Improvement of Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables · PDF fileImprovement of Post...

HILLSIDE AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM

TECHNICAL STUDY Improvement of Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables DATE: DECEMBER 2001 AUTHOR: JACKIE BOARDMAN

SERIES # TS-06

Funded by: USAID Prime Contractor: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) Sub-Contractors:
Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) Fintrac, Inc. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) University of Florida GRAFIN SA
This work was performed under USAID/Haiti Contract No. 521-C-00-00-00035-00. The views expressed herein are those of the contractor or their consultants and not necessarily those of the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

HAP Technical Study

HAP - December 2001 2

Table of Contents

Page 1.0 Summary 1 2.0 Background 1 3.0 Visits to Collection Centres 1 3.1 Current Facilities 1 3.2 Recommendations 3 a. Water Resources 3 b. Handling trials for mangoes 4 c. MYOK Collection Centre 5 d. Org. Akolad Marigot, Savanna de Bois 5 4.0 Agropak – Summary of recommendations 6 4.1 Packhouse Organisation 6 4.2 Mango Handling 7 4.3 Yam Packing 9 4.4 Use of Chemicals and Pesticides 9 5.0 Mango handling 9 5.1 Marketing Issues 9 5.2 Post harvest handling of mangoes 10 5.3 Training Materials 11 6.0 Yams 12 6.1 Market information 12 6.2 Post Harvest Handling 12 7.0 Cold Chain Conference 12 8.0 Pesticide Training 13

1.0 SUMMARY

Visits were made to many of the Grower Associations working with the HAP project. Although the majority of Associations had purpose built coffee collection centres to work from, the overwhelming impression gained is of farmers’ groups working together without adequate basic equipment and resources, including water. In the absence of outside assistance for equipment and facilities, it is difficult to imagine how farmers alone can improve the post harvest handling of their fruit and vegetables. Despite the lack of facilities, the collection centres clearly have structured management systems in place. The management systems appear strong and well organised, and are clearly willing to work with the project. The exporter visited, Agropak, has good facilities and systems in place at their packhouse. However, they do face post harvest problems and losses as a result of working with a very wide base of poorly equipped growers and suppliers.

Recommendations are made as to how the farmer groups could be assisted, in order to facilitate improvements in their post harvest handling of produce. The majority of the recommendations take the form of demonstration trials for growers, outlining the advantages of new systems of produce handling. Should the trials prove effective, it will be necessary to assist growers with funding, or to find funding, in order to roll out newer techniques to other groups.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The Haiti HAP project has prioritised mangoes and ethnic produce as two of the major export commodity sets for the country, but existing practices employed by producers significantly reduce potential income from sales. The purpose of this visit was to undertake an analysis of current grading and packhouse facilities in Port-au-Prince amongst the exporters, and the collection and post harvest mechanisms amongst HAP participating grower groups.

3.0 VISITS TO COLLECTION CENTRES

3.1 Current Facilities The following collection centres were visited during the mission:

Table 1: Collection Centres Visited

Site Region Relevant crops Comments

Kanyet Jacmel Coffee, Yam Vignon Jacmel Coffee, Yam Fond Jean Noel Jacmel Coffee, Yam La Vallee Jacmel Coffee, Yam Savanna de Bois Jacmel Mango No purpose built

collection centre

TS-05, December 2001

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Table 1: Collection Centres Visited

Site Region Relevant crops Comments

MYOK Gros Mornes Mango HAP-built produce collection centre

La Finca Gros Mornes Mango Dondon Cap Haitian Malanga Limbe Cap Haitian Yam

Detailed information on the visits to these centres can be found in Appendix 1.

With the exception of the Organisation Akolad Marigot at Savanne de Bois (which has no purpose built collection centre), there were many similarities in the sites.

