Postharvest Programme

Postharvest supports and enhances the processes throughout the supply chain critical to ensuring that intrinsic product integrity is maintained and that a quality product is available to the end-consumer in local and distant global markets.  Postharvest covers producers, packhouses, marketing coordination, logistics and shipping, receivers/wholesalers and end-consumers.  The postharvest research programme is structured into four themes, namely quality management, physiological defects, storage techniques and packaging and logistics.  The research strategy for each theme is determined by a workgroup (one workgroup per theme) consisting of exporters, pre-and postharvest technical specialists, industry consultants and researchers.  Additional workgroups are formed as and when needed.

When considering research strategy, the workgroups always keep in mind the objectives of the postharvest research programme, which are the following:

• To increase the marketable tons of fruit delivered per ton of fruit loaded;
• To present clients all along the postharvest value chain extending up to the consumer with a safe product of reliable, good quality;
• To reduce wastage and losses from defects and pathogens (see the crop protection programme for postharvest pathology research);
• To increase efficiencies throughout the postharvest value chain;
• To increase the sustainability of postharvest practices;
• To reduce risk within the postharvest value chain.

Research needs relating to pre-harvest factors that affect postharvest quality and storability are addressed within the crop production programme.  The postharvest and crop production programmes share a programme manager with the effect that research is very well integrated between the two programmes.