Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Future Outlook
The challenges in this new millennium are that consumption of fruits and vegetables
requires an understanding of societal values, lifestyles and environmental issues.
Complex and increasingly busy cities pose challenges to the distribution and retail
requirements for produce. Generally, portion-sized packages and fresh-cut product
are continuing to develop since urban consumers have preference for convenience
and may have limited skills or time for meal preparation (Pollack
2011
). The carbon
footprint for packaging is relatively small when assessed relative to the alternative
of greater losses in unpackaged fruits and vegetables during distribution and mar-
keting (Gooch et al.
2010
). A key for future reductions of losses in fruits and veg-
etables during distribution and marketing lies in successful implementation of new
models, likely involving value-chain systems (Anon
2011
; Gooch et al.
2010
) and
introduction of intelligent packaging with formats that will encourage ongoing im-
provements in quality, nutrition and flavor for the consumer (Toivonen et al.
2009
).
Conclusions
Many of the challenges facing success in postharvest care of fruits and vegetables
do not depend on the development of new technologies, although there are still
some needs that were identified. Looking in a broader perspective, some of the chal-
lenges can be met by successful adoption or adaption of existing technologies to the
context of the country and economy in question. It appears however, that perhaps a
larger issue is that of the constraints that societal, business and consumer behaviors
place on the logistics and marketing of fruits and vegetables. Clearly, improvements
in delivering quality, nutritious fruits and vegetables to consumers will depend on
better co-operation and some rethinking of existing distribution systems and the
goals of sellers, buyers and marketers. Technology can make all things possible, but
it is willingness of the participants in the fruit and vegetable trade to take advantage
of the opportunities that will determine the outcome. Since the stakes are huge in
terms of current waste estimates and the challenges increase every year in terms of
world population growth, the urgency to improve the situation becomes also greater.
References
Anon (2011) UK government foresight project (2011) Workshop report: W4—Expert forum on
the reduction of food waste, 45 pp, Government office for science, London, 23-24 Feb 2010
Anon (2012a) Cool rooms and cool transport for small-scale farmers.
http://hortcrsp.ucdavis.edu/
main/9Coolrooms.html.
Accessed 2 Mar 2013
Anon (2012b) Extension of appropriate postharvest technology in Sub-Saharan Africa: a post-
harvest training and services center. http://hortcrsp.ucdavis.edu/main/26pharvest_train.html.
Accessed 2 Mar 2013
