ABSTRACT
One of the most efficient ways to feed the rapidly growing global population is to reduce food loss and waste. Food loss and waste have multiple and diverse causes and will require many different solutions including education and training. The Postharvest Education Foundation (PEF), a non-profit organization based in Oregon, USA, pursues a grass-roots approach towards a solution by providing motivated individuals with the training and tools to teach others to reduce losses on farms, markets and villages throughout the world, particularly in the developing world. The PEF Global Postharvest E-learning Program is a year-long mentor-guided training program where participants can learn at their own pace. Each participant can select his/her own crops of interest and conduct assignments (readings, fieldwork and written reports) on the topics most pertinent to them. Most participants are university graduates, and many are working with national extension services, agricultural research centers or private sector companies involved in the food supply chain. Those trainees who successfully complete the course receive a Postharvest Train-the-Trainer Certificate of Completion and can purchase a Postharvest Tool Kit valued at over US $400 at a subsidized price. Successful trainees are invited to travel to a closing workshop, at their own expense, to work with the PEF team on implementing training programs for small-scale horticultural farmers.
