Recently I did some postharvest work in Kyrgyzstan for ACDI/VOCA, virtually online, with trainings conducted by an experienced local trainer, Azamat Mamytov, through the ACDI/VOCA office head and coordinator Mira Arynova.
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| https://www.acdivoca.org/contact-us/ |
Wbere is Kyrgystan?
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| https://geology.com/world/kyrgyzstan-satellite-image.shtml |
Where in Kyrgyzstan
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| Picture of Kyrgyzstan and where farms were located. https://geology.com/world/kyrgyzstan-satellite-image.shtml |
The training was conducted in the area of Kyrgyzstan bordering Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the Osh and Batken Regions with the capitals in these districts of Osh and Batken, respectively.
Problem
These farmers are producing fruits and vegetables with availability storages due to the perishability of their crops and small size of their farms. Each orchard has an average size of 35 to 100 trees consisting of primarily peaches, cherries, and apples. Farmers
are forced to sell their products immediately after harvest even if the price
is low primarily due to a lack of cold storage facilities and knowledge how to use it. To add value to
their produce, fruit and vegetables must be harvested and stored according to
best practices. But farmers have limited knowledge on the best practices to use
for the long-term storage of their crops. The lack of storage facilities and
knowledge prevent them from increasing their farm income.
Assignment Objective
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| Workers sorting and grading apples for different markets |
The objective of this assignment is to assess the harvesting,
grading, sorting, cold storage practices and facilities in two promising villages
and provide practical consultations specifically on preserving the longevity of
these crops from harvest to market. The US-based volunteer will work with Azamat Mamiyov to prepare trainings on the postharvest practices that
best meet the needs of the local farmers and upgrade their current level of
knowledge. The US-based volunteer provides technical assistance and aids in
the preparation of handouts for these and future participants.
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| Example of improved storage facility for local farmers. |
What was Accomplished?
Because of the trainings made by Azamat and the successes of improved cold storage practices and marketing, approximately 80% of the farmers said they would like to improve their harvesting and cold storage practices. A major roadblock was the size of their operations. Discussions ensued regarding forming informal farmer agreements. Insights were given on what farmers might do to improve the quality of their products being sold. Discussion ensued about forming a formal storage and marketing cooperative among farmers.
For more information on this in Russian contact marynova@acdivoca-kg.org or Bob Morris for the English version at extremehort@gmail.com
Dried or canned, even pickled fruit brings many times it's value over fresh. I've seen waste from tree trimmings made into baskets, dead branches carved into figurines. Old apple trees can support types of mushrooms like morels and so on. The list is endless what we did to keep farming when I was a child.
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