| dc.description.abstract | Coffee is one of the most important cash crops grown across the world and is a major source of export earnings and farmers are motivated to grow more coffee due to increasing demand globally. Roughly a third of the global annual food production that is 1.3 billion tons are lost or wasted but the quality of coffee is affected by a series of the pre-harvest and post-harvest factors which normally affect its production. About 60% of the coffee quality is lost due to the post-harvest processing activities which include pulping, processing, drying, hulling, cleaning, sorting, grading, storage, roasting, grinding, and cupping. The data was collected from Luweero district using a standard survey questionnaire and a sample size of 60 coffee farmers was interviewed. A cross-sectional research design was implemented to collect primary data which was then analyzed using the STATA software. According to the descriptive analysis, majority of the coffee farmers who participated in coffee production were males with an average age of 38 years and spent an average of 6 years in coffee growing. 50% of the coffee farmers were married, 57% were members of the farmer group and primary decision makers. Majority of the coffee farmers in Luweero district had secondary level of education at 47%, followed by primary level at 33% while 48% of the coffee farmers did casual labor as their secondary occupation and mostly employed hired labor on the coffee plantations who were involved in post-harvest handling practices.
Based on the research findings, most farmers planted Robusta coffee, used the stripping method of harvesting and mainly harvested fresh red berries was more perishable therefore prone to pests and insects attacks causing deterioration. Farmers who never dried their harvested coffee thoroughly were significantly more prone to post-harvest losses as a result of high contamination. The results of also indicated that farmers who processed and packed the coffee using polythene bags significantly had a decrease in the quantity of lost at 5% level significance due to the increased shelf life. The results of the study also revealed that an increase in the distance to the market significantly increased the total coffee lost during transportation. Farmers who stored coffee in the store with grains for more than six months and due to the warm and humid environments which stimulated the growth of molds and pathogens hence decreased the coffee quality distinctively. | en_US |
