Post Harvest Losses Workshop Underway

(ZIZ News) – The Department of Agriculture has teamed up with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to help farmers mitigate losses to their crops, post harvest.

This is being done through a five-day training workshop dubbed Post Harvest Losses in St. Kitts and Nevis.

FAO’s focal point person, Ian Chapman spoke on the importance of this workshop, noting that Latin America and the Caribbean are responsible for six percent of global food losses.

“Each year, the Latin America and Caribbean region loses about 15 percent of its available food. Consumers waste about 28 percent of this food and food producers lose about another 28 percent. Another 22 percent of this food is wasted during the handling and storage stage; 17 percent during marketing and distribution and the other six percent during the processing stage,” Chapman said.

The workshop’s opening ceremony was also attended by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Alistair Edwards and Director of Agriculture, Melvin James.

Areas expected to be covered during the five-day training session include global food losses and waste situation, pre and post harvest factors affecting quality of sweet potato and tomato and marketing channels for St. Kitts and Nevis.