An assessment of causes of post-harvest losses during drying of rice amongst the smallholder rice farmers in Kibuku district of Uganda

Abstract

Rice (oryza sativa) is one of the emerging crops in Uganda that play an important role both as a food crop and cash crop. Many farmers in Kibuku district participate in rice growing. However, less has been documented on the causes of post- harvest losses during rice drying amongst the small holder rice farmers of Nabiswa sub-county, Kibuku district. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the factors affecting rice drying harvesting, to identify the causes of post-harvest losses during rice drying amongst the smallholder rice farmers of Nabiswa sub-county, Kibuku districts. The study was carried out in Nampiido parish since it is well known for rice growing. Three villages of Bwibere, Nankabala and Nampiido were selected purposively for the study. A total of 22 respondents were randomly selected from the first two villages of Bwibere, Nankabala and then the 21 respondents were finally randomly selected from Nampiido village making up a total sample size of 65 respondents. The study used across sectional research design where both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Data was collected using an open ended questionnaire. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social scientists where descriptive statistics were used for easy interpretation. The study revealed that the major factors affecting rice drying were initial moisture content and size of the grain. The study also revealed that the major causes of post-harvest losses during rice drying include economic and environmental causes. The study recommends that farmers should stop drying rice from bare grounds because this will improve on the quality of the rice. Farmers should form cooperative groups in order to invest in the purchase of tarpaulins and mechanical dryers. The farmers should buy moisture meters in order to establish the right moisture content during rice drying.