallholder capacity to access productive input and equipment; support to post-harvest loss reduction and processing; capacity strengthening of smallholder aggregation systems; promotion of market access; capacity strengthening of value chain actors, including access to finance and digitalization.

The selection of this indicator is recommended against the following sub-activities in CSPs logframes. Selection of the below sub-activities will NOT trigger the mandatory selection of this indicator

1. Smallholder Agricultural Market Support (SMS)

UNIT OF MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS

Percentage of post-harvest losses

DEFINITION

This indicator refers to the average extent of post-harvest losses incurred by smallholder farmers at the storage stage for targeted commodity(ies).

Below are some key definitions for this indicator:

Post-harvest loss (PHL) is defined as the loss of crops to spillage, spoilage, animals or pests after harvesting. Post-harvest losses typically arise because of poor pre-and post-harvest practices, exposure to inclement weather conditions and or lack of relevant infrastructure.

Storing refers to the keeping of commodities in optimum quality and quantity until the commodities are utilised for intended purposes. The purposes can include consumption, cooking, processing, marketing, donations and or barter trading. The storage stage usually begins when the commodity has been pre-processed and cleaned or sorted. Storage stage activities may include the application of a protectant for managing pests, loading into storage facilities, closing of the facilities and offloading of the commodities.

Losses at this stage can be attributed to spillage, moisture accumulation, pilferage, pest infestation and inclement weather conditions which result in a reduction in quantity (weight) of the commodity available for use. Please note that storage practices vary across regions, for example, cereals can be stored on cobs/ears or as grain kernels. The storage stage can be happening at different points along the value chain, in particular 1) at farmer/household level (e.g., home storage using hermetic bags or silos); 2) aggregator level (e.g. warehouse storage); 3) buyer level (e.g. warehouse of school, national reserve, etc.).

This indicator applies to post-harvest losses at farmer/household level and is limited to the storage stage.

Smallholder farmer: There is no unambiguous global definition of a smallholder farmer. Often, scale of operation measured in terms of farm size is used as a classification criterion. For example, smallholders are often viewed as those farming less than two hectares. But even this farm size is considered “large” in some countries or regions within countries. As a result, other parameters are sometimes used, including the volume of production, the source and amount of available labour, and the value of capital and inputs. For WFP, if a host country has an accepted definition of smallholder farmers under which it collects and reports agricultural and related data, such a definition should be followed whenever appropriate.

RATIONALE

This indicator assesses the success of supply-side interventions to reduce post-harvest losses at the household level by measuring the changes in the proportion of total production that is lost during storage over the past year. By the end of the CSP, it would be desirable to see a reduction (indicator’s direction) in the average storage losses in targeted value chains as a result of WFP intervention.

WFP’s post-harvest management interventions’ main objective is to reduce post-harvest losses among targeted value chain actors by enhancing their post-harvest management knowledge and practices at post-harvest stages, especially at critical loss points. The storage stage is one such critical loss point where research studies have reported significant levels of losses for both durable and perishable commodities.

Furthermore, at the storage stage, commodities can be easily quantified and tracked in terms of quantities preserved or lost, thus accurate measurements are likely to be captured for self-reported figures at this stage in comparison to preceding stages.

DATA COLLECTION TOOL

Self-Reported /Perceptions Assessment

Data will be collected from targeted smallholder farmers through a dedicated post-harvest module in the household survey.

The respondents will be asked to recall the quantities at the storage stage for target commodities over the course of the last 12 months and the corresponding post-harvest losses (kg)

To increase the accuracy of the data and capture the common practice in many countries adopting different practices on different harvest loads and in different seasons, data should be disaggregated by commodity group

The methodology does not capture pre-harvest and post-storage losses. Minimally the survey will need to capture:

• The quantity of the target commodity initially stored during the season under consideration (PSAMSPHLCommQntHand)

• The quantity of the target commodity initially stored that was lost, thus was unavailable for handling in successive stages (PSAMSPHLCommQntLost)

The electronic version of the questions (listed below) for this indicator can be found in Survey Designer.

SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS

The sample population should be selected among the farmers participating in interventions to reduce post-harvest losses, such as the provision of post-harvest management training and or equipment. For example, if records of training activities exist, a representative sample should be built by randomly selecting from the list of farmers who attended the training. For more indications on sampling, see the sampling guidance in WFP Monitoring Handbook.

INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING

1. For each sampled farmer, calculate the % of loss at storage stage for each targeted commodity belonging to the same commodity group

% Loss at the storage stage for commodity n (%LCN))=

Where:

= the quantity of commodity stored at the onset of the storage season

= the quantity of commodity that is lost during storage due to various causes like spillage, pests damage or pilferage

% LCN = % storage losses for a commodity (N= 1, 2, 3,...n)

N= the number assigned to commodities

2. Calculate the overall average value across all targeted commodities belonging to the same group at individual farmer level.

   

3. Calculate the annual % average storage losses across all sampled farmers:

Annual average storage losses =

NB: It is recommended to have consistency for target commodities and farmers over the CSP reporting period. This minimizes errors associated with changes in target commodities and or farmers during the reporting period.

Scripts in R, STATA and SPSS and sample data are available on github for calculating this indicator.

DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS

Values are recorded in the logframe. Each value has a reporting combination which is created based on:

• Sub-activity

• Country

• Target Group

Follow-up value is reported as one number for each category (food commodity group). It is mandatory to report a value for each category if the indicator was selected in the Logframe. If a commodity group does not apply, the commodity cell should be left empty. N.B.: because the food commodity group disaggregation is mandatory, empty cells will be interpreted as food commodity group(s) not applicable to the country context.

