Pakistani farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have suffered huge losses annually due to poor post-harvest handling, non-professional agricultural practices and lack of appropriate materials for the packaging of fruits and vegetables. However, in a first for Pakistan, PAEC scientists working at NIFA Peshawar have developed a new cost-effective technology known as the Zero-Energy Cooling Chamber (ZECC) to reduce post-harvest handling of fruits and vegetables.
That is why a workshop was set up, organized by the Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), aimed at creating a liaison among NIFA scientists, horticulturists in the provincial Agricultural Department and progressive fruit growers across the province. Officials from the Department of Agriculture Extension Wing, farmers and students from different universities from Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda districts attended the workshop.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Gul Sanat Shah, director, NIFA, highlighted the role of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in the field of food security and agriculture in the country. HE asked the fruit growers to use Zero-Energy Cool Chamber Technology for the Storage of Fruits and Vegetables. To that end, he assured the growers there would be on-field technical assistance available.
Source: technologytimes.pk
