Assessment of food loss among arable crop farmers in Nigeria: A valuation perspective on constraints, practices and outcomes

Abstract

Food loss remains a critical barrier to the sustainable transformation of global food systems, particularly in the Global South, where food insecurity coexists with substantial losses at the primary production stage. Nigeria exemplifies this paradox, ranking low in food availability despite widespread cultivation of staple crops such as maize, rice, and cassava. Addressing food loss is therefore essential for improving food security, optimising resource use, and advancing sustainability goals. However, existing research remains fragmented, with limited attention to the social, institutional, and context-specific processes through which food loss emerges and persists. This thesis addresses these gaps by developing a cumulative analysis that integrates evidence synthesis with qualitative empirical investigation, grounded in the sociology of valuation. It advances the central argument that food loss is not simply the result of technical inefficiencies or isolated constraints, but emerges through the interaction between multidimensional agricultural challenges, farmers’ valuation processes, and the broader socio-material and institutional conditions within which these processes are embedded. The study first establishes that food loss in Nigeria is concentrated at the production and postharvest stages and is shaped by the interaction of natural, social, and material constraints. These include climate variability, pest and disease pressures, limited access to inputs and infrastructure, and weak institutional support systems. However, these constraints do not operate in isolation. Rather, farmers interpret and prioritise them through ongoing processes of valuation, which guide farming decisions. Building on this, the analysis demonstrates that valuation is socially embedded and relational. Farmers assess what is feasible, worthwhile, and manageable within specific contexts shaped by resource limitations, past experiences, and social interactions. These evaluations often lead to the adoption of practices that are rational in the short term but may increase vulnerability to food loss over time. In this way, food loss is not only a consequence of constraints but also of how those constraints are understood and acted upon in practice. The findings further show that these valuation processes are structured by broader agrarian systems, including infrastructures, market arrangements, and institutional conditions that define what is possible within agricultural production and exchange. Limited access to storage, transport, credit, and advisory services constrains farmers’ ability to maintain crop quality and access markets, thereby reinforcing patterns of loss. Food loss thus emerges from the interaction between farmers’ decision-making processes and the structural environments within which those decisions are made. By integrating these insights, the thesis reconceptualises food loss as a socially embedded and systemically produced outcome. It demonstrates that valuation serves as the mechanism linking structural constraints to farming practices and outcomes, explaining how food loss persists despite technological and policy interventions. These findings highlight the need for more integrated approaches to food loss reduction that go beyond technical solutions to engage with farmers’ lived realities, strengthen institutional linkages, and support context-sensitive decision-making. By foregrounding valuation as a central analytical lens, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of food loss and provides a foundation for designing policies and interventions that are both effective and sustainable in Nigeria and similar contexts.