The harvesting practices, knowledge and post-harvest losses of fruits along the supply chain in Bagamoyo District
were investigated. 142 farmers, 50 retailers and 10 wholesalers dealing with fruits were involved in the study.
Data were collected using structured questionnaires. The results indicate that, 90.14% of the respondents
harvested fruits when they are just ripe and the great market losses were reported to occur due to rotting
(microbial) at 63%, physiological at 20% and 17% by insects and rodents. Along the supply chain, mechanical
damage was observed to be the major type of loss during harvesting (79%) and transportation (56%) while
microbial damage was observed by majority (67%) during marketing. Poor infrastructure from farm to the market
was observed to account for large percentage of losses in the market. The findings also shows that all farmers
(100%) interviewed have no knowledge on post-harvest losses and management. In the view of the findings, it can
be concluded that, post-harvest handling practices and knowledge of stakeholders involved in fruit sub sector in
the country are not good enough to prevent the losses. It is therefore imperative to improve educational knowledge,
skills and fruits quality from the field to reduce post-harvest losses.