Студопедия КАТЕГОРИИ: АвтоАвтоматизацияАрхитектураАстрономияАудитБиологияБухгалтерияВоенное делоГенетикаГеографияГеологияГосударствоДомЖурналистика и СМИИзобретательствоИностранные языкиИнформатикаИскусствоИсторияКомпьютерыКулинарияКультураЛексикологияЛитератураЛогикаМаркетингМатематикаМашиностроениеМедицинаМенеджментМеталлы и СваркаМеханикаМузыкаНаселениеОбразованиеОхрана безопасности жизниОхрана ТрудаПедагогикаПолитикаПравоПриборостроениеПрограммированиеПроизводствоПромышленностьПсихологияРадиоРегилияСвязьСоциологияСпортСтандартизацияСтроительствоТехнологииТорговляТуризмФизикаФизиологияФилософияФинансыХимияХозяйствоЦеннообразованиеЧерчениеЭкологияЭконометрикаЭкономикаЭлектроникаЮриспунденкция |
Making choices and factors influencing choices ⇐ ПредыдущаяСтр 4 из 4
Before introducing food processing into a village community, it is necessary to decide the overall purpose of the new initiative. Is the primary aim to improve the health and nutritional status of villagers, or is it to generate income, or both? This decision is important because it determines the types of support and resources that will be needed to make the introduction successful. Processing for improved nutrition or food security If the aim is to improve health and nutrition, an understanding of the current dietary problems is needed, together with any likely future changes to food consumption. A nutritional survey is conducted to identify deficiencies, and this is then used to decide which foods should be preserved to meet those deficiencies, and how this can be done at the lowest cost. Using this information, the community should decide what is the best way to establish the processing facilities, how they should be owned and managed, and who will do the work (Case study 5).
If the intention is to increase the levels of food security in a village, the crops that are chosen for processing must be familiar to the community and the processed products should already form part of people's normal diet. The processing methods should cost as little as possible and be effective in preserving the foods for the required period. The choices that need to be considered and the factors that influence these choices are summarized in Table 4. Processing for sale If the purpose of introducing food processing is to generate income for families or a community, a number of decisions need to be taken before production starts (Table 5). The first set of decisions concern the type of product to make. In general, the products that are best suited for village processing have a relatively high value and low volume. Similarly, high-value products that are made from cheap raw materials offer the best opportunities to add value and generate good profits. Typically fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals and root crops cost little during the harvest season, but can be processed into a range of high-value juices, pickles, baked goods, snack foods, dried foods, etc. (Table 6). This added value means that for a given level of income, a relatively small amount of food must be processed, and hence the size of equipment and the required investment can be kept at affordable levels. TABLE 4 Factors influencing choice when processing for food security/improved nutrition
TABLE 5 Factors that influence choices when processing foods for sale
Product selection The two most important considerations are as follows. 1. Supply side.The potential types of crops or animals that can be grown in an area, the likely amounts that can be produced, the cost of production, the quality of the raw materials in relation to those produced in other areas and their suitability for processing. 2. Demand side.The nature and size of the demand that exists (or could exist in the future) for products that can be made by processing these crops or animals, and the number of competitors. Communities, planners and policymakers need to balance supply and demand factors when making decisions on what type of processing to introduce.
Access to information is a key factor in deciding which products to make and which markets to exploit. Most rural communities are isolated and have little access to information on the type and size of demand for products, quality requirements of consumers or the trading conditions imposed by retailers and other buyers. An important role of government extension services and international development organizations is to find and distribute this type of information to rural producers. It is important to emphasize that people who have little experience of food processing should select products that have a low risk of causing food poisoning. Acidic foods (such as yoghurt, pickles, fruit juices, jams, etc.) and most types of dried foods are considered safer than low-acid foods such as meats, milk, fish and vegetables. These latter foods are much more likely to cause food-borne illness if processing conditions are incorrect, or if there is poor hygiene by food handlers. Similarly, some types of process require higher levels of skill and expertise, or are more expensive to set up and operate than others. These factors should be taken into account when selecting a rural processing operation. The types of products that are usually suitable for village production are shown in Table 6. TABLE 6 Products that are likely to be suitable for village processing
Flour milling, cooking oil extraction, cassava processing and crop drying are also suitable and are described in the accompaning booklet in this serie High hopes for post harvest. Each of these products:
Feasibility studies As in all small business development, once the type of product has been decided, it is necessary to examine all of the factors that influence the likely success of the proposed enterprise, which is known as conducting a feasibility study. The types of questions in Table 5 form the basis of a feasibility study; refer to sources of information in Annex B for further details.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Последнее изменение этой страницы: 2018-04-12; просмотров: 151. stydopedya.ru не претендует на авторское право материалов, которые вылажены, но предоставляет бесплатный доступ к ним. В случае нарушения авторского права или персональных данных напишите сюда... |