10 Jun

International Horticulture Stakeholders Conference

SUGECO participated in the two-day conference jointly organized by the Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA) and International Trade Centre (ITC) in Arusha in 9th -12th October. The conference attended by delegates from different countries that got into dialogue on development and application of post harvest handling model for horticultural crops.

It was presented by KAFACI-Project (Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative) in collaboration with Rural Development Administration and the International Trade Centre (ITC). KAFACI is an intergovernmental and multilateral cooperation body aiming to improve food production, achieve sustainable agriculture and enhance extension services of African countries through knowledge and information sharing on agriculture technologies.

The KAFACI project highlighted the post harvest losses of horticultural crops such as; post harvest losses in fresh fruits and vegetables are an estimated 5% to 25% in developed countries and 20% to 30% in developing countries.

Causes of post harvest losses; lack of post harvest handling; this includes improper harvesting and packaging also improper transportation and distribution, rapid quality deterioration and microbial contamination on the food.

Lack of post harvest infrastructure and inadequate transportation facilities contributes to fresh fruits and vegetables spoilage rate increases when it comes to long transport.

The conference attended by government representatives from Tanzania.