Grain Moisture Meter

Food losses are problematic for numerous reasons, both from the perspective of food security and environmental wellbeing. In developed countries, food losses are most often the result of food waste- disposal of viable food products- and in developing countries, losses are more commonly the result of post harvest losses or in-field losses (Aulakh & Regmi, 2013). Figure 1 outlines some of the common sources of post-harvest losses in agriculture. This paper will focus primarily on storage based losses relating to moisture content.

 

In terms environmental concerns arising from this, it is estimated that 6-10% of human greenhouse gas emissions is the result of food waste (Aulakh & Regmi, 2013). This is largely caused by the decomposition of this organic material in landfills, which releases methane into the atmosphere (Aulakh & Regmi, 2013). Another concern associated with food losses is the wastage of land, and water resources. One estimate suggests that 1.47-1.96 Gha of arable land is wasted, as well as 0.75-1.25 trillion cubic meters of water, and 30-50% of all food produced (Aulakh & Regmi, 2013). All in all, as land and water are finite resources and food security is a pressing issue worldwide. Therefore, steps need to be taken to reduce these losses as it is beneficial from both an environmental and humanitarian perspective.