Common Factors:

• Most are centred around coffee collection centres. • Facilities generally consist of metal roofed, concrete buildings and relatively large

areas of concrete coffee bean drying floors. • Most of the centres were provided by various donor agencies. • Some of these centres were quite old; the site at Dondon had been built in 1955. • Without exception, all sites appeared to be well maintained. There were no obvious

areas that appeared to need repair. Concrete floors were all in good condition. • With one exception, all sites were very clean. • Sites have coffee bean extraction facilities. • There is limited low-level storage adjacent to coffee bean drying areas for storage of

beans during wet periods. • Larger storerooms of various capacities are available for beans packed into sacks. • Limited supplies of water are available for coffee bean washing. • Almost all water is stored rainwater, collected from roofs and stored in concrete

tanks/cisterns. • There was an apparent lack of any other equipment at the centres. None of the

centres have field crates for transport of fruit or vegetable crops. • There was a total absence of visible production/handling guides; one association had

an old leaflet on coffee bean quality. • The local coffee harvest in 2001 was very low because of insect damage to the

beans. This, coupled with low prices for coffee on the world market, appeared to cause a sense of disillusion amongst grower association members. There was considerable interest in vegetable production and methods to improve and increase production of ethnic vegetables.

The two most common constraints to improving post harvest handling at the collection centres are:

i. Lack of water for washing of crops1. ii. Lack of field crates.

1 and irrigation of crops


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3.2 Recommendations

In order to improve post harvest handling of fruits and vegetables at the collection centres, both water and field crates are needed.

a. Improvement of Water Resources In order to improve handling, many crops, including mangoes and yams, require washing as soon as possible after harvest. In the case of mangoes this is to remove latex, which will cause black staining of fruit skin. Whilst this is not harmful to health, it damages the appearance of the fruit and reduces market value. In the case of yellow yams, cleaning is required as soon as possible after harvest to prevent disease development.

Only one of the collection centres visited (Savanna de Bois)2 has adequate water supplies for vegetable washing. Some centres (i.e. Fond Jean-Noel) buy water from neighbouring householders who have stored water. The cost is 50G per 55-gallon drum.

Other Associations require members to carry water in bucket-sized containers from sources up to 15 minutes walk away (a round trip of 30 minutes).

In order to ensure that grower associations have water for good post harvest handling of produce, it is recommended that they be assisted in the building of water catchments and holding facilities, piping rainwater from roofs or possibly coffee drying areas, into cisterns.

The cost for a 24m3 cistern, which can be obtained, was estimated at 40,000G (US$1,500) (source: MYOK).

Rainwater collected in this way:

• May need filtering to clean it. • Will certainly need the addition of sterilising agents – i.e. calcium hyperchloride

before it is used to wash produce

After use, washing water will have to be disposed of safely. Water cannot be discarded down the hillside, as this will increase soil erosion. At the very least, washing water should be treated in a settlement or filtering system, (i.e. sand filter) before disposal.

It may be possible that after treatment, washing water could be used to irrigate crops. International Development Enterprises, a low-tech water irrigation advisory organisation, that is a DAI/HAP resource firm, estimates micro-irrigation schemes can be set up for costs in the region of:

• Micro-irrigation of an area 25m2. Cost of system US$5 (this is based on the use of a

bucket sized water tank). • Micro-irrigation of an area 125m2. Cost of system US$25. • Manually operated pumps to raise water from cisterns/tanks3 and rivers: US$60

(1litre/second, 60 litres/minute).

2 the growers group at Savanna de Bois, a mango growing region, do not have a purpose built collection centre, relying instead on a tiny storeroom attached to the Association President’s house. 3 Manual pumps instead of/replacing diesel pumps are more environmentally friendly, less hazardous to health when used for small volumes of water, and are more cost effective than diesel pumps.


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It is recommended that a water management study be carried out by a water specialist to:

• Identify the most cost effective way of increasing water storage capacity at collection

centres. • Identify the best, most cost effective treatments required to trap and treat rainwater

prior to vegetable washing. • Identify the best, most cost effective treatments for safe treatment of used washing

water (settlement/filtration). • Identify the best way to safely dispose of used water – perhaps by recycling it for

micro irrigation purposes.

b. Handling Trials for Mangoes

Field crates are used for the transport of fruits and vegetables throughout the developed world. The reason for their use is that they help maintain produce in good condition (and therefore at higher value), and reduce post harvest losses. Their advantages for good post harvest handling are indisputable.

If Haiti is to export good quality, higher value produce, it will have to improve post harvest handling. A post harvest programme must start at farm level.

