Agro Processing Strategy

a g r o - p r o c e s s i n g 13o Improved harvesting and postharvestingtechniques forgrowers would reduce wastageand increase revenue for thegrowers as well as supply, andenhance quality of inputs for theprocessors.o Growers also need technicalinformation and training, such asthe best times for reaping.• Grower – Purchaser transaction couldbe improved by the following:o Group purchasing of productsin bulk to reduce per unit costof items as well as shipping andother transactional costs.o Efficiency may be improved bypurchasing directly from growersinstead of intermediaries, whichwould mean better quality(processors), and prices (both).However the following wouldbe required for significantimprovements from this channel:• Increased quantities availablefrom individual farmers bymoving to orchards or relatedsystems and practices.o Arranged purchasing betweenbuyers (processors orintermediary) and grower shouldalso inform reaping time to plan forstorage and transport to maintainthe quality.o Transportation means (vehicles inparticular) impact the products aswell, and require improvements.• The following would improveefficiencies of Processors:o Retooling which is a criticalsuccess factor and therefore apriority.o Technical expertise to properlyadvise processors on retooling.Such as selecting the bestequipment, preparing costbenefitanalyses, arranging sharedpurchase of investment for shared/ contract use.o Financing constraints oftenleads to compromise on capacityor lifetime of equipment forretooling.Reducing Leakages• The following issues and desiredresponses for reducing imports wereidentified:o Raw material (agricultural inputs)