The overall value is not required. From a programmatic perspective, aggregating losses across different commodity groups would not be meaningful or accurate.

BASELINE

Baselines are set only once, at one of the following points:

1. At the beginning of the CSP, or

2. When the indicator is selected for reporting after the commencement of the CSP, or

3. When there is a change in target, location and/or modality that triggers a new reporting combination (target, location and modality) for an existing indicator.

Baselines remain fixed for the entire CSP period and are not recalculated annually, unless applicable above.

The baseline should be established before implementation of the supply-side interventions to reduce post-harvest losses at household level, by using developed data collection tool(s). Data from previous CSP cycles may be used as a basis to define baseline value, provided that the targeted commodity(es) are the same.

TARGET SETTING

Annual targets:

In accordance with the indicator’s direction and rationale, the annual target should be less than or equal to the baseline or previous annual target.

Overall, annual and end of CSP targets should be country-specific, realistic and based on the actual provision of post-harvest management support to targeted producers

End of CSP target:

In accordance with the indicator’s direction and rationale, the end of the CSP target should be less than or equal to the baseline.

FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

Surveys should be conducted once a year to calculate follow-up values, in preparation of the annual country reporting exercise.

The timing will vary between countries based on agricultural harvesting and marketing seasons.

Data should be entered in COMET as soon as available and at least once a year, in preparation of the annual country reporting exercise.

For years when a baseline is conducted, no follow up is required.

INTERPRETATION

Ideally, targeted smallholder farmers should report a decrease in storage losses over time, which can be attributed to WFP’s post-harvest management programmatic interventions. A decrease in losses translates to improved post-harvest management capacities leading to an improvement in the quality of stored commodities which enhances the livelihoods of targeted beneficiaries through improved incomes and household food security.

REPORTING EXAMPLE(S)

A PHL reduction intervention is supporting farmers producing maize, beans and groundnuts (commodity group: grains) improving their post-harvest management practices in order to reduce losses at storage stage.

Farmer A is producing three grain commodities: maize, beans and groundnuts. After threshing and cleaning operations, the farmer stored 300 kg of maize, 250 kg of beans and 300 kg of groundnuts at the beginning of the storage season, for consumption and marketing. The farmer reports that 20 kg of maize, 25 kg of beans and 50 kg of groundnuts are lost during storage.

Thus, for farmer A the % of post-harvest losses for the three commodities at the storage stage were:

Maize = ((20)/(300))* 100) = 6.7%

Beans = ((25)/(250)*100) = 10%

Groundnuts = ((50)/(300))*100)= 16.7%

The average post-harvest losses at the storage stage for farmer A is = (6.7+10+16.7)/3  = 11.1%.

In addition to farmer A, further 4 farmers are interviewed as part of the sample, reporting the following data.

The average post-harvest losses for grains at the storage stage will be the average across the 5 farmers interviewed = 10.7%.

INDICATORS COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT THE SAME TIME

The following indicator must be reported along with this indicator:

• T.1 Number of people (Tier 1) receiving direct food/cash-based/commodity vouchers/individual capacity strengthening transfers (disaggregated by sex, age group, residence status, modality and activity) (SMS sub-activity)

In addition, as applicable, the following indicators may be reported along with this indicator:

• T.2 Number of people indirectly benefiting (Tier 2) from an asset, knowledge and capacity, commodities or services delivered through WFP programmes (SMS tag)

• F.3 Number of smallholder farmer aggregation systems supported by type of support

• T.7 Quantity, value and capacity of non-food items for which WFP facilitated access

• F.5 Number of meetings, workshops, fairs, events organized to facilitate market linkages

• F.6 Number of contracts/ commercial agreements facilitated

• F.7 Number of other value chain actors supported

• 95. Value (USD) and volume (MT) of smallholder sales through WFP-supported aggregation systems

• 29. Percentage of targeted smallholder farmers selling through WFP-supported farmer aggregation systems

• 31. Percentage of targeted smallholder farmers reporting increased production of nutritious crops

COMPLEMENTARY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Some of the optional questions in the indicator’s standard survey may give additional qualitative information to complement the quantitative data. For example, information about the reasons of losses or the type of facilities used to store the harvest. In addition, information collected through SAMS Activity Implementation Monitoring (AIM) tool¹ can complement this indicator.

DECISIONS DATA CAN INFORM

This indicator provides relevant information to monitor the relevance and effectiveness of supply-side capacity strengthening interventions targeted at the household level to reduce post-harvest losses. The indicator can be used for targeting purposes at the start of an intervention, to evaluate storage capacity of the sample. The indicator can also be used to adjust programme design and implementation, to assess the post-harvest management and storage practices of targeted households over time and potentially adjust the package of capacity strengthening practices provided (trainings, access to storage equipment and infrastructure etc.).

For additional information see the “rationale” and “interpretation fields.”

VISUALIZATION

LIMITATIONS

Respondents may find it difficult to determine post-harvest losses accurately. Most have no records and recall of events may be inaccurate. Furthermore, this indicator only focuses on losses happening at storage stage at the farmer/household level, but does not capture losses happening at different points or stages along the value chain, for example at aggregator level (e.g., warehouse storage).

FURTHER INFORMATION

SAMS Programme Guidance Manual (PGM)

Indicator description on VAM Resource Centre

For SAMS AIM tool please refer to these links: Full survey, Survey preview and Process Monitoring Data Collection Tools and Resources of the VAM Resource Centre.

For any further information, please contact HQ.SAMS@wfp.org.