Market analyses for improved post-harvest traits in vegetable crops

Post-harvest food loss is a major challenge for global food security, wasting valuable agricultural and financial resources at every stage of the food supply chain, from farmers to retailers to consumers. Up to 50% of harvested vegetable crops are wasted due to senescence, wilting and disease. Food waste such as this not only contributes to 6% of greenhouse gas emissions, but also imposes financial burdens on producers and consumers, and reduces consumer access to the beneficial fibre and micronutrients these crops provide. Extending post-harvest vegetable crop health and longevity would reduce this food loss and waste. Harvested vegetables are still alive and interacting with their environment, but their gene expression and disease susceptibility are very distinct from those of plants actively growing on soil. Current genetic crop breeding solutions focus on pre-harvest traits such as yield and disease resistance; this can inadvertently compromise post-harvest quality, and resistance to other diseases, further contributing to spoilage and waste. Furthermore, existing chemical or biological treatments to extend post-harvest longevity face increasing regulatory pressure, and may not be suitable for unpeeled crops due to safety concerns. Our solution is a genetically engineered technology that introduces harvest-inducible traits into brassica vegetables to improve post-harvest health and longevity, without damaging pre-harvest health or yield. The technology is currently aimed at leafy brassica crops, such as broccoli and rocket. Used alongside standard post-harvest vegetable processing practices of washing, rapid cooling and continuous refrigeration, our technology will enhance storage and shelf-life performance. However, crop breeding for post-harvest traits is a relatively novel area, and commercialisation of the technology requires an understanding of attitudes and economics along the supply chain and among consumers. This project will address this challenge through a series of interconnected work packages that identify and address consumer and stakeholder priorities for this technology, alongside a comprehensive economic analysis of its potential benefits. The economic analysis will leverage proprietary supermarket data that include sales and inventory information to quantify consumer valuation on freshness and shelf-life. It will allow us to estimate consumer choices for produce with extended shelf-life under our technology and estimate the resulting reduction in waste. The outputs from this project will be identification of barriers to adoption from stakeholders along the supply chain; engagement with key industrial partners; and economic and consumer data to demonstrate the value and scope of the technology adoption. These data will support a step change in market readiness for the technology, and direct future strategies for stakeholder and consumer engagement. This project will support production of healthier, longer-lasting crops that are attractive and acceptable to consumers and stakeholders, and are more sustainable and affordable than current market offerings. The economic and stakeholder analyses will ensure the commercialisation of the post-harvest genetic technology can achieve maximum positive societal and environmental impact.