Regulations and Standards
Environmental regulations and standards allow for the implementation of laws ensuring the protection, management, and restoration of natural areas, ecosystems, and the overall quality of our environment. In France, the useful agricultural surface covers approximately 29 million hectares, which represents almost half of the country’s surface. With this in mind, environmental standards and regulations have […]
Loss assessment
There are no reliable methods for assessing post-harvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables. Any assessment can only refer to a particular value chain on a particular occasion, and even then it is difficult to account for quality loss or to distinguish between unavoidable moisture losses and losses due to poor post-harvest handling or other […]
Loss Prevention
Losses can be prevented by following good practices, as outlined above. There is also a wide range of post-harvest technologies that can be adopted to reduce losses throughout the production process: pre-harvest, harvesting, cooling, temporary storage, transportation, handling, and distribution to market. Recommended technologies vary depending on the type of loss experienced. However, all interventions […]
Damage in the marketing chain
Fruits and vegetables are very susceptible to mechanical injury. This can occur at all stages of the marketing chain and can result from poor harvesting practices, such as the use of dirty knives; unsuitable containers used at harvest or during the marketing process, e.g. containers that can be easily crushed or made of splintered boards, […]
Causes of on-farm losses
Many factors influence post-harvest losses, from the soil in which the crop is grown to the handling of the produce at retail. Pre-harvest production practices can seriously affect post-harvest yields. Plants need a continuous supply of water for photosynthesis and transpiration. Damage can be caused by excess rainfall or poorly conducted irrigation, which can lead […]
Post-harvest losses
Post-harvest losses include all losses of agricultural products, primarily food, along the agricultural value chain from the field to the consumer’s plate. Post-harvest activities include harvesting, handling, storage, processing, packaging, transportation and marketing; The FAO estimates post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables at 30-40%. The U.S. government estimates that about one-third of the food produced […]
Storing Pesticides
Proper storage of pesticides reduces the risks they pose to health and the environment. You will avoid contaminating water, air and soil, reducing the negative impact on biodiversity, and you will protect children, who are more at risk because of their physiology and behaviour. It also ensures that pesticides are properly stored and that their […]
Why use a fertilizer and which one to choose?
What are the roles of fertilizers? Fertilizers stimulate plant growth by providing the necessary nutrients. Bottom dressing fertilizers are used to feed the soil in the fall or winter. Fertilizer to feed the plants will be applied at planting or during cultivation. There are 3 categories of fertilizers: organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers and organo-mineral fertilizers. […]
<strong>Agricultural fertilizers: definition and use</strong>
Contents What is a fertilizer? Types of fertilizers Environmental and health effects of fertilizers Today’s farmers, foresters and horticulturists inevitably use fertilizers in order to manage the quality and quantity of their yields. They can be of chemical or organic nature, with a considerable impact on the environment, if they are not used responsibly. What […]