Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Challenges to Adapting Postharvest Technologies to a Developing
World Scale
Why is postharvest handling so poorly managed in these regions? A number of
factors clearly play a role, including a lack of incentives to improve practices in
anticipation of a higher market price, lack of awareness of improved practices that
might be used, lack of resources to invest in supplies or technologies, particularly
for smallholder farmers, lack of availability or high tariffs on imported supplies,
and policies that provide a disincentive to changing practices (Kader
2005
,
2010
).
Also, poor access to developing markets and poor distribution channels and the lack
of vertical integration in the supply chain contribute to the challenge (Kader
2005
,
2010
).
For farmers and traders to be encouraged to adopt improved postharvest prac-
tices, there must be a benefit gained from the sale of higher quality produce. Grade
standards or specifications are often non-existent in many parts of the world and
there is a lack of trust between buyers and sellers. Also, products often change
hands many times between the farm and the market, reducing the vertical integra-
tion between care in product handling and potential for better prices.
Lack of knowledge is another challenge. Many who grow and handle produce
have no experience with or knowledge of improved handling practices. Training
and demonstrations can illuminate the benefits of simple practices like harvesting
early in the day, protecting product from the sun, or using plastic bags to reduce
water loss.
Farmers and handlers in developing countries often lack the resources to invest
in postharvest technologies. Access to capital through microfinance or savings pro-
grams is possible, but farmers must be convinced of the return on their investment.
This requires linkage to a reliable market that will provide a fair price for the prod-
uct's quality. More expensive technologies, such as small scale cold rooms, would
generally require that an association of farmers or a village pool their resources for
such an investment.
In many countries, supplies taken for granted in the developed world, such as
thermometers, packaging materials, clippers, and sanitizers are not manufactured
locally and are either unavailable for purchase or are only available at a much high-
er price due to shipping costs and tariffs.
There are a number of examples of policies that create disincentives to im-
proved postharvest practices. For example, in some cases, transportation costs are
based on the number of packages, not the size or weight of the package. This
has led to use of extremely large crates for transport of bulk produce, leading to
crushing of fruit on the bottom as well as challenges in careful handling of these
products. In other cases, extra tall sacks are used for produce packaging so that
they fill the width of the truck bed for maximum space utilization during transit.
In India, a law related to produce marketing required that all produce be sold
through wholesale markets (Kitinoja et al.
2011
). This had precluded farmers from
developing relationships for direct marketing to supermarkets or export markets.
This law has recently changed in some parts of India and it has only just been
