ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
JIHAD-E-AGRICULTURE MINISTRY
REDUCING POSTHARVEST
LOSSES IN I.R.IRAN
by:
Roughiah Sokoutfar
Senior expert
Agro Industry bureau
8 th Meeting of Agriculture Working Group
13th October 2016
ANKARA - TURKEY
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Outline
Agriculture Agricultural production Postharvest system postharvest losses Rice post harvest losses citrus postharvest losses vegetable post harvest losses challenges Suggestions Apperciation
Iran -Terrain
Rugged, mountainous, high central basin with desert
mountains small discontinuous plains along both coast
Climate
Mostly arid or semiarid,subtropical along Caspian coast
Elevation extremes
Lowest point: Caspian sea 28m
Highest point:Kuhe-Damavand,5671m
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Iran Agriculture
• Arable land: 51 million ha
• Cultivated lands: 20 million ha
• Two main mountains: Zagros, Alborz
• Elevation: -28 to 5610 m
• Temperature: -30,-20 to 55⁰c
• Agriculture accounts for 16% of Iran’s GDP and
25% of its non-oil exports
• 85-90% Food sufficiency
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• Agricultural products
• Superior products
…..cont
Agriculture Production(2015)
products Amount (million tons)
Annual crops 78
Orchard products 17
Livestock & poultry 14
Honey 0.075
fishery 0.925
total 110
Reported by ministry of jihad-e-agriculture in 2007(APERI)
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row Name of product
1 Citrus
2 apple
3 grape
4 date
5 Pomegranate
6 saffron
7 pistachio
8 Raisin
9 Medical herbs
10 barbbery
11 caraway
Superior products
Preference of Superior Products World Ranking
• Iran is the third raisin exporter to 100 countries
• Iran is the first saffron producer
• Iran is the 7th-9th grape exporter
• 40%of green caraway is produced in Iran
• Iran is the first barberry producer
• Iran is the second date producer
• Iran is the first pomegranate producer
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The post-harvest system encompasses a sequence of activities and operations that can be divided into two groups
1) Technical activities: harvesting, field drying, threshing, cleaning, additional drying, storage ,processing
2) Economic activities: transporting, marketing, quality control, nutrition, extension, information and communication, administration and management
Post harvest systems
Main elements of the post-harvest system
• Harvesting
• Pre-harvest drying
• Transport
• Post-harvest drying
• Threshing
• Storage
• Processing
• Marketing
Post harvest losses
• The expression "post-harvest losses" means a measurable quantitative and qualitative loss in a given product.
• These losses can occur during any of the various phases of the post-harvest system
• From an economic point of view, the sum of the losses in quantity and quality of the products inevitably means losses of money.
Global Postharvest losses
Global Rice losses
0.6% 0.5% 6% 4% 22%
harvest
threshing Drying quantitative losses
Broken rice
Postharvest losses of rice in Iran
Renewing &reforming rice milling project as the best practice
• There are more than 3000 rice mill as post harvest units that paddy is dried, processed , packed and stored.
• Most of them have old machinery with low technology with high processing losses
• The programme is done “ with the aim of reducing qualitative and quantitative losses in the line of processing” in the provinces that have rice milling mostly in north of Iran
New technology & equipments in modern rice millings
The outcome of the project
• 600 rice mill are modernized with new machinery, modern drier & new equipment ex,color sorter
• 115200 ton whole rice was added with 271059 $ price.
• Qualitative losses was reduced as 5%
The other actions done in reducing post harvest losses
• Improvement the milk chain and modernizing the processing milk factories with added value products
• Good practice in contract farming as supplier the raw material to processing units ,such as Rojintak co in Kermanshah ,Daland co in Golestan provinces with added value products
• Sabzane co in Tehran province that produce different dried vegetable & food products
The other actions done in reducing post harvest losses
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Fresh Produce Management & Logistics in Iran:Present Scenario
Postharvest of pomegranate
Orange Postharvest Problems
(Citrus sinensis L.)
