Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION TO AB PROCESSING

Agricultural products are the largest contributor to the Philippine economy. Processing these
products requires different activities from their raw state up to a form suitable for consumption
or commercialization. Along the process of transforming agricultural products are the losses
incurred from post-harvest handling down to distribution. Reduction of these losses is one of
the most important goals of this study.

Learning objectives

After completing the chapter, you should be able to:

1. Define agricultural processing and explain its objectives

2. Enumerate the major agricultural products in the Philippines

3. Explain the scenario of Philippine agriculture

4. Estimate the losses of agricultural products

A. Agricultural Processing defined and its Objectives

Agricultural processing refers to the operations that transform raw agricultural product into
forms suitable for consumption, storage or further marketing. This process includes different
activities such as cleaning, sorting, grading, drying, milling, fermenting, canning, freezing,
packaging, and preserving agricultural product. One of the most important objectives of
agricultural processing is to extend the shelf life of agricultural produce because once
harvested they begin to deteriorate due to several factors such as microbial activity,
enzymatic reactions and physical changes. This deterioration can lead to significant losses
in both quantity and quality of the product. Other primary objectives of agricultural
processing include addition of value to the raw materials, enhancing their quality and making
them more marketable and accessible to the consumers.

B. Agricultural Products in the Philippines

The Philippines is mainly an agricultural land. Its economy is therefore driven by agriculture.
There are 4.8 million agricultural farms covering 9.7 million ha, with 2 million between
1.0 and 3.0 ha and 1.9 million under 1 ha (BAS, 2010). Figure 1.1 shows the production
volumes of agricultural commodity that contributes to the national GDP in 2012 (BAS, 2013).
Agricultural crops are the major contributors followed by livestock and fishery sectors.
Among the crops, cereals (rice and corn), major horticultural crops (abaca, rubber, coconut,
root crops, sugarcane, fruits and vegetables) accounted for the 28% and 66% of agricultural
produce, respectively, in 2012. Figure 1.2, on the other hand, shows the contribution of the
major crops by volume of production. The fishery sector is sub-divided into the community,
municipal and aquaculture commodities which contributed 28%, 33% and 38%, respectively,
for this sector. The volume of livestock production was recorded at approximately 210 million
tons with hog production being the primary contributor to the livestock sector.

.
Figure 1.1. Production volumes of agricultural commodity (million tons) in 2012
(PSA, 2015)

Figure 1.2. Major agricultural product in the Philippines

(PSA, 2015)

C. Scenario on the Losses of Some Philippine Crops

Food loss and waste are becoming a growing critical concern for Filipino farmers and
are seen to be a threat to agricultural sustainability and food security because the
Philippines is primarily an agricultural country. Depending on the crops and the geographical
location, there are diversity of reasons for food waste and loss along the whole food supply
chain starting from pre-harvest, harvesting, down to post-harvest, storage, distribution, retail
and consumption. Food waste happens at different stages of the supply chain depending on
the country. Developing countries like the Philippines, according to Gustavsson et al. (2011),
more than 40% of the food losses occur at post-harvest and processing levels, while in
industrialized countries, more than 40% of the food losses occur at retail and consumer
levels. Hence, food losses in both industrialized and developing countries are almost the
same however food wastage in the latter tends to occur higher upstream. Table 1.1 shows
the estimated postharvest losses of major food crops in the Philippines.

Food loss is mainly caused by the incapacity of small farmers to provide adequate
post-harvest handling which includes drying equipment, storage facilities, infrastructures,
cooling chains, packaging and marketing systems. These limitations, together with climatic
conditions in the country are favorable to spoilage and diseases that frequently results to
significant food losses. The agroprocessing sector also contributes to wasteful practices in
the food industry as well as the consumer’s households and catering services, restaurants,
fast food chains, and other establishments.

The food industry has tight retail standards for size and appearance. Inadequate
purchasing planning and unclear expiration date labeling encourage high food wastage. To
enhance targeted food waste reduction initiatives, it is important to understand the various
factors that contribute to food waste. The food value chain is indeed a crucial framework in
determining food losses.

Table 1.1. Estimates of agricultural food production and post-harvest losses.

The integrity of the agricultural produce is highly dependent on the technologies

being used in the preservation of the produce in order to avoid food wastage. Table 1.2
shows how some of the major crops in the Philippines yielded to the problem in postharvest
handling and some of the technologies that are being used to alleviate those challenges.
Among the agricultural crops of the country, banana, pineapple, mangoes, papayas and
citrus (calamansi) are highly regarded as economically viable in terms of the export market.
These crops are exported to countries like South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and
People’s Republic of China.

The most sustainable way to increase food production is to reduce food loss.
Agricultural crops, as mentioned earlier, are the leading contributors to Philippine economy.
Major food loss or waste in these crops as well as to staples like rice and corn will have a
significant impact on the capacity of the country to sustain its agriculture.
Table 1.2. High value crops in the Phillipines with their estimated losses, implicated causes
and post-harvest interventions.

Self- Assessment Exercise

Part I. Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

_______________1. Refers to the operations that transform raw agricultural product into
forms suitable for consumption, storage or further marketing.

_______________2. It is the major contributor of Philippine agricultural product followed by

livestock and fishery sectors.

_______________3. Among the agricultural crops, it accounted for the 28% of agricultural
produce.

_______________4. Estimated post-harvest losses of cereals (PSA 2012).

_______________5. Growing concern for Filipino farmers and are seen to be a threat to
agricultural sustainability and food security.

Part II. True or False. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if the statement is
wrong.

__________1. In industrialized countries, more than 40% of the food losses occur at retail
and consumer levels.

__________2. Food loss and waste are becoming a growing critical concern for Filipino
farmers and are seen to be a threat to agricultural sustainability and food security.

__________3. One of the most important objectives of agricultural processing is to extend

the shelf life of agricultural produce.

__________4. The volume of livestock production was recorded at approximately 210 million
tons with layering production being the primary contributor to the livestock sector.

__________5. Food loss or waste in agricultural crops will not have a significant impact on
the capacity of the country to sustain its agriculture.

Part III. Essay.

1. Food loss and waste are becoming increasingly crucial to the Filipino farmers and is
considered a threat to the sustainability of agriculture and food security. Explain the possible
reasons why there is food loss.

2. What is agricultural processing? What are the activities under it? Also explain the
objectives of agricultural processing.

References

Mopera, Lotis. (2016). Food Loss in the Food Value Chain: The Philippine
Agriculture Scenario. Journal of Developments in Sustainable Agriculture.
8-16. 10.11178/jdsa.11.8.

Gustavsson, Jenny & Cederberg, Christel & Sonesson, Ulf. (2011). Global Food Losses and
Food Waste. Save Food at Interpack Düsseldorf, Germany.