Post-Harvest Loss Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Post-Harvest Managers, Agribusiness Operations Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-AA-075

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with agricultural value chains, crop production, food distribution, warehousing or supply-chain operations.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Post-harvest losses reduce farmer income, strain food-security programmes, weaken buyer confidence and waste land, water, labour and energy. Damage, moisture, pests, poor hygiene, delayed cooling, unsuitable packaging and weak handling controls can each turn marketable crops into rejects. Managers need to identify where losses occur, quantify their cost and select controls that fit the commodity, climate, infrastructure and market channel.

This course examines the technical, operational and commercial causes of loss from harvest through storage, transport, processing and sale. Participants learn to measure physical, quality, economic and nutritional losses; assess maturity and harvesting practices; manage drying, moisture and storage; protect fresh produce through packhouse and cold-chain controls; and apply food safety, pest management and traceability requirements. The course also covers packaging, logistics, loss valuation, root-cause analysis, intervention appraisal and performance monitoring.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with commodity cases, group diagnostics, process-mapping work, loss-calculation tasks and operational simulations. Cases may reflect grain aggregation centres, horticulture packhouses, warehouse operations, humanitarian food supply chains and institutional procurement. Participants leave with a practical post-harvest loss reduction package containing a loss audit template, commodity control plan, risk register, monitoring dashboard and phased implementation roadmap.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for production, aggregation, warehousing, quality assurance, supply chains, food-security programmes and agricultural extension. It is relevant to commercial agribusinesses, cooperatives, NGOs, government agencies, development projects and buyers managing agricultural supply networks.

What you will be able to do

  • Measure post-harvest losses using commodity flow maps, sampling plans and loss accounting boundaries
  • Diagnose deterioration causes using crop physiology, process mapping and root-cause analysis
  • Set harvesting, drying, storage and cold-chain controls for priority commodities
  • Apply HACCP, Codex hygiene controls and integrated pest management in post-harvest facilities
  • Specify packaging, handling, transport and receiving controls that reduce physical damage
  • Evaluate loss-reduction investments using gross-margin, cost-benefit and break-even analysis
  • Build loss audit dashboards using indicators, control charts and corrective-action records
  • Develop a phased post-harvest loss reduction implementation plan with accountable owners

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Ability to identify loss hotspots before they become recurring financial losses
  • Practical confidence using moisture, temperature, rejection and spoilage data
  • Stronger capability to prepare evidence-based storage and cold-chain improvement proposals
  • Working knowledge of HACCP and Codex controls for post-harvest operations
  • A reusable implementation plan for improving a current commodity supply chain

For your organisation

  • Lower physical and quality losses during harvesting, storage, transport and receiving
  • Fewer buyer rejections, claims and avoidable product write-offs
  • Better protection of food safety, traceability and contractual quality requirements
  • Clearer investment decisions for drying, storage, cooling and packaging improvements
  • Consistent loss data for management review, donor reporting and supplier improvement

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define, measure and map post-harvest losses across a commodity flow.

  • Definitions of food loss and waste using FLW accounting boundaries
  • Weight, volume, value and nutrient loss measurement bases
  • Commodity flow mapping from harvest through retail or institutional distribution
  • Direct, quality, economic and nutritional losses distinguished at each stage
  • Sampling plans for estimating losses without disrupting routine operations
  • Baseline loss statement with assumptions, units and seasonal variation

Participants can identify harvest-stage causes of deterioration and set practical quality controls.

  • Maturity indices based on dry matter, colour, firmness and moisture
  • Harvest timing matched to crop physiology, weather and market destination
  • Field heat, respiration, transpiration and ethylene as deterioration mechanisms
  • Mechanical injury pathways from tools, containers, drops and compression
  • Harvest crew hygiene, sanitation and worker safety control points
  • Lot identification and traceability records initiated at harvest

Participants can set drying and storage controls that protect grains and pulses from spoilage.

  • Moisture-content targets determined by commodity, storage duration and climate
  • Drying curves, equilibrium moisture content and safe drying rates
  • Tarpaulin, raised-platform and mechanical drying methods compared for local conditions
  • Moisture meters, calibration checks and representative grain sampling
  • Storage losses from mould, insects, rodents and condensation
  • First-in-first-out rotation rules and aeration management procedures for stored grain

Participants can design packhouse and cold-chain controls for perishable horticultural commodities.

  • Cold-chain temperature specifications matched to commodity chilling sensitivity
  • Pre-cooling selection: forced-air, hydro-cooling, vacuum and room cooling
  • Packhouse flow separates clean, dirty, damaged and marketable produce
  • Relative humidity management limits wilting, shrivel and weight loss
  • Modified-atmosphere packaging matched to respiration rate and transport time
  • Cold-room temperature mapping identifies warm zones and loading constraints

Participants can manage pest, hygiene and food safety risks in post-harvest operations.

  • Integrated pest management combines sanitation, exclusion, monitoring and treatment
  • Fumigation decision controls, exposure records and applicator safety requirements
  • HACCP hazard analysis identifies biological, chemical and physical hazards
  • Codex CXC 1-1969 hygiene controls for post-harvest facilities
  • FMEA ranks failure modes by severity, occurrence and detectability
  • Corrective-action records link nonconformities, root causes, owners and deadlines

Participants can reduce handling and transport losses through suitable packaging and logistics controls.

