The Agriculture–Nutrition–Income Nexus in Tonga: Is Postharvest Loss Undermining Horticulture Market Efficiency in Tonga?

Steven Underhill; Soane Patolo; Yuchan Zhou; Sarah Burkhart

doi:10.3390/horticulturae6040061

Back

The Agriculture–Nutrition–Income Nexus in Tonga: Is Postharvest Loss Undermining Horticulture Market Efficiency in Tonga?

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The Agriculture–Nutrition–Income Nexus in Tonga: Is Postharvest Loss Undermining Horticulture Market Efficiency in Tonga?

Steven Underhill, Soane Patolo, Yuchan Zhou and Sarah Burkhart

Horticulturae, Vol.6(4), pp.1-17

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6040061

Files and links (2)

pdf

The Agriculture–Nutrition–Income Nexus in Tonga_ Is Postharvest Loss Undermining Horticulture Market Efficiency in Tonga1,020.54 kBDownload View

Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access

url

https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6040061View

Published Version Open

Abstract

pacific

agriculture

food security

non-communicable diseases

The Kingdom of Tonga has one of the highest rates of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the world. Initiatives to promote pro-health dietary behaviour are possibly being compromised by poor or inconsistent consumer accessibility to affordable and safe fresh fruits and vegetables, referred to as the agriculture–nutrition–income nexus. While donors increasingly focus on nutrition-sensitive agriculture across the Pacific, there is little contemporary information concerning Tonga's domestic horticultural distribution and market system, particularly in regards to food loss. This study surveyed 292 municipal and roadside vendors on Tongatapu and 'Utu Vava'u Islands, with the aim of mapping and analyzing horticultural markets and farm supply, transport logistics, and quantifying postharvest practice and market loss. Tonga's domestic horticultural market structure consists of a central municipal market and on Tongatapu Island, a supplementary network of urban and rural based roadside vendors. There is limited inter-island trade, with most farms located within 25 km of the central municipal market. Mean postharvest horticultural loss was very low, at 1.4% to 5.3%, with roadside vendors more vulnerable to loss. This level of loss was thought to reflect short intra-island transport distance, the type of crops being traded, and rapid market throughput, rather than a level of value chain efficiency. Vendors regulated market supply volume and price discounting and were the principal strategies to mitigate postharvest loss. While low levels of postharvest loss, short transport logistics, and fast market throughput are consistent with a relatively efficient horticulture market system, vendor practice may be impeding fresh fruit and vegetable accessibility.

Details

Title: The Agriculture–Nutrition–Income Nexus in Tonga: Is Postharvest Loss Undermining Horticulture Market Efficiency in Tonga?
Authors: Steven Underhill (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
Soane Patolo (Author) - MORDI Tonga Trust
Yuchan Zhou (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
Sarah Burkhart (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy
Additional notes: This article has been selected as an Editor's Choice Article.
Publication details: Horticulturae, Vol.6(4), pp.1-17
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2020
DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae6040061
ISSN: 2311-7524
Copyright note: Copyright © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Organisation Unit: Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health - Nutrition & Dietetics; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99482208802621
Output Type: Journal article