Global food security is facing multiple challenges from population growth, resource constraints, and climate change. UN data shows that over one-third of global food is lost or wasted during production, circulation, and consumption, exacerbating food supply shortages while causing enormous consumption of resources such as land, water, and energy. Developing countries, hampered by backward technology and facilities, suffer particularly severe on-farm food loss. As the world’s second-largest maize producer, China sees annual on-farm food loss accounting for 7%–11% of total output, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs—far exceeding the less than 2% level in developed countries like Japan and the EU. Against this backdrop, exploring innovative approaches to reduce postharvest loss has become a critical issue for ensuring food security. Could the popularization of Internet technology provide a new breakthrough?
A recent study on Chinese maize growers has offered a positive answer. Yonghao Hu, et al. from China Agricultural University, National Development and Reform Commission, and Xi’an Jiaotong University conducted field surveys with 832 farming households across 18 provinces in China’s four major maize-producing regions. Using an econometric model, they systematically analyzed the impact of Internet access to agricultural information on postharvest maize loss. This study fills the gap in previous research that relied on expert speculation or secondary data, providing empirical evidence for understanding the role of digital technology in agricultural loss prevention. The findings have been published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2025605).
The research highlights the severity of postharvest maize loss in China. Survey data reveals average loss rates of 4.5%, 4.0%, and 3.7% during the harvest, drying, and storage stages, respectively. Based on the 2022 national maize output of 277 Mt, annual on-farm losses reach 19 Mt—equivalent to an economic value of 51.69 billion yuan, or the input of 2.48 Mha of arable land and 0.94 Mt of fertilizer, alongside 12.7 Mt of carbon emissions and 20.1 billion m³ of water wasted.
Notably, the Internet has emerged as a pivotal tool for loss reduction. The study found that farmers using the Internet to access agricultural information exhibited significantly lower loss rates than non-users across all three stages: 3.2% reduction in harvest loss, 1.5% in drying loss, and 3.6% in storage loss. If all Chinese maize growers achieved the loss control level of Internet users, annual maize supply could increase by 7.89 Mt, equivalent to saving 1.02 Mha of arable land and 0.39 Mt of fertilizer, reducing 5.21 Mt of carbon emissions and 8.29 billion m³ of water consumption, and boosting farmers’ income by 21.3 billion yuan.
The research team identified three key mechanisms through which the Internet operates: reducing information search costs to facilitate farmers’ adoption of advanced harvesting and storage equipment; providing production management knowledge to optimize operational standards in drying and storage; and delivering timely weather warnings to mitigate losses from extreme weather events. However, the survey also revealed that only 34% of farmers currently access agricultural information via the Internet, with inadequate rural information infrastructure and digital literacy identified as major barriers.
Based on these findings, the team recommends that the government accelerate the construction of rural information infrastructure, lower Internet access barriers for farmers through measures such as subsidizing smartphones and providing digital literacy training, and pay special attention to elderly, low-educated, and low-income groups. This initiative will not only enhance the efficiency of the food supply chain but also provide strong support for agricultural green development and rural revitalization.
DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2025605