A trial demonstrating the advantages of using field crates from field to collection centres should be carried out by the HAP project.

However, the use of field crates at collection centres needs to be complemented by exporters using crates between collection centres and Port-au-Prince packhouses.

In order to demonstrate the value of good handling to both farmers and exporters, it is recommended that:

i. Trials are carried out with an exporter using field crates. Agropak is willing to assist in trials, but will not buy crates; they may need encouragement to carry out a trial using some of their existing crates augmented by HAP procured product.

ii. Trials with exporters should be linked to the use of field crates at collection centres. There is clearly no way that farmer groups can afford to buy crates, and the Project should aid with financing crates for trials, or assist groups to obtain financing for crates from other donor associations.

iii. Transport of crates on donkeys is not something the growers feel to be a problem.

However, it is not hygienic, and could be damaging. In some flatter areas, i.e. Savanna de Bois, the use of hand pushed metal carts for the transport of field crates would be advantageous. Haiti clearly has a good metal welding industry, and production of transport carts would be easy to arrange. Technical assistance should be given to Associations to organise trials of different types of local transport methods.

Manual pumps may also be suitable to replace the rope and small bucket system used for raising water from cisterns/ tanks which have top access to the water.


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c. MYOK Collection centre A visit was made to the HAP sponsored MYOK collection centre in Gros Mornes.

The centre is small but well built. Some improvements could be made for this and future collection centres:

• Floors in collection centres/packhouses should always be on one level over the entire working site.

• The 15-inch step, up to the storage area, will hamper smooth and efficient movement

of product/boxes, particularly if the association ever acquires crate movers (which would be desirable in terms of smoother product movement).

• The concrete washing tanks may be less expensive than plastic versions. However,

they require larger volumes of water to fill them. As water is in short supply, this will mean that washing water will be changed relatively infrequently, leading to the build up of fungal and bacterial spores in washing water, and subsequent contamination of all product washed.

• Concrete tanks are also quite rough surfaces and could lead to small abrasions,

particularly on fruit such as mangoes.

• A better solution would be for the association to use smaller capacity plastic basins, which require little water to fill them, which will lead to the water being changed more frequently. The plastic surfaces will also be less abrasive on produce.

• Water connection pipes need to be installed between the roof and water storage

cistern.

• The locked doorway to the storage area is quite narrow. (Domestic home size). For further collection sites, it is recommended that wide or double doors be installed for ease of movement of produce boxes.

d. Organisation AKOLAD MARIGOT (Savanna de Bois)

This association, the only mango producing association, working with HAP in Jacmel has no purpose built collection site. The growers use a tiny room attached to the President’s house.

Production volumes of mangoes are in the order of 80MT per year, with additional production of peppers and pumpkins. It is therefore clear that a collection centre similar to that at MYOK is required.

Coffee collection centres in Haiti are generally well maintained and managed; indeed some have had working lives over 50 years. In this context, the investment in a model collection centre at Savanna for the collection, grading and packing of produce for sale for export, could not be regarded as wasted project funds.


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4.0 AGROPAK – SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS A number of visits were made to Agropak’s packhouse in Port-au-Prince, and the Manager Sandy Fombrun, was very kind and tolerant of suggestions for improvements in the packhouse, and trials of mango handling. Recommendations for Agropak’s packhouse include:

4.1 Packhouse organisation

a. Less expensive alterations

i. The animals roaming free in the grounds of the pack house, represent a hygiene problem, and should ideally be removed or used to graze the area only if they are tethered or enclosed in moveable fencing.

ii. Some of the crates used inside the pack house appear to need cleaning. iii. A designated area (preferably a lockable room) should be set aside to store cleaning

materials and equipment. iv. A diesel store, away from the produce, should be built. v. Staffers use field crates as seats. This will cause expensive damage to the crates,

which will then stack poorly and may cause subsequent damage to produce. vi. Staff training should include reminders to staff that they should use seats/stools only,

and this should be packed up with picture posters, such as:

✘

✘

b. More expensive alterations i. Dust The control of dust in the packhouse can be improved, but this will be relatively expensive.

