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The Postharvest Education Foundation
Founder: Dr. Lisa Kitinoja
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| Visiting an okra farm in Senegal - 1997 |
Utilizing improved postharvest practices often results in reduced food losses, improved overall quality and food safety, and higher profits for growers and marketers. But how can we teach people to use the practices that will best serve their needs?
Do you have questions about where to find information about postharvest practices?
Do your job duties include training others in postharvest handling?
Are you looking for some practical ideas for postharvest demonstrations?
Are you looking for topic ideas or illustrations for a postharvest presentation?
Send an email to postharvest@postharvest.org or visit http://postharvest.tumblr.com and feel free to ask for assistance!
Training Assistance
Our Directors and staff are available online or via e-mail to serve as mentors or advisors to young professionals, extension workers, farm advisors, and private consultants around the world who are involved in activities related to postharvest handling, packaging, cooling, shipping and storage of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Postharvest Education Foundation is currently working with the firms Cooperative Ventures and Extension Systems International to assist extension workers, scientists, postharvest professionals and graduate students in Ghana, Rwanda, Benin, Kenya, the Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, Tanzania, Nepal, India and Lebanon. Dr. Lisa Kitinoja also currently works as a senior technical advisor with The World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO) on a HORT CRSP funded project in Sub-Saharan Africa. HORT CRSP Pilot project in Rwanda
How to learn more about the Foundation
Visit our About Us page to read more about our Mission, Board of Directors and Founder. You can find the link at the left side of the homepage.
While donations are always appreciated, as a new Foundation, our tax exempt status is not yet fully established, so you will not be able to claim a tax deduction if you make a donation in cash or in kind. An application for 501(c)(3) status is pending with the IRS and we have been informed that the review and decision can take up to 2 years.
Training in postharvest technology aims to reduce losses by helping farmers and handlers learn how changing simple practices, such as using better quality packages or not over-loading crates, can protect produce while improving market value and incomes.
QA Supplies has partnered with The Postharvest Education Foundation to create the Produce Quality Tool Kit and they are offering it at a great price. Supporters of the Postharvest Foundation can receive a 20% discount on these items by entering the promo code postharvest at checkout.
This kit contains an assortment of basic equipment that is used regularly by quality assurance and safety professionals working with fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. A list of the included items is shown below and each product's specifications can be viewed by visitng the webpage and clicking on the item numbers.
Global food losses are estimated at 30 to 40%, and occur on the farm, and during postharvest handling, food processing, distribution and consumption. The UN FAO has published a new report that summarizes the issues and highlights the need for taking action. According to the UNFAO media website "The report distinguishes between food loss and food waste. Food losses - occurring at the production, harvest, post-harvest and processing phases - are most important in developing countries, due to poor infrastructure, low levels of technology and low investment in the food production systems.
Food waste is more a problem in industrialized countries, most often caused by both retailers and consumers throwing perfectly edible foodstuffs into the trash. Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia each throw away only 6-11 kg a year." http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74192/icode/
A recent research study undertaken by WFLO with funding by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides an great assortment of data on the results of 12 past projects, postharvest losses % for 26 crops, a description of the value chain for 30 crops in 4 countries (Rwanda, Benin, Ghana and India) and 21 field trials of postharvest technologies suitable for helping small farmers reduce losses and improve their incomes. The original project report is 318 pages long (available for download at http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/datastorefiles/234-1847.pdf ), but you can read a summary here. Slide Deck WFLO BMGF APT Report 2010
Diane Barrett and Lisa Kitinoja are currently working on a Hort CRSP funded project in Rwanda where a pilot The Postharvest Training and Services Center (PTSC) will be set up this year. The PTSC will be able to serve as:
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a site for extensionists to meet with growers and others to provide training on improved handling, packing, cooling, storage and processing practices -
a location with permanent demonstrations for observing small-scale practices (where local private companies can explain and demonstrate their goods and services related to postharvest handling) - a shop with postharvest tools and supplies, packages, and other goods that can be purchased at reasonable prices
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a place where people can come to ask questions or get advice on how to use improved postharvest practices, costs/benefits and marketing options -
a place where growers or traders can pay a small fee for services such as having their produce cooled and/or stored for a few days before marketing, leasing a small insulated transport vehicle, or using a solar dryer to produce dried fruit or vegetable snack products, etc.
What is the cost?
There is no charge for mentoring services or participation in our online discussions. Visit the Foundation's blog (http://postharvest.tumblr.com/) and we will do our best to answer your question or point you in the right direction. Many training materials are available via as links or downloads from this website, or can be sent via e-mail at no charge. A CDRom packed full of practical training materials is available at a small fee (to cover the cost of copying, postage and packaging materials).
Many thanks to those of you who have purchased copies for yourself or your reference libraries-- each purchase helps to pay some of the cost of free CDRoms that are sent out to those who cannot afford to purchase the training materials. Training CD Rom
TRAINING IN POSTHARVEST TECHNOLOGY |