Reducing Paddy Post Harvest Losses

Postharvest  lossess  (PHL)  of  paddy  can  be defined  as  losses  that  occur  due  to  spills, human negligence and incompetence during the postharvest handling operations, inefficient processing system  that  results  in  broken  rice  and  improper storage  resulting  in  unpleasant  odours,  discolouration and insect attacks. Postharvest losses of paddy can be measured quantitatively and qualitatively. Reduction in PHL  of  paddy  is  necessary  to  increase  Malaysia’s  rice self-sufficiency level (SSL). Currently,  the  SSL  of  rice  is  71.5%,  while  the  rest is  imported.  In  1985,  Malaysia  produced  about  1.95 million metric tonnes of paddy with PHL of about 28.5% which was estimated at 557,000 metric tonnes resulting in a revenue loss of RM276 million based on the paddy price at RM496 per metric tonne. The high amount of losses prompted MARDI to conduct a study to determine the causes of PHL and proposed solutions to reduce it.

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