The packaging used generates a considerable amount of brown cardboard dust. As the packaging is stored in a mezzanine floor over the packing line/packing area, dust from the packaging is falling from the store to the packing line below.

The use of an industrial vacuum cleaner in the packaging store, rather than sweeping, will help reduce dust in the packhouse.

The concrete floor in the packhouse does not appear to have been sealed. Use of a clear floor sealant will help reduce dust, but this will be a relatively expensive operation.

There are two fans in use to circulate air and cool the packhouse. One, at floor level in the packing area, is also helping to circulate dust. If a simple air filter could be fitted to the fan, behind it on the air intake side, dust in the air could be reduced rather than recirculated.


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ii. Staff Hygiene The packhouse site is rented, and therefore investment will be limited. However, it should be noted that for good hygiene purposes more toilet and dedicated hand washing facilities are required. As staff numbers increase during the busy season, this will become more important. iii. Field Crates The plastic crates used by Agropak are not the best crates available. When buying replacements, Agropak should look at crates produced especially for the produce industry which nest inside each other. Initially capital costs may be higher, but in the long term correctly designed produce crates have the following advantages:

• They stack on top of each other in a more secure way, minimising the risk of crates

slipping and damaging produce in the crate below. • They nest inside each other, reducing the need for storage space, making them

easier and less labour intensive to handle/move around the packhouse. • Because nesting trays take up less space, they are much less expensive to transport. • They are generally shallower, but longer and wider, allowing easier access to the

contents and reducing crushing, whilst containing a maximum volume of produce. 4.2 Mango Handling a. Trials with field crates

25% of the fruit arriving at the packhouse has to be discarded. Table 1 in Appendix 2, Section 4, shows that around 35% of the damage to mangoes is the result of poor handling4. This could be minimised by the use of field crates. It is recommended that a demonstration trial be carried out using field crates. The following should be incorporated into the trial: An assessment of mangoes transported from collection centres in the normal way5 to the packhouse; the assessment should include:

• Volumes/percentages of mangoes rejected on arrival at the packhouse.

• Reasons for rejection (by volume and percentage).

• A similar assessment should be carried out on mangoes transported from the

collection centres to the packhouse using field crates. (Assess rejection volumes/percentages, and the reasons for rejection). Black ‘outdoor’ crates from the packhouse could be used for this trial.

• Ideally, this trial should be co-ordinated with a demonstration trial, transporting

mangoes in crates from fields to a collection centre. This will require liaison with the HAP project, and it will be recommended that HAP co-ordinate the trials.

4 This inspection of damaged mangoes was carried out at the final packing stage, by which time the mangoes had undergone two selection processes. Assessment of the quality defects of mangoes on first arrival at the packhouse was not possible, because mango purchasing was stopped before an assessment could be carried out. It is important that an assessment for quality defects be carried out on mangoes when they first arrive at the packhouse. 5 Loose on the floor of the trucks.


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b. Packing

Packhouse staffs are packing mangoes into boxes such that they are standing above the top level of the box. This will most definitely cause bruising/crushing of the fruit. (Appendix 2; Section 7bii). The exterior measurement of the box is 31cm x 29cm x 10cm, and it may be that this box is too shallow and use of a deeper box may be required. It is recommended that:

A minimum of 10% of boxes packed should be routinely weighed after packing. Box weights should be recorded and inspected by management.

The weight of the filled box should be:

Item Weight (Kg) Fruit 4.0 Box 0.3 Tare Weight 0.4 Total Box Weight 4.7

If boxes are consistently above or below this weight, the box packers should be given balances to help them reach the target weight.

It may be that the box is just too small for the counts/weight being packed, in which case a deeper box should be considered. However, this will reduce the numbers of boxes that can be packed into containers (air and sea), and is important because a 0.5cm increase in box depth is equivalent to a 5% increase in freight costs. If, after checking weights6 it is clearly confirmed that the box is capable of holding the required weight of mangoes below the top level of the box, then formal staff training sessions should be carried out to ensure that staff do not pack mangoes above the height of the boxes. c. Staff training programme Staff recruited has experience of mango handling, but are not given formal training sessions or information.

