FAO trains 800 farmers and labourers on improving agricultural practices
Improving agricultural practices and reducing loss and waste of grapes and tomatoes in Nubaria, Egypt.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Egypt, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, organized a training program for 800 farmers and labourers in Nubaria, Egypt, on improved agricultural practices to maintain the quality and prevent loss and waste along food value chains.
The training is within the framework of the 'Food Loss and Waste Reduction and Value Chain Development for Food Security in Egypt and Tunisia' project, implemented by FAO with funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
With the objective of building capacity in postharvest handling of tomato and grape to reduce food loss and waste, the training program ran from July to September 2017 for 350 tomato farmers in Bangar El-Sokar Area and 350 grapes farmers in Thebes Area. A group of 100 hired laborers was also given hands-on training that coincided with the 2016 harvest season for both crops.
Experts from Alexandria University delivered the trainings utilizing a mix of theoretical and hands-on field demonstrations. They focused on topics covering the entire food value chain, including pre-harvest factors affecting postharvest loss, harvesting, sorting, grading, packaging, storage, food safety, quality control and marketing practices, maturity and proper harvest techniques, standards and quality control for improved marketing, postharvest handling activities and common mistakes that lead to losses with potential solutions.
Read the full article via FAO Near East and North Africa.
[Photo by Jay Galvin | Flickr]
