Assessment of postharvest handling practices on quality of organically produced banana (musa spp) and okra (abelmoschus esculentus l) in two districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana
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Date
2011-12-04
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Abstract
A survey was conducted to assess the current postharvest handling practices of farmers, marketers, consumers, and exporters of organically produced banana and okra in the Kwahu South District and Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. The research sought to assess the status of postharvest handling of organically produced banana and okra for the domestic markets and to identify ways of improving on these practices for appropriate recommendation to farmers, marketers, consumers as well as exporters of these crops. A survey was conducted on the actors and the stakeholders and data from the field study was collected and analyzed using Descriptive Statistics and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. Majority of the respondents (60%) had basic school education while 13%, who were mainly consumers and exporters of organically produced banana and okra, had tertiary education. Consumers’ preference for organically produced banana and okra was based mainly on healthiness (75.0%), freedom from harmful chemicals (17.6%) and protection of the environment (21.4%). Result of the study showed that small scale farmers and marketers handled their organically produced banana and okra differently from that of the large scale producers (exporters). Small scale farmers practiced little or no improved postharvest methods such as proper harvesting, cooling, sorting, grading, treatment, packaging, labeling, good transportation and storage. It was observed that out that less than 20% of respondents carried out some form of storage and 100% of the small scale banana marketers used both nonchemical and chemical means to enhance ripening of banana while 17% of the okra farmers applied sugar solution to enhance fruit quality and extend shelf life. The study concluded the level of quality of organically produced banana and okra by the small scale farmers was low as compared to that of the large scale producers/ exporters considering extrinsic attributes of fruit quality. The level of awareness of farmers, marketers and consumers on the effect of postharvest handling practices on quality of their produce was low. The study recommend among other things continuous training for the small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to improve upon their knowledge on postharvest handling practices of organic fruits and vegetables.
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A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science (Post Harvest Technology) degree.