It is recommended that regular, short staff training sessions should be held. The subjects to be covered could include:

• Careful packing of mangoes so that they do not stand above the top of the

box. • The need not to throw mangoes, or boxes of mangoes (this was frequently

observed in the packing station). • Personal hygiene requirements. • The correct and safe use of pesticides and packhouse chemicals, including

calcium hyperchloride, post harvest pesticides and diesel (a well recognised carcinogen).

• The reasons for not sitting/standing on plastic crates. 6 At the time of the visit balances were not available when mangoes were being packed. Balances subsequently became available, but at that time, mango exportation had stopped.


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d. Training of harvesting teams Training should be given to all mango suppliers, to ensure that latex from mango stems is allowed to drain away from the fruit and not land on the skin and cause staining.

The packhouse staff visiting and collecting fruit from growers could carry out training of harvesters.

Intermediary suppliers bringing mangoes to the packhouse should also be trained by the packhouse to recognise the signs of bad handling (latex staining), and must be encouraged to train their own suppliers in correct post harvest handling.

Training material will become available from HAP. Further training could be given to include:

• Guides to maturity for Francis mangoes. (i.e. colour change, flat vs. curved

sides of fruit). • Careful handling of fruit and correct harvesting (HAP will be able to provide

training materials).

4.3 Yam Packing

A separate yam/malanga packing line should be established at the packhouse. These are dirty crops, and should not be handled in the same areas as mangoes.

As an interim measure, yams could be washed at a designated, well-drained area on the site (animals first removed), and moving the yams to the canopied area to be dried and packed.

4.4. Use of chemicals and pesticides Protective clothing (waterproof aprons and gloves) must be provided to all packhouse staff working with packhouse chemicals (including calcium hyperchloride, pesticides and diesel7).

Staff training should be given to ensure chemicals are always used safely. A full report on visits to Agropak is attached at Appendix 2. 5.0 MANGO HANDLING 5.1 Marketing Issues Current estimates of post harvest losses of mangoes in Haiti vary between 25-75%, clearly giving scope for improvement. Recommendations are made in this report (Section 3.2) for trials on handling to be carried out at selected collection centres and with an exporter, such as Agropak. It is anticipated that growers will be pleased to use crates. If the trials are correctly carried out, exporters should become firmly aware of the financial advantages (reduction of waste) of using field crates for transport. 7 Diesel is a well-known carcinogen.


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Reduction of wastage due to poor handling at the collection centre will be beneficial to growers, who with more careful post harvest handling could sell more of their crop. However, there is one possible disadvantage to improving handling:

• The reduction of waste at the packhouse will mean that there are fewer mangoes transported, at cost8, for the local market (Port- au-Prince).

• The export market may not always absorb the increased volumes of good

quality mangoes available. Usually improved produce quality leads to increases in produce sales. However in the States, during March, mango prices drop. Exporters make little or no profit, and sales may drop.

• If export sales volumes are lower in March (because of poor prices), and

volumes of local market quality mangoes transported to Port au Prince by exporters are also reduced, total sales by farmers may be lower. (Unless the reduction in purchasing by exporters is compensated for by local traders increasing their buying of mangoes at collection centres, for sales to the Port au Prince market).

5.2 Post Harvest Handling of Mangoes Very little information can be added to the report written by Andrew Medlicott in March 2001, which covers best practices and is being used currently by the HAP project to produce guidelines. The only exception that could be made is to point out that breaking of mango stems, by poorly trained staff, can lead to disease entering the fruit from the broken stem end. (One analysis at Agropak’s packhouse, showed 16% of rejected fruit had stem-end rots). Figure 1: Stem End Rot in Haitian Mangoes

8 Agropak claim to recover their costs on mangoes sold to the Port au Prince market, but they do not make a profit on them.


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• Mangoes should be cut from the tree with a short stem c. 3cm long, and the latex allowed to drain. The stem should then be further trimmed with a sterilised knife9 to give a stem of 0.5cm above the abscission mark.

• If mangoes are properly handled and packed at all stages, a short stem of 0.5cm

should not cause any damage.

• Before changing systems, discussions should be held with importers.

