24-4 |
State of post-harvest in the Near East and North Africa |
E. H. YAHIA, Univ. Autónoma de Querétaro, Queretaro, QRO, 76190, Mexico The Near East and North African Region is a “food deficit region”, and perhaps the largest “net food importer” among developing countries. The region produces approximately 35 million metric tons (MMT) of cereals and 52 MMT of fruits and vegetables on an annual basis, but consumes approximately 55 MMT of cereals and 80 MMT of fruits and vegetables. The gap between food production and consumption is expected to increase due to limited supply compared to effective demand. Food insecurity has therefore become a very serious problem in some countries of the region. Considerable post-harvest losses (in excess of 30 %) are sustained, primarily due to inadequately trained capacity in post-harvest technology, coupled with an inadequacy of infrastructure, technologies, marketing systems, information, regulations and investment in post-harvest. Food processing is conducted primarily by small and micro industries, which constantly have to face the constraints of a limited raw material base, and financial difficulty. Furthermore, contamination of food crops by organic chemicals has become a pressing problem in several countries. The regions lacks specialized post-harvest institutions and post-harvest research, education and extension facilities are very poor. Improvement in the post-harvest sector is vital to stabilization of the food supply of the region.
Session 24, State of postharvest preservation technologies in developing countries
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