  • Packaging selection balances protection, ventilation, stacking strength and cost
  • Pallet patterns, unit loads and load restraint prevent compression damage
  • Transport scheduling reduces dwell time, heat exposure and repeated handling
  • Receiving inspection uses acceptance criteria, sampling and exception reports
  • Third-party logistics agreements define temperature, hygiene and claims responsibilities
  • Returns, rejection and recall procedures preserve traceability and evidence

Participants can value losses and assess the financial case for reduction interventions.

  • Loss valuation separates physical quantity, market value and nutritional value
  • Gross-margin analysis compares intervention costs against recoverable product value
  • Cost-benefit analysis incorporates energy, maintenance, finance and spoilage assumptions
  • Break-even volumes test cold storage, drying and packaging investments
  • Market specifications determine grades, tolerances, prices and rejection risks
  • Contract incentives align growers, aggregators, transporters and buyers

Participants can conduct a loss audit and prioritise action using operational evidence.

  • Loss audit scope defines commodities, sites, seasons, stages and indicators
  • Pareto analysis identifies loss points warranting immediate management attention
  • Five Whys and fishbone diagrams trace recurrent deterioration causes
  • Control charts distinguish normal process variation from special causes
  • Risk matrix prioritises interventions by likelihood, impact and controllability
  • Dashboard indicators track losses, temperatures, moisture, rejects and corrective actions

Participants can specify, test and assign ownership for loss-reduction interventions.

  • Standard operating procedures specify limits, checks, records and escalation
  • Intervention selection compares infrastructure, process, training and supplier-control options
  • Pilot protocols set baselines, comparison groups, duration and decision criteria
  • RACI matrices assign ownership for harvesting, drying, storage and dispatch
  • Procurement specifications define equipment performance, warranties and service support
  • Training plans address worker practices, supervisor checks and refresher intervals

Participants can prepare a monitored implementation plan for sustained loss reduction.

  • Implementation roadmaps sequence quick wins, pilots, investments and review dates
  • SMART targets define loss reductions, quality thresholds and accountable owners
  • Monitoring plans specify data sources, frequencies, thresholds and reporting routes
  • Management review meetings assess trends, corrective actions and resource needs
  • Donor and buyer reporting links outcomes to verified loss data
  • Personal application plan commits first actions, stakeholders and evidence requirements

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Post-harvest loss audit template
  2. Commodity flow and loss map
  3. Drying, storage and cold-chain control checklist
  4. HACCP and pest-risk register
  5. Loss-reduction cost-benefit model
  6. Phased implementation and monitoring plan

Who should attend

  • Post-Harvest Managers — responsible for controlling losses between farm gate and market
  • Agribusiness Operations Managers — need practical controls for aggregation, storage and dispatch
  • Warehouse and Logistics Managers — manage commodity condition, handling and transport risks
  • Quality Assurance Officers — require methods for hygiene, traceability and rejection prevention
  • Agricultural Extension Officers — advise producers and cooperatives on loss-reduction practices
  • Food Security Programme Managers — need verifiable loss indicators for project delivery and reporting

Skills and tools covered

Loss measurementStorage managementCold-chain controlFood safety assuranceRoot-cause analysisIntervention appraisal

Tools and standards

HACCP, Codex CXC 1-1969, FMEA, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by commodity-specific cases, process mapping, loss calculations, group diagnostics and operational decision simulations. Participants work with examples from grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables and managed food supply chains. Sessions examine realistic records such as moisture readings, temperature logs, rejection reports, warehouse inspections and transport incidents. Facilitated discussion links each method to participants’ own commodities and operating constraints. The final sessions convert findings into a prioritised action plan with measures, owners, timeframes and review points.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with agricultural value chains, crop production, food distribution, warehousing or supply-chain operations. At least one year of work exposure in agriculture, agribusiness, food security, logistics, quality assurance or extension services is helpful. Participants should be comfortable reading simple operational data, such as quantities, prices, temperatures and moisture readings. No engineering qualification, laboratory background, advanced statistics knowledge or prior HACCP certification is required. The course explains technical terms before applying them to operational decisions.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic agricultural production, food supply chains, storage, logistics or quality operations. The course does not require an engineering degree, laboratory training or prior food safety certification.

Bring details of a commodity, facility or supply-chain problem you would like to improve, if available. Useful materials include loss records, moisture or temperature logs, buyer specifications, rejection reports and current operating procedures.

It is designed for professionals managing post-harvest operations, warehouses, quality systems, agricultural extension, procurement or food-security programmes. It also suits managers responsible for supplier performance and agricultural logistics.

Crop production courses focus primarily on growing practices before harvest, while food safety courses may focus on regulatory hygiene systems. This course connects harvest quality, drying, storage, cold-chain control, packaging, logistics, loss economics and operational improvement.

Participants can begin with a loss audit, map their commodity flow and identify the highest-cost loss points. They can then apply the provided checklists, monitoring indicators and implementation plan to assign controls and track results.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided across ten modules covering measurement, technical controls, food safety, logistics, economics, diagnostics and implementation planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

More courses in Agriculture & Agribusiness

Agriculture & Agribusiness Mini MBA in Agribusiness Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness Mushroom Farming Enterprise Development Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness NVivo Data Analysis for Agriculture Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness Organic Farming and Agribusiness Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness Poultry Farming for Food Security Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness Poultry Production Management Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness Precision Agriculture and Remote Sensing Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Agriculture & Agribusiness Precision Agriculture with Drones and IoT Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov