Farmer training to cut Mozambique’s post-harvest losses

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Farmer training to cut Mozambique’s post-harvest losses

8:01 CAT | 19 Dec 2018

in file CoM

The World Food Program (WFP) and Swiss Cooperation (Helvetas) will train farmers in Mozambique to preserve food after harvesting, a phase in which they usually lose a third of production, they announced today.

“Post-harvest losses are one of the main faces of food insecurity in the country: more than 30 per cent of production is lost in the weeks after harvest due to the lack of domestic storage conditions and inadequate farming practices,” said Karin Manente, national director and WFP representative.

As a consequence, farmers are “forced to sell their produce at low prices shortly after harvest but then have to buy food at much higher prices”.

This puts families in cycles of poverty and hunger, which the new training program aims to change.

A memorandum of understanding foresees the implementation of activities under the “Zero Post-Harvest Loss Project” implemented by WFP and financed by Cartier Philantropy.

“At least 2,000 small farmers in the province of Tete will be trained in management and post-harvest handling of cereals and vegetables, including the use of hermetic storage (in particular hermetic bags),” concluded Manente.

Source: Lusa