UN, ASEAN hold workshop to address post harvest losses

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat is holding workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia to strengthen food supply capacity to address post-harvest losses in ASEAN countries.

The two-day workshop entitled "Post-Harvest Losses of Main Commodities in ASEAN Countries" is organized by ASEAN Secretariat and UNIDO. The workshop ends today. Tomorrow, July 18, participants will visit factory and storage facilities.

A press statement from the ASEAN said the workshop aims to support the endeavors of the governments of ASEAN member-states to strengthen the supply capacity of the main food commodities produced and processed in the region by assessing and comparing the political, economic and technological framework governing food production and processing as well as reasons and locations of post-harvest losses of main food commodities in ASEAN countries.

ASEAN said development practitioners, decision makers and private sector attended the workshop.

The workshop revealed that huge post-harvest losses were due to limited attention given to the constraints of farm inputs, food preservation and distribution, mechanization, productivity, processing, packaging, handling, storage and marketing infrastructure.

ASEAN said the workshop reported studies indicating that post-harvest losses vary from 35 to 50 percent of the total production, which is equivalent to over 100 million tons of food lost per year; in Asia, post-harvest losses are estimated at around 30 percent or $5 billion a year; rodents contribute to the post-harvest losses in the rice sector of Asian countries by six percent, an amount equivalent to the rice consumption of about 225 million people in this region.

Among those who presented reports were country representatives from ASEAN member-states and UNIDO experts.

Members of the ASEAN Technical Working Group on Agricultural Research and Development (ATWGRD) also attended the workshop. The ASTWGRD provides recommendation to the policy-making body in the ASEAN member-states.

"The ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry , as tasked by the leaders, has placed priority and renewed their commitment over the past year in ensuring contribution of food and agriculture and forestry sectors towards realization of ASEAN Community and achieving the Millennium Development Goals as well as addressing food security and other emerging and cross-sectoral issues," said Dr. Somsak Pipoppinyo of the ASEAN Economic Community Department. "Consultation with stakeholders in the region and in partnership with dialogue partners and international organizations in particular UNIDO on issue of reduction of post-harvest losses will not only support ASEAN in addressing the concerns on food security but also enhance competitiveness of agriculture products."

UNIDO Representative Imran Farooque said, "This joint UNIDO-ASEAN Secretariat Post-Harvest Losses Workshop has demonstrated the critical need of addressing the improvements of food supply chain with specific emphasis on the reduction of post-harvest losses and allow building on experience and success stories existing in the region for strengthening productive capacities leading to quantitative expansion and qualitative upgrading in the performance of economic agents along the full food value chain systems." - PIA — ARA