An Assessment of Economic Values and Factors Affecting

Food Loss and Waste (FLW) along value chains of fruits and vegetables in developing countries often reach 30-40%, with tomatoes being particularly vulnerable due to their perishability. Despite the economic significance of FLW in Sri Lanka, research quantifying these losses, and their determinants remain limited. This study aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed assessment of FLW and their determinants along selected tomato value chains in Badulla district of Sri Lanka. The novelty of this research lies in its comprehensive evaluation of FLW across various stages of the value chain—farmers, collectors, transporters, wholesalers, and retailers—and its identification of key determinants of these losses. A primary survey among farmers, collector, transporters, wholesalers and retailers was conducted in 2020 to gather the needed data. Snowball sampling technique was employed and 25 actors from each category were chosen. The findings reveal a total post-harvest loss of 27% along the tomato value chain, with the highest losses occurring at the transport and collector stages. The economic losses incurred by farmers, collectors, transporters, wholesalers, and retailers were LKR 0.80, 5.04, 5.85, 4.90 and 3.40 per kg respectively resulting a total economic loss of LKR 19.99 per kg along a typical value chain examined in this study. Packaging medium is a critical factor affecting the losses across all stages of the value chain and the FLW are significantly lower among the user of plastic crates compared to those who use wooden boxes. Additionally, gender of the value chain actor and number of harvesting rounds (at farmer level), transport distance and selling price (at the collector and transporter level), and the years of experience (at the wholesaler stage) have significant effects on FLW. These results suggest investments in transport and storage infrastructure, training in best practices, and fostering quality contingent contractual agreements as potential interventions to reduce FLW.