Enhancing shelf-life of fruits and vegetables for off-season supply

Country

Uganda

Led By

Student

Annabelle Yu, University of California, Davis

Description

This project is aimed at enhancing nutritional security and income of rural households dealing in smallholder agriculture, by building and using a postharvest handling and training center to ensure a year-round supply of fruits and vegetables. During the off-season, smallholder farmers are hampered by nutritional insecurity and poverty due to fruit and vegetable scarcity. Therefore adopting postharvest technologies can improve farmer’s nutrition and access to profitable markets for better livelihoods. This project emphasis on connecting smallholder farmers to markets will be used as an incentive for increased food production, including for home consumption. Farmers are expected to have surplus to sell at higher prices, increasing their income so that they can further invest in postharvest technologies.