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sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Determinants of apple post harvest losses in Paktia, Afghanistan

Auteur : Amanullah, Amin

Université de soutenance : Universiti Putra

Grade : Master of Science (MS) 2020

Résumé partiel
Apples are an important fruit and ranked third after grapes and almond in Afghanistan. Afghan apples are among the crunchiest, sweetest, and largest in the region. Losses in agriculture sector in Paktia province are largely due to the extremely perishable quality of the produce and poor management of post-harvest activities. This calls for a wellorganized post-harvest management on the part of farmers supported by strong infrastructure facilities for proper production activities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to survey the post-harvest losses of apples in Paktia, Afghanistan. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the post-harvest activities, losses and constraints among apple growers, to explore the association between socio-demographic and postharvest losses, to identify the factors affecting post-harvest losses among apple growers and to determine the most influential factors that affect the post-harvest losses of apples. A quantitative research design was chosen for this study. The three districts, namely Gardiz, Saidkaram and Ahmad Aba, were selected purposively as they represent the top three apple producing districts of Paktia province. A registered list of apples growers and villages were obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock of Paktia province where 26 villages were chosen out of 52 villages. From 52 villages, a total of 923 apples growers were identified and 279 apples growers were then selected from 26 villages based on systematic random sampling technique. Primary data were collected using designed questionnaires via face-to-face structured interviews. Data collected were then analyzed using descriptive analysis, chi-square analysis, factor analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The finding of descriptive analysis showed that among all the post-harvest activities based on the percentage ranking, all apples growers (100%) were involved in the marketing of apples that were in search of direct or indirect channels to sell their products in order to reduce the losses. Meanwhile, total postharvest losses of apples during all post-harvest activities were estimated around 34.92%. Storage was the major losses factor for apple growers that they lose 8.91% produce. Accordingly, the major constraint of production was spurious pesticide and fungicide (96.7%), while the major marketing constraints was lack of standard storage or cold storage (98.5%) and finally, unstable political relations with neighboring countries (100%) was the main constraint of policy.

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