| dc.description.abstract | Agriculture is the mainstay of most of the developing countries like Nepal that has significant contribution to food availability, poverty alleviation and rural employment. A number of research and United Nations reports reveal that growing the quality and quantity of food to feed the growing global population is challenging. Several postharvest scholars expressed that saving food what is already produced is more crucial than focusing on increasing the quantity of food for sustainable development. As mentioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for growing food, many other limited resources such as land, water, soil, fertilizers, capital and human resources are essential. When the produced food for human consumption is lost during, various stages of the food chain then food loss occurs. Food loss and waste is a global issue that contributes to greenhouse gas emission, and waste of scarce natural resources. Literature reviews reveal that food losses occur in perishable produce more than in other crops, and recorded maximum in the developing countries. In Nepal, fruit and vegetables losses at different stages of the value chain are opined as the challenges for the agricultural sector development. Therefore, this research was conducted in the Dhading district og Nepal with the aim to identify the factors of food loss and to explore the smallholder farmers’ strategies and the role of the state in postharvest loss reduction. The research is based on direct interviews with the farmers and the key informants to identify the actual causes of food loss. Government implemented policies and projects were presented and analyzed. The findings reveal that postharvest loss occurs due to poor postharvest handling and management. On top of this, the fruits and vegetables are lost due to lack of access to the market, unstable market price, failure to compete with foreign subsidized produce, intermediary price control policy, unavailability of well-ventilated transportation, storage facilities, and lack of government support price and market regulation. The farmers’ interest lies in the cultivation of traditional crops, method of crop diversification and crop substitution for regulating the overproduction of seasonal vegetables, focus on off-season vegetables and use of organic fertilizer to produce quality product for loss minimization. The farmers’ indigenous methods of vegetable fermentation, drying, and pickling are effective method to save what has already been produced. The findings also allow us to conclude that the government policy, strategies, rules, regulations, and supports are equally significant for regulating the acts of all stakeholders in supply chain. | eng |