Possibilities and Implications for Reducing lossand Spoilage of the Egyptian Tomato Crop

Abstract

The agricultural sector is considered one of the most important sectors that play an important role in the national economy, and self-reliance in produc ing local needs of agricultural and food commodities is one of the main goals that all countries hope to reach, but the limited production capacity due to the limited cultivated areas is an obstacle to access. For this goal. The agricultural development policy in Egypt is based on two main pillars, namely vertical development and horizontal development, through increasing feddan productivity and expanding land reclamation. However, these policies did not con cern themselves with the problem of waste despite its significant increase in its size, but it is clearly vis ible in the developing countries to which it belongs To the Arab Republic of Egypt, as a result of the lack of technical means through which this waste can be reduced to a minimum, and this research highlights the losses that occur, and evaluates their size, and moreover, it identifies the causes of food loss and possible ways to reduce it, and the research aims Knowing the main features of tomato production, studying the loss during the production and marketing stages, and identifying the causes of loss in each stage and the size of what it represents in the productivity of the feddan. The research found that about 25% of the field study sample that the loss and damage of agricultural crops are disposed of from During the culling of the crop and throwing it into the waste, about 35% of them sell spoiled crops (losing quality), while the research found that about 20% of the field study results in converting the lost and damaged products to other products, and about 20% of the study sample show that the disposal of the lost and damaged is through its execution. The research recommended the necessity of strength ening the food supply chains in Egypt by encourag ing small farmers to organize, diversify and increase their production and market their products. In addi tion to the necessity to encourage investment in marketing infrastructure, packaging, services, trans portation and food industries, as well as increase the role of the private sector in implementing these recommendations to reduce waste, from the public and private sectors.