Post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables are 35 to 40 per cent in Pakistan including 5-8 per cent at the time of harvesting, 15-20 per cent during the management of harvested crop, five per cent during storage and 10-12 per cent at the time of transportation of these fruits and vegetables.
This was stated by the Punjab Secretary Agriculture Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad at a meeting convened to discuss 'post harvest losses in fruits and vegetables and their control', says a spokesman of the department on Wednesday. Agricultural scientists from Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) and experts from agricultural university gave a detailed briefing to the secretary about post harvest losses in fruits and vegetables and said these could be controlled through use of post-harvest technology.
Later, Secretary Agriculture Punjab inspected various solar-powered agricultural implements prepared by the scientists of the university. Speaking to the academic council of the University, provincial secretary said agricultural sector was facing numerous challenges at the moment including increase in yield, usage of latest agricultural inputs and developing marketing of agricultural products on modern lines. He also called upon the agricultural scientists to devise such methods of irrigation which could consume minimum water to produce maximum per acre yield. He also called for promoting value addition in agricultural crops to ensure access to the international markets.