Tackling post-harvest losses in NTT

6 January 2012 - Post-harvest fisheries loss is a significant concern as it equates to a lossof valuable protein for consumers and lost income for fishers, processors and traders.

A post-harvest decrease in the quality of fisheries and seaweed products from Indonesia’s Nusa Tenggara Timor (NTT) province is a serious concern with an estimated 25 per cent needing to be sold off cheaply. Lack of information about how to increase the quality of fisheries products, losses at various stages along the distribution chain or related to fishing, transport, processing and marketing are identified as the causes.

Seeking to address this issue, RFLP undertook a series of one-day awareness raising activities on fisheries supply chain improvement and good handling practices during November and December 2011.

The training involved 600 members of the NTT coastal community from Kupang Municipality and district, Alor and Rote including fishers, fish traders and seaweed farmers as well as consumers and housewives.

The events helped raise the awareness of participants that quality deterioration or fluctuations in supply and demand could lead to products either being discarded or sold at a relatively low price. Meanwhile, consumers gained greater understanding about the possible threats to health and food security from low-quality fisheries products. 

Wilhelmus Bate, head of processing and marketing of fishery products division (P2HP) of Marine and Fisheries Agency (DKP) NTT Province, remarked on food security issue during the training, “The use of chemicals on fish products will affect the safety and quality of fish, posing a threat to consumers’ health therefore raising public awareness on this issue is crucial. DKP fully supports RFLP’s good initiatives to promote fisheries good handling practices amongst fishers, processors and traders, not only to reduce income losses but also to increase food security for consumersof fisheries products.”

Carried out in 20 different locations, the sessions covered post‐harvest good practices in handling, storing and transporting fish and seaweed; how to use and maintain ice boxes; what to check for when buying fish;benefits of fishconsumption and how to apply the seasonal calenderin fishing A video showing good handling practicesand fisheries activities in other coastal areas of Indonesiawas shown and practical sessions held to assess fish quality through organoleptic tests.

To enhance the knowledge on fisheries supply chain improvement and good handling practices, RFLP also distributed post-harvest awareness materials including posters, booklets, banners, flyers and stickers to the participants.

Some participants expressed confidence in their new skills. “Sometimes buyers reject my tuna because of my poor handling practices. I didn’t know how to handle fish except that they should be chilled using ice. Now I know that good fish handling all the way from the boat to the market can reduce income loss and I will really pay attention to this,” said Janemaro, a fisher from Alor District.

“We now realize that seaweed should be sun dried on racksnot only so that it dries quickly but also to help reduce income loss,” said Bernard Mooy, a seaweed farmer. “Poor handling practices like placing seaweed on dirty surfaces,letting animals walk on it, physically damaging seaweed by throwing or mixing good and bad seaweed will just decrease the price,” he said.