REDUCING ON-FARM POSTHARVEST LOSSES IN PUERTO RICO THROUGH LOW-COST HANDLING INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE FARM PROFITABILITY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Commodities

Practices

This project aims to quantify and reduce farm-level postharvest losses in Puerto Rico's fresh vegetable systems through practical, low-cost handling interventions. Although Puerto Rico continues to emphasize local food production, harvested vegetables can lose marketable value before reaching consumers due to heat exposure, dehydration, mechanical injury, inadequate temporary storage, and limited cooling infrastructure. Preliminary survey responses from 24 active Puerto Rican farmers indicate that 70.8% lack refrigeration facilities, 54.2% lack a designated packing area, and 37.5% lack a storage area, suggesting that postharvest constraints are a practical barrier for many producers.

The study will be implemented as a two-phase field assessment across 12 cooperating farms producing high-value vegetables such as tomato, sweet pepper, and lettuce. In Year 1, standardized monitoring across multiple harvest cycles will quantify baseline losses from harvest through market preparation and identify the stages contributing the greatest physical and quality-related losses. In Year 2, farms will test three low-cost practices: portable field shade during harvest and holding, rigid harvest crates to reduce compression and abrasion damage, and simple evaporative cooling approaches where feasible.

Expected outcomes include changes in loss percentage, quality grade, handling time, temperature and relative humidity conditions, and net revenue. Results will be evaluated using before-after comparisons, mixed-effects models, and partial budget analysis. Findings will be shared through on-farm demonstrations and Spanish-language technical materials. By improving marketable yield, farm profitability, resource-use efficiency, and producer adoption, this project directly advances sustainable agriculture in Puerto Rico.

• Quantify baseline farm-level postharvest losses in selected high-value vegetables on 12 cooperating farms in western and southern Puerto Rico by measuring harvested, marketable, downgraded, and rejected product weight across repeated harvest events.
• Identify critical loss points and primary causes of deterioration from harvest through market preparation, including heat exposure, handling time, container type, mechanical injury, dehydration, decay, pest-related damage, and quality downgrading.
• Evaluate low-cost handling practices portable field shade, rigid harvest crates, and simple evaporative cooling where feasible using a before-after design to estimate changes in loss percentage and product quality.
• Estimate the economic value of loss reduction through partial budget and return-on-investment analysis comparing intervention costs with the value of additional marketable product.
• Deliver practical recommendations to producers through an on-farm demonstration and Spanish-language technical materials that summarize effective practices and expected economic benefits.