ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses lessons learned from the establishment up of The Postharvest Training and Services Center (PTSC) based at the World Vegetable Center’s (WVC) offices in Arusha, Tanzania. It was formed in 2012 with funding from the USAID Horticulture Collaborative Research Program (HortCRSP) and by the technical guidance provided by the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO) to enhance access to the improved postharvest tools, services and training to a wide range individuals and organizations involved in horticulture value chains. The PTSC has been included by the WVC as part of its numerous postharvest training and outreach activities. The center offers regular training sessions for extension agents, other agricultural trainers and students from a wide range of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Training of farmers and small-scale processors has been undertaken as part of the linkage with farmer associations, which send their representatives. These trained representatives would further disseminate the knowledge gained to other farmers and processors. Feedback from beneficiaries, particularly farmers, indicates that postharvest practices such as improving handling to reduce damage and grading of produce are most widely adopted. More expensive interventions such as the ZECC and solar driers appear to be of lesser interest to most farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, however, and more information on the costs and benefits of the investments is needed for these technologies to ascertain their value to farmers, in addition to traders and commercial operators. The outreach and extension method that has been most effective was by ‘word of mouth’, through the field days/visits to the PTSC by a wide audience (from extension agents to agricultural organizations and projects), as well as via radio and other media.