Pre-harvest problems:
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Biotic factors
Abiotic factors
Cultural practices
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Biotic factors
Diseases
Pests Genotype
Abiotic factors
Climate: Temperature, humidity, precipitation (rain, snow,
hail,…), radiation, wind
Edaphic: Chemical fertilizers, salinity (EC), pH, soil microflora
Nutrition
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Postharvest decay
One of the most important problems
Factors of orange postharvest decay:
Penicillium italicum (Blue mold)
Penicillium digitatum (Green mold)
Fusarium spp.
Alternaria citri
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Cultural practices
Poor knowledge of farmers
Lack of modern technologies
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Harvest problems:
Tools
Labor: cost, skill, availability, gender, health considerations
Horticultural Maturity Time of day for harvest: Early morning in a sunny day
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Postharvest problems:
Transportation
Pre-cooling
Grading and sorting
Washing
Waxing
Packaging
Storage condition
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Major problems for orange
• Fungal decay : Postharvest: (fungicide), heat treatment, biological control
(Debaryomyces hansenii)
• Chilling injury:
Preharvest: Warming, Wind machine, cold resistant genotypes
Postharvest: Optimum temperature of storage (5°C), Air circulation
Mechanical injury:
Preharvest: Suitable harvesting methods
Postharvest: Packaging and transportation
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Fungicide treatment Heat treatment
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Harvest
Transportation
Grading/Sorting
Washing & disinfestation
Waxing
Packaging
Distribution
Flow chart of orange postharvest operations
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Harvest
Transportation
Grading/Sorting
Washing &disinfection
Waxing
Packaging
labeling
Export
Flow chart of Orange Post-harvesting
Postharvest-Transportaion of the products
Grape Post harvest
Raisin production
……cont
post harvest losses in a vegetables processing factory
Fresh Produce Logistics
• Handling – both in the farms and Medians - manually mostly by untrained labor.
• Therefore heavy losses
• Most of the risk in supply chain is that of farmer
Fresh Produce Logistics
• Buyers and farmers both
should pay for the losses in supply chain.
• Farmers often made to sell produce at low rates and do not get fair share
Fresh Produce Logistics
• An estimated $ 35 Billion of annual waste in perishable goods is considered the biggest challenge and source of enormous opportunities for governments and private companies to differentiate themselves in market place.
Fresh Produce Logistics
• Industrial experts say that an astonishing 30-50 % of fruits and vegetables harvested in Iran don’t make it suitable for the consumers, because of poor logistics and temperature control management.
• Losses are twice as estimated in the Netherlands and in other European Union countries
Major Challenges
• Wonder why fresh produce like iceberg lettuce can’t be purchased/exported year round at premium prices and with good quality
• Why a fruit or vegetable prematurely spoils after buying • Chances are that these unfortunate realities are linked
to the lack of proper refrigeration along the supply chain, as well as handling and packaging
• At all stages, manpower involved in logistics and marketing is not fully aware of produce requirements, leading to loss in quality and value
• Limited expertise available in the country in orchard care and post-harvest management
Major Challenges
• Rural infrastructure is poor, affecting transport
• Pre cooling is considered to be the most important unit operation
• Transport conditions of the vehicles -tents/covers.
Major challenges
• Inadequate two-way dialog between government &stakeholders
• Poor decision by all participants
• Poor basic infrastructure affecting production planning & postharvest infrastructure
• Inappropriate &lack of adequate technology
• Low level of organization
• Small and scattered nature of cultivation
• Inability to initiate & sustain linkage with international markets
Major challenges
What needs to be done
• Preferably using fully air conditioned sorting / grading /packing facility to retain best quality at all stages.
• Grading, Sorting and Packing on automatic lines.
• Facility for mechanized packing for both Retail and Bulk.
What needs to be done
Suggestion
• Establishment HACCP system in production chain
• Establishment the GHP &GMP practice in post harvest steps
• Education the post harvest labor
• Supporting the agri food producers
Thank you