Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for more than 70 percent of the population of Malawi. Common beans, groundnuts and maize are widely grown in the country. One of the goals of the Food Security Policy (2006) for Malawi is to increase agricultural production as a major way of combating food insecurity and poverty in Malawi. The policy also recognized the role that post-harvest handling (PHH) plays in causing postharvest food losses (PHL). Postharvest losses (PHL) present a big challenge to food security efforts. Estimates by the African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) indicate that crop losses in Southern Africa amount to US$1.6 billion per year or about 13.5 percent of the total value of the region’s annual grain production (US$11 billion). The postharvest losses for Malawi for 2012 for the Central, Northern and Southern provinces are estimated at 260,817 tons, 93,704 tons and 244,718 tons, respectively.
