Effective Utilization of
Post Harvest Knowledge
Judith Francis
Senior Programme Coordinator
S&T Strategies, CTA
26 April, 2010
Second West and Central Africa Agricultural
Science Week &
9th General Assembly, Benin
1
Some philosophy
 All men by nature desire to know - Aristotle
 No Man’s knowledge can go beyond his
experience – John Locke
 All our knowledge begins with the senses,
proceeds then to understanding, and ends
with reason. There is nothing higher than
reason – Immanuel Kant
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But what is knowledge?
Experience
Competence & Skills
Attitude
3
From knowledge to innovation
 Innovation –
creating value from knowledge
(continuous process)
 Innovation system (static or dynamic) – numerous
actors involved in the creation, diffusion and
optimization of knowledge within a social,
economic & cultural context
 Networking
for
innovation
/
innovative
partnerships / innovation partnerships – foster /
support / facilitate social, economic and technological
inquiry, learning, linkages for innovation. Mobilize
resources.
4
Knowledge is interconnected
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Knowledge builds on knowledge under continuous construction
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Learning to innovate –
not only the young
7
ITU photo, 2009
What is postharvest knowledge?
 Knowledge
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Scientific, empirical, technological, indigenous,
introspective, perspective, tacit, codified, etc etc?
Know-how (ability), know-why, know-who etc. etc.
 Post harvest

All treatments that occur from time of harvesting until
the food stuff reaches the consumer
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Harvesting methods / tools / equipment
Handling (preparation – sorting, trimming, cooling etc)
Conveying/transportation (field to processing unit)
Processing / preservation (tastes, smell, colour, texture)
Packaging, distribution & sale
Storage (under what conditions)
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More than
Harvesting
Sorting, cleaning, packing
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Transporting
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Postharvest knowledge is the
 Knowledge of:
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The commodity / commodities (varieties /species &
chemical, physical, biological/microbial composition etc)
The nature and extent of the problem and at what stage of
the chain
Environmental conditions – weather (RH, temperature)
Storage requirements, techniques & technologies
Processing techniques / treatments & technologies
Packaging requirements, materials, techniques, technologies
Best practices – low tech / intermediate / high tech (costs)
Engineering, food science, microbiology, pests, production
factors, harvesting, transport/logistics, food regulations
Markets & market requirements – domestic & export
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Quality assurance / food safety systems
Effective utilization of post
harvest knowledge
Why?
for innovation in the agri-food system
Food and nutrition security,
adequate economic returns for
all actors, socio-economic
development
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Knowing the context
Livelihoods
Economic drivers
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Major Commodities - Niger
Top 10 (produced)
Top 10 (exports)
Top 10 (imports)
Millet
Onions, dry (61,883T
– 26.641m$)
Rice milled (163,772 T)
Cow peas (dry)
Cattle
Cigarettes
Cow milk – fresh whole
Goats
Sugar refined
Sorghum (975,223T –
99.28 m$)
Sheep
Palm oil
Onions, dry (350,000T Rice milled (13,918 T)
– 6.45 m$)
Milk whole dried
Groundnuts with shell
Cigarettes
Sorghum (34,107T 12.84 m$)
Goat milk, whole fresh
Sugar refined
Flour of wheat
Game meat
Horses
Food prep.
Mangoes, mangosteen
Veg Prod Fresh/ dried
Wheat
Tomatoes
Palm oil
Coffee extracts
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Major Commodities - Senegal
Top 10 (produced)
Top 10 (exports)
Top 10 (imports)
Groundnuts
Ground nut oil
Rice broken (101.8T –
350m$)
Millet
Food prep
Wheat
Tomatoes
Cotton lint
Soybean oil
Rice, paddy
(193379MT – 39.5m$)
Rice broken
Milk whole dried
Cow, milk
Tobacco product
Malt extract
Onions, dry
Tobacco (unman)
Food prep
Hen eggs, in shell
Cigarettes
Sugar refined
Cassava
Tomatoes
Palm oil
Mangoes
Beans, green
Tobacco (unmanu)
Cotton lint
Pastry
Maize
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Major Commodities – Ghana
Top 10 (produced)
Top 10 (export)
Top 10 (import)
Yams
Cocoa beans
Palm oil
Cassava
Sugar refined
Rice broken
Plantains
Cocoa butter
Wheat
Cocoa beans
Flour of roots &
tubers
Sugar refined
Chillies and peppers,
dry
Palm oil
Chicken meat
Groundnuts, with shells Cocoa paste
Tomato paste
Taro (coco yam)
Oil seeds,
Vegetable oil
Maize
Bananas
Skimmed milk – dry
Chillies and peppers
green
Roots and tubers
Rice milled
Game meat
Tomato paste
Cattle
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Major Commodities - Cameroon
Top 10 (produced)
Top 10 (exports)
Top 10 (imports)
Plantains
Cocoa beans
Wheat
Cocoa beans
Bananas
Rice milled
Cassava
Cotton lint
Food prep Nes
Bananas
Rubber nat dry
Malt
Cotton lint
Coffee green
Palm oil
Tomatoes
Cocoa paste
Sugar refined
Taro (cocoyam)
Natural rubber
Milk whole dried
Game meat
Bever. Dist. Alc
Cattle
Vegetables fresh
Cocoa butter
Wine
Maize
Pineapples
Tobacco Products Ne
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What is the problem?
