RESEARCH ARTICLE IDENTIFICATION OF MAJOR CAUSES OF POSTHARVEST LOSSES AMONG SELECTED FRUITS IN JIMMA ZONE FOR PROFFERING VERITABLE SOLUTIONS *Adugna Debela, Gerba Daba, Diriba Bane and Kassaye Tolessa Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Department of Horticulture and Plant Sciences, P. O. Box, 307, Jimma, Ethiopia ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Horticultural crops are known for their high return per unit time and area. How ever, a significant proportion of postharvest loss of these produces is experienced in Ethiopia. This postharvest loss contributes to the reduction of profit from the produce and leads to food insecurity. This survey investigation and laboratory analysis was therefore conducted to study the causes and magnitude of post harvest loss of selected fruits in three different towns of Jimma Zone, South western Ethiopia from November 2010 to March 2011. The survey method was explored using carefully designed semi-structured questionnaire reflecting the proposed scope of study among producers, wholesalers and retailers of fruits in the fruit market chain. The chemical analysis was determined using the standard procedures in Postharvest laboratory of Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. The result indicated that there were greater postharvest losses of mango (35.5%) and banana (40.0%) especially in Jimma town than in Agaro and Seka Chekorsa. These postharvest losses were mainly attributed to poor handling during transportation and the use of poor marketing structures to sell their fruits. To reduce the losses of these fruits, it calls for a close integration of the beneficiaries along the value chain and a public awareness campaigns to increase their experience of using appropriate packing materials. ©Copy Right, IJCR, 2011, Academic Journals. All rights reserved INTRODUCTION Losses of horticultural produce are a major problem in the postharvest chain. They can be caused by a wide variety of factors, ranging from growing conditions to handling at retail level. Not only are losses clearly a waste of food, but they also represent a similar waste of human effort, farm inputs, livelihoods, investments and scarce resources such as water (Adeoye et al., 2009). Post-harvest losses for horticultural produce are, however, difficult to measure. In some cases everything harvested by a farmer may end up being sold to consumers. In others, losses or waste may be considerable. Occasionally, losses may be 100%, for example when there is a price collapse and it would cost the farmer more to harvest and market the produce than to plough it back into the ground (Wikipedia, 2010). A significant proportion of post harvest loss of agricultural produce is experienced in Ethiopia, most especially in perishable horticultural commodities like fruits (mango, banana, papaya, avocado, sweet orange etc.) and vegetables. Various efforts had been implemented by policy planers in insuring food security in the country over the years with emphasis mostly on production techniques, crop improvement through breeding efforts, intensive arable land utilization, extension efforts and effective marketing strategies (Getachew, 2004). Even though horticultural crops are known *Corresponding author: adugna_debela@yahoo.com for their high return per unit time and area which is one major tool to achieve food security in the country, post harvest behavior and post harvest management of horticultural produce have not been given sufficient attention over the years, most especially perishable horticultural produce, due partly to the dearth of studies on the magnitude of losses attributable to post harvest technology occupying a significant position along the food value chain within the context of market driven industry and industry benchmark. As a result of less attention given to this sector, a significant proportion of postharvest loss of agricultural produce is experienced in Ethiopia, most especially in perishable horticultural commodities like fruits and vegetables accounting as high as 30 to 40% loss (Admasu, 2004). Among fruits grown in Ethiopia this paper is concerned with some of major fruits such as mango, avocado, papaya, banana and sweet oranges. It is common to any body to observe the post harvest loss of these major fruits from production area till the last consumers’ level which contributes to the reduction of profit from the produce and leads to food insecurity. It is with this view in mind that this survey investigation and laboratory analysis had been conducted to study the causes and magnitude of post harvest loss and the underlying principles towards proffering a veritable solution to the problem of post harvest losses of mango, avocado, papaya, banana and sweet orange in Jimma, Agaro, and Seka Chekorsa town, South western Ethiopia. ISSN: 0975-833X Available online at http://www.journalcra.com International Journal of Current Research Vol. 3, Issue, 11, pp.040-043, November, 2011 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT RESEARCH Article History: Received 28 th August, 2011 Received in revised form 19 th September, 2011 Accepted 28 th October, 2011 Published online 20 th November, 2011 Key words: Banana, Jimma, Mango, Postharvest loss, Total Soluble Solid.