Current State of Postharvest Fruit and Vegetable Management in East Africa

초록

Purpose: Fruit and vegetable production is a fast-growing sector in East Africa, and it bears considerable local andinternational market potential. In an effort to analyze the challenges within this sector and suggest possible solutions, thisstudy reviews the postharvest handling technologies commonly used with fruits and vegetables in East Africa. Methods:During the course of this study, small-scale farmers were identified as the most prominent producers of fruit and vegetablecrops in the region. Results: We found that many of these small-scale farmers employed relative simple and inexpensivetechniques in handling their limited volumes of produce. Several factors could be addressed to reduce postharvest losses,including weak policies, inferior infrastructure, and poor market strategies. However, the lack of basic knowledge (includingdemographic, scientific, and economic knowledge) among the stakeholders (e.g., researchers, farmers, governments,nongovernment organizations, and merchants) on how to develop, implement, use, and sustain the recommended handlingtechnologies is probably the most problematic. Conclusions: We recommend that high priority be placed on closing theknowledge gap, which could enhance the efforts of all the stakeholders to address and reduce postharvest losses.

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