 How serious is it? What commodities / countries?
 Post Harvest Losses Information System (cereals)
http://www.phlosses.net/
 Postharvest Technology- Research &Information Center
http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/
 % at each stage of the chain? Field, packhouse, transport etc
 Is there need for better data / information on PHL & PHT? Yes.
Who should collect it? How should it be stored? Who should
have access? How should it be communicated and to whom?
Policymakers, scientists, farmers, traders, processors?
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Postharvest losses - Africa
Estimated Post Harvest Losses (%) 2003 - 2009
Weighted average according to reported figures
Regional total PHL for cereals [% of total annual production]
2006
2007
2008
2003
2004
2005
14.8
15.1
17.4
17 14.4
14.3
Regional PHL by cereal [% of total annual production]
Cereal
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Maize
22 16.4
16.2
17.7
17.8
22.4
Barley
9.9
8 9.7
9.7
9.7
Wheat
13.3
9 13.6
11.5
11 Sorghum 12.4
12 12.1
12.3
12.2
12.5
Millet
10.9
12.4
12.2
12.2
12.3
12.5
Rice
11.1
10.9
11
11 11.1
Teff
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
Fonio
Rye
Oats
14.5
14.3
14.5
14.5
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2009
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Postharvest losses
CORAF/WECARD
Country
Rice
(%)
Benin
Maize
(%)
Ghana
6
30
5 - 25
Cowpea
(%)
Igname
(%)
30
10
30
12
20-60
7-17
10-50
Mali
10 -14
Niger
Nigeria
Millet
(%)
8-9
Burkina
Faso
Cote
d’Ivoire
Sorghu
m (%)
10
30 +
6 -70
Senegal
10 +
10
Togo
5 -10
DRC
25
5 -10
40
30 +
25-30
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Rice – the case of Senegal
 Rice
is a major staple (34% national cereal
consumption)
 400,000 involved in rice farming in the Valley
 Industrial & small-scale rice millers (65% of market)
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Village mill – recovery rate of 55 – 65% depending on the
quality & variety of paddy.
Quality damaged by severe dehydration during storage in
the fields
Hulling process is difficult
Lack sorting machines to separate broken grains
Fall (ISRA, 2004)
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Fisheries – the case of Ghana
 Fish - most important protein source
 Females dominate fish processing and trade
 Intermediate technologies – Chorkor smoker
that uses fuel wood; solar drying,
fermentation
 Training programmes offered on use of
improved ovens but technology has not been
adopted
 Refrigeration is growing & so too mobile
phones
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Salifu et al (CSIR, 2009)
Fisheries – the case of Ghana
Trends in export volume (Salifu et al., CSIR, 2009)
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Fisheries- the case of Ghana
The FRISMOKER – developed by Food Research Institute - CSIR Ghana
Not being used
Salifu et al., CSIR, 2009
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From information to knowledge
 Information is available everywhere
 Need to organize / systematize it (e.g RAILS -
DONATA)
 Why - learning & decision making
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From Information to knowledge
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From information to knowledge
Status of ICTs in Rural Areas –
Source ITU
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From information to knowledge
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Creating new knowledge –
through research
 Scientists or local producers – can we
integrate
scientific
and
indigenous
knowledge? What are the benefits? Who
gains/loses? Ownership?
 What are the priorities?
 Who decides & how?
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South Africa postharvest R&D
 University of Ksazulu Natal – Tropical & sub-tropical crops;
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postharvest physiology
University of Pretoria – Postharvest pathology
Agricultural Research Council – Institutes for tropical & subtropical fruits, horticulture, and postharvest (CAS, cold studies)
& biotechnology
Fruit Technology Solutions – Postharvest technology
CSIR (Agro-processing) – Materials science & preservation
Citrus Research International – Physiology/
pathology/technology
Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) – cold chain
University of Stellenbosch – Temperate crops, citrus, bush tea
Opara, 2010 (Brussels Presentation)
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South Africa postharvest
innovation programme
 Industry innovation study – technology gaps in supply
chain (2006)
 Department of S&T provided 3 year funding (20072010)
 Implementing agencies – ARC /Fresh Producers
Exporters’ Forum (FPEF)
 Public-private
partnerships
 Projects funded including research funding for the
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Postharvest innovation hub in Africa (University of
Stellenbosch, ARS, PPECB, CSIR, Fruit Technology
Solutions, Guss Ltd – fruit quality measurement & Vizier Ltd
– automated fruit packing lines)
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Opara, 2010 (Brussels Presentation)
Building a critical mass – post
harvest education & training
Moroca & Mavoa, CTA 2009
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Conclusion
 Postharvest
knowledge spans a range of
commodities,
actors,
activities,
disciplines,
technologies
 Multiple information sources need to be tapped &
new knowledge generated - the extent of the problem
is not fully known / understood
 Effective utilization requires several interventions at
different scales for innovation
Research, education, training, outreach and infrastructural
development including policies, food standards & legislation
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There is no one fit all answer but action must be taken
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Moving Forward –
When, how & with what speed?
 The
CTA S&T - knowledge
http://knowledge.cta.int/
portal
Upcoming dossier on post harvest technology
-
34
Thank you/Merci/ Bedank
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