Post-harvest losses of banana affect the economic wellbeing of farmers in Africa especially in Boyo Division in the North West region of Cameroon where majority of the producers are smallholders’ farmers. The study analysed post-harvest losses of banana and its effect on the economic wellbeing of farmers in Boyo Division. Three hundred and eighty respondents were selected from three out of four sub-divisions in Boyo Division using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data was obtained from the respondents with the aid of questionnaire and focus group discussions. The data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that 61,055 bunches of banana were harvested, 21,107 bunches sold, 16,751 bunches used by farmers’ households while 23,197 bunches were lost at post-harvest stages in 2019/2020. This quantity lost was suffered at the farm level, transportation, storage, ripening, processing and sale stages with most losses (11-20) suffered at the farm level. The study further revealed that farmers expected an estimated net amount of 10,570,036 FCFA while an estimated net amount of 2,213,759 FCFA was achieved with post-harvest losses. The study therefore, concludes that post–harvest losses of banana have a positive correlation on farmers’ economic wellbeing and recommends sensitization and training of farmers on post-harvest management techniques.

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Musa spp. generally known as bananas and plantains are staples to many in Africa. However, pre-harvest losses of these crops for the past two decades are alarming. The paper reveals that pre-harvest losses of bananas and plantains since 2002 ranges from 20.7-100% in Sub-Sahara Africa with most countries recording 50% losses and above. The paper further categorised the causes of pre-harvest losses of Musa spp. into natural, agronomic, biotic and human-induced constraints. Among these categories, human-induced constraints are seen to cause the highest pre-harvest losses as they influence the occurrence of other constraints. Some of the primary natural and agronomic constraints are storm, drought, and irregular/mixed cropping and over dependent on sward suckers and rainfall respectively. Fusarium wilt, Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW), banana bunchy top disease, black sigatoka and cigar-end rot are some of the biotic constraints reported in most producing countries in the region. Pests such as banana weevils, nematodes, mealy-bugs and white grubs are equally identified as potential causes of Musa pre-harvest losses while some human-induced constraints are farmer-grazier conflicts, weak extension system and poor inputs. The paper revealed that in Rwanda, pre-harvest losses of bananas led to an increase (14-64%) of the number of households who were unable to eat their preferred meal in all the months of the year while in Tanzania, the food situation of 53.8% of the households were reported to be very bad. Meanwhile in Cameroon, insufficient food was reported in 81% of the producing households in Boyo Division. It is therefore, concluded that in order to minimise pre-harvest losses and enhance the food security status of the producers and consumers in the region, proper propping, pruning, crop rotation and above all integrated pest and disease management techniques should be practiced while Musa research centres should be decentralising, extension delivery systems revisited and disease-free planting materials provided to the farmers.

Aims: The study determined the effect of post-harvest losses of yam on the socio-economic sustenance of farmers in Nasarawa State Nigeria. It also described the socio-economic status of farmers; determined the average quantities of yam lost for the years in review (2014-2018). Study Design: The study employed the use of cross sectional design. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Nasarawa state, Nigeria between October 2019 to June 2020. Methodology: Using the multistage sampling technique, data for the study were collected from a sample of three hundred and eighty seven (387) respondents. Results: That majority of the respondents (322) 83%, were male, and within the age range of 31-40 years 158(41%) followed by the age bracket of 41-50: 97(25%); 323(84%) of the respondents were married with average household size of 8.0 persons per household while 87% of the respondents have had one form of formal education or the other. The Ordinary Least Square result of the effect of postharvest losses on the socioeconomic sustenance of the respondents revealed that the coefficient of simple determination (r2) was 0.850which implies that 85.00% of the variations in the socioeconomic sustenance of the respondents was explained by the independent variable included in the model (post-harvest losses) while 15.00% unexplained was due to error. F-prob. value of 0.0000 was observed from the analysis which is less than 0.05, indicating that the variables included in the estimated regression model were correct and significant at 1% significant level. The coefficient of post-harvest losses with the value of (-4.327) was statistically significant and negatively related to the socioeconomic sustenance of the respondents at 1 percent. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is a relationship between the post-harvest losses and socioeconomic sustenance of farmers. Therefore, the relevant government and agricultural agencies, Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs) as well as individuals need to strengthen their effort toward reducing post-harvest losses of yam by educating through demonstration and encouraging farmer to use modern technologies and materials in yam storage.

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