Resumen:
This study seeks to identify the causes or factors that generate food losses in agricultural
production, specifically in two agricultural chains (broccoli, cauliflower). In the first place, this phenomenon generates a series of significant problems: from the loss of natural resources to the increase in environmental pollution, as well as inefficiency in the production and distribution of food.
The characterization of these factors in the first link of the agricultural supply chain allows us
to know the processes in which food losses are being generated. According to data from the
National Planning Department (DNP) in Colombia during 2021, it was observed that fruits and vegetables lead food waste with 62% (equivalent to 6.1 million tons), followed by roots and tubers with 25% (about 2.4 million tons). Agricultural production is responsible for a loss of 40.5%, followed by distribution and retail with 20.6%, the post-harvest and storage phase with 19.8%, consumption with 15.6%, and finally, industrial processing with 3.5%. The department of Cauca, located in the Pacific region of Colombia, together with Chocó, Valle del Cauca and Nariño, accounts for 17.1% of the country's total food losses.
As a result, it is expected to identify and quantify the losses of agricultural food that are
occurring in the HZ microenterprise in the rural area of Totoró - Colombia, thus allowing the
development of a series of recommendations that will make it possible to improve agricultural practices, storage and transportation and the incorporation of innovative technologies that will generate greater utilization and profitability of the crops.
