24-5 |
State of post-harvest in Latin American and the Caribbean |
L. D. WICKHAM, Dept. of Food Production, Univ. of the West Indies, Faculty of Sciences & Agriculture, Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago The Latin America and the Caribbean Region comprises the countries south of the North American mainland, stretching from Mexico to the extreme north, across the Central American isthmus to Chile and Argentina in the south and including the West Indian chain of islands but excluding the French and U.S. territories. Despite the wide range of geographical characteristics of climatic conditions, size and topography, the countries of this region have several features in common. Agricultural production is an important contributor to the national economies and the postproduction sector is characterized by a decreasing relative contribution of agriculture to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Other common features include the persistence of small-scale agricultural production, increasing competition from agricultural products in the global market, an increasing trend to diversification of the sector in order to counter the negative effects of globalization on traditional export crops, and growing interest in agro-processing options as alternative sources of income. Despite these commonalities, the territories have varying levels of organization of the sector, demonstrated by the existence of commodity chains and the availability of appropriate infrastructure for the successful harvesting, handling, storage and processing of produce; the scale of processing operations; and the level of value addition and product diversification. Territories also differ in the level of technologies applied to commodities for different markets and ultimately, the level of postharvest losses sustained. Differences also exist in availability of support services such as skilled and trained personnel, general access to information and Internet services, and availability of extension services for dissemination of research findings and information on trends in the sector. This paper highlights the major technical issues pertinent to the regional postproduction sector and the technical and information gaps that threaten its sustainability.
Session 24, State of postharvest preservation technologies in developing countries
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