Post-Harvest Handling Decisions Among Smallholder Leafy Vegetable Farmers in Kuje Area Council, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the nutritional and economic significance of leafy vegetables to smallholder livelihoods, empirical evidence gap exists on the specific post-harvest handling decisions made by leafy vegetable farmers in Nigeria and thus requires adequate attention. This study examined post-harvest handling decisions among smallholder leafy vegetable farmers in Kuje Area Council, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria. Using a multi-stage sampling procedure, primary data were obtained from 132 sampled farmers and analysed with descriptive statistics and a multinomial logit (MNL) regression model. Results indicated that majority (52.3%) of farmers reported immediate selling after harvest, followed by cold-room storage before selling (22.7%), packaging before selling (16.7%), and processing or value addition (8.3%). Parameters such as age (β = −0.036; −0.111), household size (β = −0.115), personal income (β = 3.58×10⁻⁷; 5.98×10⁻⁷), training in post-harvest techniques (β = 1.350; 2.288), access to credit (β = −0.210; −1.464), and participation in publicly funded agricultural projects (β = 1.592) were the key determinants of post-harvest decision choice of the sampled farmers. Likewise, factors such as farmer risk aversion (mean = 3.18), inadequate supporting infrastructure (mean = 3.06), and the absence of a coherent post-harvest policy framework (mean = 3.04) were the most binding constraints affecting post-harvest decision of the farmers. The study concludes that targeted extension training, improved access to credit, and community-level cold-chain investment for perishable vegetables are necessary to enhance post-harvest decision-making capacity of smallholder leafy vegetable farmers in Nigeria.