On November 30, the United States Agency for International Development and AgroProduct Asia inaugurated a world-class fresh fruit consolidation and packing centre in the Kadamjai district of Kyrgyzstan, AKIpress reports.
The facility is capable of storing 6,435 cubic meters of fresh fruits. The advanced technology enables the centre to pack and sort up to 500 tons of fruits per day. The cold storage facility will provide access to cold fruits and vegetables for south Kyrgyzstan farmers. This will increase their competitiveness in delivering high quality products on the local and export markets. The centre is expected to buy 2,500 tons of fruits and vegetables from at least 2,000 farmers during its first year of operations.
The initiative is part of USAID Agro Horizon project that works to increase smallholder farmers’ incomes by improving productivity and expanding markets. The 22 million dollar project creates jobs in the agricultural sector, for women and young people in particular.
