Post-harvest handling practices on Solanum aethiopicum shum (nakati) farmers’ revenue in Nangabo sub-county, Wakiso district

Abstract

Nakati farming is a predominant activity in Nangabo Sub-County. The study was aimed at determining post-harvest handling practices on solanum aethiopicum shum (Nakati) farmers’ revenue in Nangabo Sub County, Wakiso Distrtict. The study used a descriptive design in which both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. The researcher used structured questionnaires in collecting data. The study used a sample size of 70 respondents that were subjected to structured interviews in Nangabo Sub-County in Wakiso District. The study discovered that majority of the respondents (85.7%) had acquired land between 1 and 2 acres, and only 14.3% had acquired between 3 and 4 acres, 87.1% of the respondents had adopted Local refrigeration type of storage facility, 10.0% adopted Charcoal store type of storage facility and least proportion (1.4%) adopted a pot type of storage facility, Majority of the respondents’ (52.9%) Nakati had lost value between 13 and 24 hours, and the 47.1% of Nakati had lost value between 0 and 12 hours, most of the respondents (50%) had to store Nakati for protection from theft, 28.6% for easy distribution to customers and 10% for easy drying and most of the respondents (42.9%) were storing Nakati between 1 and 3 days, followed by 31.4% were storing Nakati between 4 and 5 days and only 25.7% were storing between 6 and 10 days. There is no association between packaging type and revenue from Nakati since the P-value (0.136) is greater than 5% level of significance. There exists significant relationship between revenue earned from Nakati and type of storage facility farmers used since P-value (0.000) is less than 5% level of significance. It was also observed that there are problems encountered during trading of Nakati by farmers such as price fluctuation, limited access to credit, limited market, weather variations and unreliable customers. There is also need by the government to educate small scale farmers on the benefits of proper post-harvest handling practices as an effective, efficient, sustainable means to curb the negative effects of fresh vegetables post-harvest losses.