Postharvest losses occurring between harvest and consumption are classified into direct and indirect dimensions based on how they affect the commodity:

  • Direct Losses: Immediate physical impacts on the crop. These manifest as volumetric weight reduction, quantitative loss, degradation of nutritional values, and the complete destruction of seed viability or germinability.
  • Indirect Losses: Institutional or systemic costs that do not alter the crop tissue directly but trigger wider damage. These include the spread of disease-causing organisms across storage facilities, increased storage and structural maintenance costs, and a drop in motivation for smallholders to invest in production.