Comparative analysis of post-harvest losses in Brazilian and North American agriculture

• Grant number: 16/10986-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: December 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Rural Extension
• Principal Investigator: José Vicente Caixeta Filho
• Grantee: José Vicente Caixeta Filho
• Host Investigator: Udatta S. Palekar
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States

Abstract

Several international studies indicate that global food production will need to increase about 70% to be able to feed the population by 2050. Facing limited natural resources such as arable land, water, energy and raw materials, there may be a number of difficulties for food production to attend this demand. In this scenario, the increase in agricultural productivity has been a continuous search to respond to the growing demand for food and to ensure food security of society. In Brazil, high productivity levels achieved in recent decades show the success and the active role of production "inside the gate", becoming an extremely competitive and important country on the world. On the other side, this competitiveness is being lost along the various stages of post-harvest, mainly due to logistical bottlenecks. In the case for food security, one can induce to an increase in food production or, alternatively, to avoid losses along the supply chain. In this context, this research proposal aims at the information system of post-harvest losses for the development of the agricultural sector in Brazilian São Paulo State, with indicators of post-harvest losses and mitigation strategies to the reality of the North American agriculture, in order to bring comparable indicators and benchmarking for the Brazilian situation on an online platform with free access. (AU)