ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain.
Sec. Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Heterogeneous Production Constraints and Postharvest Losses of Onion in Northwest Ethiopia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Debre Markos University, Debre Marqos, Ethiopia
- 2Debre Markos University College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Debre Markos, Ethiopia
- 3Debre Markos University College of Health Science, Debre Markos, Ethiopia
- 4Bahir Dar University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Onion (Allium cepa L.) production in Ethiopia is highly seasonal, while consumption remains year-round, creating critical mismatches between supply and demand. The crop's perishability and limited storage capacity force farmers to sell quickly at low prices, driving market gluts and substantial postharvest losses. This study examines the determinants of onion production and postharvest losses along the supply chain in northwestern Ethiopia. A multi-stage sampling strategy covered three districts (Fogera, North Mecha, and Bahir Dar Zuria) and six kebeles, yielding data from 167 producers, 30 wholesalers, 50 retailers, and 50 consumers, complemented by key informant interviews and field observations. Multiple linear regression models, validated for multicollinearity (VIF < 10) and heteroscedasticity (Breusch–Pagan test), revealed that male household headship (β = 1.561, p < 0.05), hybrid seed access (β = 4.40, p < 0.05), and land allocation (β = 16.49, p < 0.01) significantly increased production (R² = 0.901). Conversely, education (β = –0.51 to –0.31, p < 0.1) and cooperative membership (β = –0.906, p < 0.1) reduced postharvest losses, whereas land size (β = 4.30, p < 0.01), future price expectations (β = 2.17–4.20, p < 0.1), and purchase volume (β = 1.55–4.43, p < 0.01 at wholesale) amplified them. These results highlight persistent gender disparities, input access gaps, and systemic storage constraints. Policy priorities include scaling hybrid varieties, upgrading storage technologies, strengthening cooperatives, and providing targeted capacity building and enhance supply chain efficiency. Strengthening these areas will be pivotal for advancing sustainable food security and rural income resilience.
Keywords: onion, supply chain, determinants, production, Postharvest loss
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 13 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yeshiwas, Alemayehu, Adgo, Tadele and Tadele. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yebirzaf Yeshiwas, yebirzafy@gmail.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.