Impact of Demonstrations on Tribal Womens Knowledge and Adoption Level of Preservation of Fruit and Vegetable Technology

Abstract

Kinnaur, a predominated tribal district of Himachal Pradesh has made rapid progress with regard to fruit and vegetable production during the last two decades, but it has been estimated that about 20 per cent of the total fruit and vegetable produce is unmarketable surplus. Out of this surplus only 50 per cent is handled by the various state owned agencies like HPMC whereas the remaining half goes waste due to the lack of transport, packing and marketing facilities. Besides, the spoilage of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables owing to rotting and ignorance of handling them at the field level account for about 4 to 5 per cent.