Post-Harvest Losses: Extension Officers Urged To Educate Farmers on the Use of Appropriate Harvesting Tools

Mrs. Alice Dawson who is the Head of Food Safety and Deputy Director of Women in Agriculture Development, MOFA has urged extension officers to equip farmers on the use of appropriate tools during harvesting.

The purpose of this, she noted is to help minimize the nagging issue of post-harvest losses currently bedeviling the activities of farmers.

Speaking on Rite FM’s Agrotech program hosted by Edwin Larbi, Mrs. Dawson attributed the losses suffered by farmers to the use of “wrong tools.”

“Excessive post-harvest losses is as a result of farmers not using the appropriate tools during harvesting and thereby end up cutting or piercing the vegetables which shortens the life span of the produce,” she asserted.

Comparing the local mode of transportation of produce to what pertains elsewhere in the world, Mrs. Dawson said transportation of produce in some countries is very convenient.

“In some foreign countries, transportation of vegetables is done in cold vans,” she said regretting that the situation was different in Ghana as a result of the underdeveloped state of the country.

She entreated farmers to ensure the appropriate transportation of produce to make them attractive to consumers by collaborating with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union and market women.

Source: Joyce Bedeley/ritefmonline.org/jbedeley9357@gmail.com