Motsa, NMLaurie, SMFiniza, Tabisa NMakhuvha, MCMashitoa, MF2025-07-222025-07-222025-051684-53581684-5374https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.141.25030http://hdl.handle.net/10204/14318South Africa is food secure at national level, but not at household level. Some communities experience food shortages for a certain period during the month or for a period during the year. This is a food security threat to the community, as long as food loss and waste is not given the attention it deserves. Food loss mostly takes place at post-harvest and throughout the value chain until it reaches the consumer. Sweet potatoes are not spared from such losses. These losses tend to undermine the impact of sweet potato as a food security crop. This study was conducted to determine sweet potato food loss experienced at different stages of the value chain. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a number of entities that are involved in the sweet potato food value chain and have purchased sweet potato material from the Agricultural Research Council. These entities were located in four provinces of the country where sweet potato is mostly produced and processed. Moreover, these entities were involved in at least one post-harvest (value chain) activity. The results indicated that small-scale sweet potato producers sold sweet potato to the local informal market while commercial producers with washing facilities, pack-houses and distributor licenses were supplying established formal markets. Sweet potato processing was done by commercial entities only, not smallscale entities. Sweet potato food loss was experienced throughout the food value chain beginning from crop growth where poor weed management and pest attack was observed. Sweet potato breakages and skinning were predominantly experienced during the post-harvest stage. “Out of specification” losses were experienced at packing and distribution stage while at processing stage, losses were through peeling and removal of insect bites/lesions. No losses were reported at the storage of processed sweet potato stage because entities had well established infrastructure to prevent losses. Processing of sweet potato and other crops reduces food loss and further strengthens the agrifood system and extends shelf-life of food crops to provide food and nutrition security.FulltextenAgri-foodPost-harvestFood wasteCommercial processing SmallscaleSmallscaleInformal marketsArticlen/a