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State of post-harvest in the Asia Pacific Region |
N. MANALILI, Regional Centre for Graduate Study & Research in Agriculture, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), Los Banos, Philippines Although the Asia-Pacific region supplies half of the world’s food requirements, it is home to about 700 million people who live in poverty. The region offers a wide range of diverse agricultural commodities grown under ideal climatic conditions. The seasonality, perishability and variability in the quality of agricultural products, however, pose major challenges and constraints to the post-harvest and food processing sector. Furthermore, the lack of cost-effective and appropriate food storage and processing technologies in some countries of the region, contributes to high post-harvest losses, thus threatening the food security of many. Moreover, increasing competition brought about by globalization has brought with it the pressure for countries in the region to adopt appropriate technologies in order to meet food quality and safety requirements. This paper will review the status of post-harvest in the region and will highlight the factors which impact on its sustainability.
Session 24, State of postharvest preservation technologies in developing countries
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