Rice is the most important crop in the world. Almost a half of the world population consumes it as a major source of food and carb provider.  It is the number one crop in terms of cultivated area, production, consumption, and contribution to the economy in Nepal. It contains more than 76% carbohydrates and more than 90% of energy comes from carbohydrates containing only 7-8% of protein. But the quality of protein is highest. Due to this, the demand for rice is continuously increasing. When the upper portion of the panicle is clear golden colored and the lower portion may be in hard drought, grain is full-sized and hard and the panicle bends down so we can harvest. It is important to harvest the grain at the right time. Delayed harvesting causes loss by: Shattering of grains, increased percentage of broken rice during milling, and damage caused by pests. If left too long in the field and moisture drops below 18% any incidental wetting of the grain may germinate. Early harvesting could lead to losses due to unripe harvesting and rotting of grains due to high water content.

Post-harvest loss can be defined as the degradation in both quantity and quality of food production from harvest to consumption. Yet the problem of how much food is lost after harvest to processing, spoilage, insects, and rodents, or other factors takes on greater importance as world food demand grows. About 1/3 of the food produced per year for human consumption is lost or wasted.

Post-harvest management is a system of handling, storing, and transporting agricultural commodities after harvest. The post-harvest period focuses on preserving quality and quantity and safety because it directly affects the food.  So, post-harvest management is important for paddy because it will affect the total production of rice in the country. The more the losses can be reduced the more rice can be produced without increasing the land area. The frequency of cultivation and the input supply in general.

  • Several factors that contribute to a higher post-harvest loss in the paddy industry and their management are:
  • Threshing: it can be done manually or mechanically. Delay threshing after harvesting crops causes If threshing was done on a bare floor, contamination occurs.

That’s why thresh immediately after harvesting to avoid losses. If the grains are wet, let them dry for some time before threshing, avoid threshing on the bare floor to avoid contamination. Thresh on a mat or plastic sheets. Dry threshed grains. Winnowing is also done to separate the chaff and empty grains from well-filled ones remove the immature grain.

  • Transportation: The main cause of PHL (post-harvest loss) during transportation. are imperfect and unsuitable conditions of lorries while transporting the paddy. losses occurred along the transportation chain during transportation of paddy from harvester into a lorry. Transportation from paddy field to the central collection area and transporting of paddy from collection areas to milling. In addition, proper handling practices during the transportation of paddy from fields to factories also reduced the rate of losses.
  • Drying: The losses due to delay in the drying process after harvest. The inefficiency of the pre- cleaning system and the use of improper parameters such as temperature, bed thickness, air flow. During the drying process, most losses in drying occur because of either improper use or dryer lack of maintenance and technical know-how hence resulting in uneven drying conditions and fissured grain. So, we can sun dry paddy properly to save moisture content of 12-14% by spreading it in a thin layer on a clean floor, mat, or tarpaulin turning over periodically.
  • Milling: The paddy PHL during milling may be due to various factors such as poor handling and machinery Poor handling during the milling process resulted in a lot of spoilage. Inefficient machinery incurs losses during DE husking, bran removal, whitening process, and grading of rice. So use a good machine for milling or it can be done manually.
  • Storage: losses during storage is usually affected by storage technique where by quality deterioration such as grain discoloration will reduce milled rice quality. A good storage system includes:
  1. Protection from insects, rodents, and birds by allowing proper storage hygiene.
  2. Ease of loading and unloading
  3. Efficient use of space
  4. Ease of maintenance and management
  5. Prevent moisture re- re-entering the grain after drying.

 Conclusion

Food security is a major concern of the world in the context of increasing population, changing climate, and reducing scarce natural resources. Reducing food loss is equally important as increasing food production and productivity to feed the world.

   Harvesting and post-Harvest handling of rice are crucial parts of cultivating rice. An efficient post-harvestpost harvest system aims to minimize losses and maintain the quality of crop until it reaches the final consumer. When food losses are minimized both food security and income increase and this is of vital importance for small and medium farmers, particularly in developing countries.