• It is possible, but unlikely, that an importer has a major objection to short stems being left on the fruit, particularly if he is told of the disadvantages of snapping off stems, (i.e. higher risk of stem rot disease).

• In the event that the importer does object, the fruit bought by exporters should be

bought from suppliers with short stems, say 3cm long. The stems should be trimmed with sterilised knives to the abscission point in the packhouse, and the mangoes immediately dipped in sterilising solution, to limit disease development.

The only other recommendation would be that the project provides the two mango growing centres (Savanna de Bois and MYOK) with sample Kayets (rods) with knife blades fitted at the end. These should not cost more than US$1.00 each (plus poles) and twenty per centre should be adequate to demonstrate the advantages of their use to local growers/harvesters.

5.3 Training Materials The post harvest handling information provided by Andrew Medlicott in May is being used as the basis of project guidelines on handling. It is recommended that:

• The information in its entirety is used as a flyer (paper guide) for handling.

Major points should be illustrated on simple posters – one message per poster - with little text. Major points might include:

• Using harvesting equipment10 fitted with blades to cut fruit from the tree. • Making smaller harvest bags. • Not collecting too many fruit in a harvesting bag at once. • Letting mangoes drain upside down on a clean surface after harvest. • Keeping mangoes in shade at all times after the harvest, and not leaving them in the

sun. • Not cramming too many mangoes into a box or basket to prevent squashing.

9 knives sterilised by dipping them in a solution of calcium hypochloride 10 Harvesting bags on rods – kayets


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6.0 YAMS 6.1 Marketing information During this visit, discussions with growers and associations revealed that:

• Growers prefer to grow white yams, rather than yellow. • White yams have higher yields and are more pest and disease resistant. • White yams sell at prices from 1.5 to 2 times higher than yellow yams on the local

market. • There is a shortage of seed material for white yams.

In addition:

• Yellow yams require more post harvest treatment than white, including treatment with expensive fungicides, which are detrimental to the environment, particularly in the hands of poorly trained association or packhouse workers.

• Packaging materials for yellow yams are more difficult to manage: the market is

used to Jamaican yellow yams, packed in sawdust; white yams can simply be wrapped in white newsprint quality paper.

• It is known that the US market for white yams is over-supplied by Costa Rica and that

there is a US market for Jamaican yellow yams. However, while work will of course continue with production of yellow yams for export, it would appear that there is scope for growers to be given additional assistance11 for the production and marketing of white yams locally in Haiti.

6.2 Post Harvest Handling Vassel Stewart12, a yam Post-Harvest consultant, will cover the subject of post harvest handling of yams in his report. 7.0 COLD CHAIN SEMINAR A seminar was held on December 13th to discuss the use of cold chain systems. Approximately 11 local businessmen attended the seminar, several of whom are involved in fruit and vegetable production and export. Other delegates had interests in meat or fish handling, and requirements for these products were touched upon during the seminar. Subsequent to the seminar, and as a result of it, the consultant made a visit to TransAgri S.A. who will be producing large volumes of Cantaloupe melons for export. (See Section 8.) A copy of the Cold Chain Seminar text is attached at Appendix 3. 11 It is known that the project is already helping with the production of white yam seed material, but there is clearly further scope for even more assistance. 12 This consultant visit to Haiti overlapped with Jackie Boardman’s consultancy.


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9.0 PESTICIDE TRAINING It was clear during this visit that very few people working in Haiti are familiar with the correct usage of pesticides and chemicals used in the post harvest handling of fruit and vegetables. Whilst this consultant discussed and advised on this issue wherever possible, it is clear that more information should be available to the Agricultural Sector in Haiti. It is therefore recommended that simple information sheets be produced (or details of existing guides be disseminated) to larger growers, exporters and advisory workers. The following subjects should be covered:

• Legal requirements in Haiti, the USA and Europe. • How to use pesticides and other chemicals – information should be relevant to both

large growers and small holders – and should cover: • Pesticide/chemical storage. • How to safely dilute pesticides. • How to safely apply pesticides. • How to safely dispose of unwanted pesticide/excess pesticide solutions. • The need for personnel protection/clothing . • Residues in food. • Where and how to get background and up to date information on permitted usage.


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