Farmers rely on strong supply chains to deliver perishables such as fresh fruit and vegetables to consumers. Such products need to be sold quickly to avoid food loss and waste as after harvesting their long-term preservation is difficult. Preservation of quality contributes not only to the stable supply of perishables to consumers but also to increasing farmers’ incomes. To maintain the quality of fruit and vegetables, careful handling at harvest and proper environmental control postharvest are necessary. Cold chain systems are therefore indispensable for perishable supply chains. Marketing of perishable products, however, is difficult for small farmers because they are usually located far from consumers and establishing cold chains is costly.

The APO Secretariat in collaboration with the Council of Agriculture and China Productivity Center, ROC, organized a workshop on Innovative Technologies in Perishable Product Supply Chains for Small Farmers, 24–26 May, to share the current status of supply chains for fruit and vegetables, learn about technologies to maintain the quality of perishable products throughout supply chains which could be adopted by small farmers, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of small farmers growing perishables in APO members.

The workshop focused on enhancing small farmers’ knowledge and introducing innovative technologies to maintain the quality of perishable products. It was attended by 43 participants from nine APO member economies. Six resource persons from the ROC, Japan, and Singapore gave presentations and led the sessions.