Postharvest losses (PHL) result in direct food and income losses to farmers and consumers globally. PHL reduction strategies offer unique opportunities to contribute to sustainable food systems for increased food security and farm incomes for more than 200 million food insecure people in sub-Saharan Africa. Lack of empirical information remains a major challenge to operationalization of PHL reduction strategies in many countries of the region. This paper utilizes cross-sectional data to determine the extent and factors that are influencing postharvest losses in the cooking-banana value chain in Uganda. We find that 14.9% of all the cooking bananas that are produced in Uganda suffer postharvest deterioration along the value chain (7.2% of the bananas deteriorate completely and have no residual value, while 7.7% deteriorate partially and are sold at discounted prices), mostly affecting retailers. At farm level, female headed households experience more losses than those headed by males. Household headship, household size, proportion of land allocated to banana production, and monthly banana production are the principal determinants of PHL at farm level. At retail level, such losses are mainly determined by sex of the vendor and group membership. The findings call for comprehensive and gender-responsive PHL reduction strategies.

Fish is a major source of food and nutritional security for subsistence communities in developing countries, it also has linkages with the economic and supply-chain dimensions of these countries. Burgeoning literature has revealed the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the fisheries and aquaculture sector, which serves as the major source of income and employment for numerous people globally. This study has employed a systematic literature review of the overall impacts of COVID-19 on the fisheries and aquaculture sector in developing countries using the PRISMA approach. This study reveals that COVID-19 has posed numerous challenges to fish supply chain actors, including a shortage of inputs, a lack of technical assistance, an inability to sell the product, a lack of transportation for the fish supply, export restrictions on fish and fisheries products, and a low fish price. These challenges lead to inadequate production, unanticipated stock retention, and a loss in returns. COVID-19 has also resulted in food insecurity for many small-scale fish growers. Fish farmers are becoming less motivated to raise fish and related products as a result of these cumulative consequences. Because of COVID-19’s different restriction measures, the demand and supply sides of the fish food chain have been disrupted, resulting in reduced livelihoods and economic vulnerability. In order to assist stakeholders to cope with, adapt to, and build resilience to pandemics and other shocks, this study offers policy recommendations to address the COVID-19-induced crisis in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

This paper is an original empirical attempt to explain the outcome of collective action in the domain of food safety. We examine conditions and institutions that influence pesticide residue levels in vegetables using econometric analysis on data gathered from 60 farmer organisations in Vietnam. Findings suggest that collective action affects safety in that it provides members with technical assistance and monitoring for pest management at the farming level. They confirm the U-shape hypothesis of the effect of group size on safety performance which derives from the trade-off that exists between economies of scale and free-riding. The contribution of public authorities and ecological conditions to food safety remains controversial, while market forces do not yet seem able to drive the production of safer vegetables.