Postharvest Training Programs

You are welcome to link with us via the LinkedIn.com website, and to visit our postharvest blog to participate in discussions and learn about postharvest handling practices suitable for developing countries and small-holder farms in the USA.

Participation is free -- just click on the links provided below. On LinkedIn.com you need to register and set up your profile page, then search for Lisa Kitinoja (enter my name under "people" in the search box) and invite me to link with you (use kitinoja@hotmail.com if asked for our email address). On the tumblr blog webpage, just click "submit" if you have an idea to share, or "ask a question" if you want to ask about postharvest practices.

Linked In Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Postharvest-Training-3770124

Dr. Lisa Kitinoja has been involved as a private consultant in international horticultural development work since the 1980s, and has been specializing in postharvest technology, food loss reduction and the extension of information on small-scale postharvest handling practices since 1992 as Principal Consultant of the firm Extension Systems International. She is currently serving as Senior Technical Advisor for WFLO, as lead of the HORT CRSP pilot project in East Africa (2010-13). Also for WFLO, in 2009-10, she led a BMGF funded Appropriate Postharvest Technology planning project for Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and in 2007-08 she designed and implemented a series of Cold Chain Management Workshops for USTDA in India.

In 2011, Dr. Kitinoja founded the non-profit The Postharvest Education Foundation, whose purpose is to provide motivation, training and mentoring for young postharvest professionals around the world. As a volunteer for the Foundation, she currently works with a wide range of clientele including trainers in NGOs, horticulture companies, extension workers, research scientists, postharvest professionals and graduate students in Africa, South Asia, SE Asia and the Middle East.

1983 M.Sc. International Agricultural Development, University of California, Davis

2008 to present Senior Technical Advisor- Fruits and Vegetables, World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), Alexandria, VA

Serves as an advisor for the International Programs Office, led the BMGF funded Appropriate Postharvest Technology project, reviews RFPs, training materials, develops cold chain management programs, contributes to proposal development and project management. www.wflo.org

2008 to 2010 Postharvest Consultant and Packinghouse Designer, MCC Cape Verde Project, with Agland Investments, Inc.

Performed cold chain assessment and postharvest loss assessment for horticultural crops in Cape Verde (6 islands); designed a series of "Postharvest Services and Training Centers" for key islands, targeting small scale farmers and marketers involved in domestic and export sales.

Designed and lead a series of Cold Chain Workshops for India. Participants include agri-business leaders, governmental decision makers and educational/extension professionals. Topics include postharvest technology, food safety, cold storage and cold chain management.

1988-present Independent Consultant in postharvest horticulture technology for projects and programs under the auspices of:

USAID/Winrock International (PACCD Project, Pakistan Cold Chain Development 2011 to present)

USAID HORT CRSP/UC Davis/WFLO (Extension of Appropriate Postharvest Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Postharvest Training and Services Center, Rwanda 2010-13; Increasing the Capacity of Smallholder Farmers to Produce and Market Vegetable Crops in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo 2010-13)

USAID/IIE/Winrock International (Empowering Agriculture: Energy Solutions for Horticulture Guidebook, 2008)

GHI (Global Horticulture Initiative) Capacity Building Virtual Working Group Member (2008)

IAASTD (2007-2008) co-sponsorship by FAO, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, the World Bank,WHO

University of California at Davis (Vegetable Research and Information Center (VRIC), 1996; Postharvest Technology Research and Information Center (PTRIC) 1993-2003)

USAID/CARE International/Office of International Programs in Agriculture, UC Davis (Egypt AERI, 2003-2005)

USAID/RONCO/Office of International Programs in Agriculture, UC Davis (Egypt ATUT, 1999-2001)

USAID/Chemonics International (Morocco ORMVAT, 1997; Nepal MARD, 1999; Punjab, India ACE, 1997-98)

International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation (IJPTI) Reviewer 2011

The Research and Development Center for Horticulture Crops, Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia (2010 to present) Advisory Board Member

IAASTD (2009) Agriculture at a crossroads: international assessment of agricultural knowledge, science and technology for development. Reviewer (CWANA region).

Kitinoja L, Saran S, Roy S K and A.A. Kader (2011). Postharvest Technology for Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities in Research, Outreach and Advocacy. J of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2011; 91: 597–603

Kitinoja L, AlHassan H A, Saran S and Roy S K, (in press). Identification of Appropriate Postharvest Technologies for Improving Market Access and Incomes for Small Horticultural Farmers in Sub- Saharan Africa and South Asia. Invited paper in 3 parts for the IHC Postharvest Symposium Lisbon, August 23, 2010. Acta Hort (in press).

Kitinoja, L and Thompson J F, (2010). Pre-cooling systems for small-scale producers. Stewart Postharvest Review 2010, 6(2):1-14

Contributing author: Winrock International, Empowering agriculture: Energy options for horticulture. US Agency for International Development 79 pp. (2009).

Pareek, S. Kitinoja, L. Kaushik R.M. and R. Paliwal, (2009). Postharvest physiology and storage of ber. Stewart Postharvest Review 2009, 5:5 Published online 01 October 2009

Kitinoja, L. (2009). Training in Postharvest Technology, 9th edition. A compilation on CDRom of postharvest training materials, manuals, tools and equipment, demonstrations, illustrations, internet links and references.

Kitinoja, L. (2004). Horticultural Extension Manual. University of California, Davis IPO/USAID AERI Horticulture Project. 54 pgs.

Kitinoja, L. and Kader, A.A. (2003). Small-Scale Postharvest Practices: A Manual for Horticultural Crops, 4^th edition. University of California, Davis. 196 pp. This manual has been translated into Arabic, French, Spanish, Punjabi, Chinese, Vietnamese, Afrikaans, Indonesian and several other languages.

Kitinoja, L. and Kasmire, R.F. (2002). Making the Link: Extension of Postharvest Technology, Chapter 38 in Kader, A.A. (ed), Postharvest Technology for Horticultural Crops (3rd Edition), UC DANR Publication 3311. pp. 481-509.

Kitinoja, L. (2001). Postharvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables intended for Cold Storage. International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW-India). 46 pp.

Kitinoja, L., Schermerhorn, Brown, A., Thapa, M.J. (2000). Post-harvest Technology Action Plan. USAID/ Nepal MARD Lumbini-Gandaki Technical Report No. 64. March 2000

Kitinoja, L. and Gorny, J.R. (1999). Postharvest Technology for Small-Scale Produce Marketers: Economic Opportunities, Quality and Food Safety. University of California, Davis.

Kitinoja, L. (1999). Costs and Benefits of Fresh Handling Practices. In: Kitinoja, L. (ed). Perishables Handling Quarterly, Special Issue: Costs and Benefits of Postharvest Technologies, No. 97: 7-13