The world population is growing rapidly. Food production has to increase rapidly to meet food demands of growing population. It is very important to reduce food losses in order to meet the food demand of the increasingly world population too. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of U.N. , about 1.3 billion tons of food are globally wasted or lost per year. Thus, reduction of post-harvest losses is a critical subject . Post-harvest (food supply) chain comprises a number of stages(On field, storage, packaging, distribution, marketing) from the field to the final retail market. The losses occur at every stage of the chain. The rate of loss in fresh fruits and vegetables varies between 4% and 25% in developed countries, 21% and 47% in developing countries according to product structure and processing patterns. Due to inefficient harvesting and transportation; poor technologies for storage and packaging; involvement of too many diverse actors; and poor infrastructure, losses are higher in developing countries compared to developed countries. The post harvest management in Turkey is far from Developed Countries. Losses in the food supply chain are mainly associated with target groups' traditional methods, habits and practices and also lack of any smart, lastest innovative and developed VET materials for this group. Additionally in "Erasmus+ horizontal and VET-specific priorities" it is emphasised that developing VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning and creating innovative training materials for target groups is inevitable to increase employability and increase competences in labor market. In the project it is aimed at reducing losses in food supply chain, 4 products(Fig, cherry, tomato,grape) will be selected with maximal importance for our country which have highest export value and highest loss rate via new, innovative vocational training materials. The project consortium has 8 partners from four countries with specific expertise. By creating this multilateral umbrella; various tangible outputs will be developed by the help of experts from those organisations. The project will be coordinated by CRIFFC which is one of the public body research and training center in the field of agricultural products, food research, food technologies, food quality and trainig activities. It serves trainings to youth and to university students, employees and has EU projects experience (such as EU, ERASMUS+, HORIZON 2020, FAO ). The other core partners are: - Ministry of Food Agriculture and livestock/ General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GDAR,Turkey), - Gaziantep University(Turkey), -ISEKI-Food Association (IFA, Austria), -The National Technological Centre for the Food and Canning Industry (CTC, Spain), -Dunerea De Jos University (UDJ, Romania), -Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Tarım AS (TARIMAS, Turkey) -Bursa Commodity Exchange (BCE, Turkey) The goal of the Project is; *to develop an educational package that meets the requirements of vocational education in the field of post harvest sectors (food supply chain) to reduce post harvest losses and improve the quality, safety and marketability of selected horticultural products. *to develop VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning and to increase awareness of target group by using inclusive latest techniques. *to create new innovative training materials from a wide range of disciplines associated with the prevention of food losses (methodologies, tools and practices). Additionally utilize digital tools to enable the learning also for individuals who don’t have a chance to or can’t for some reason study in a classroom. The main focus is implementing sustainable development in the sector via vocational education and training. It is expected that the ongoing project will contribute positively to the implementation of post harvest technologies and reduction of food losses in food supply chain. Innovative training materials will fill the gap in vocational education and training, they will increase the skills of trainers in the sector. Use of appropriate techniques learned during training activities will help to prevent food losses in the sector. Curriculum will be used in universities and in VET institutions. The actions taken by both the participants and the institutions involved, using the results of the project, food losses will reduce. And in the long term, reduction of food losses will have positive impact to reduce costs of waste management and greenhouse gas production.
World population is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and in order to meet the food demand, food production must be increased by 70 percent. Food availability and accessibility can be ensured by increasing production, improving distribution and reducing the loss and waste. About 1.3 billion tons of food gets lost annually. In terms of economic value food losses and waste amounts roughly US$680 billion in industrialized countries and US$310 billion in developing countries. It is estimated that food losses can feed 870 million hungry people. Reducing food loss and waste is an important target of the Sustainable Development Goals. Reducing food loss and waste can generate economic benefits. It is essential to address the causes of food loss and waste. Inadequate technology, poor transportation, poor storage, mis-packaging and improper preservation conditions in all food chains are some of the factors that cause food loss in postharvest sectors. These factors are mainly associated with target groups' traditional processing methods, improper practices and also lack of any smart, innovative and free training materials. There is a need for qualified workers with knowledge and competence in the postharvest sectors to reduce postharvest losses and also developing VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning and creating innovative training materials for target groups is inevitable to increase employability and increase competences in labor market. The goal of the Project is; *to develop an educational package that meets the requirements of vocational education for employees in postharvest sectors (food supply chain) to reduce losses and improve the quality, safety and marketability of horticultural products. *to develop VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning and to increase awareness of target group by using inclusive latest techniques. *to create new innovative training materials from a wide range of disciplines and developing E-learning platform The project consortium is formed by 8 experienced partners from 4 countries. The project coordinator is CRIFFC which is an experienced research and training center in the field of agricultural products, food research, food technologies, food quality and trainig activities. The other core partners are: - General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GDAR,Turkey), - Gaziantep University(Turkey), -ISEKI-Food Association (IFA, Austria), -The National Technological Centre for the Food and Canning Industry (CTC, Spain), -Dunerea De Jos University (UDJ, Romania), -Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Tarım AS (TARIMAS, Turkey) -Bursa Commodity Exchange (BCE, Turkey) Within the scope of the project, Training Need Assesment & Country Survey Report and six training materials were prepared in Turkish, English, German, Romanian and Spanish languages in order to meet the vocational training needs of the people working in post-harvest sectors. The training materials focused on especially four products; fig, cherry, tomato and grape. The training materials prepared within the scope of the Project are; -Best Harvesting Techniques Training Material -Best Storage And Transportation Practises Trainin Material -Packaging Opportunities Training Material -Sales Conditions İn Retail And Wholesaler Market Training Material -Food Losses Volarization Applications Training Material -Marketing Opportunities Of Fruits Training Material A curriculum was prepared which can be used by trainer and teachers in VET institutions and organisations. Economic analysis report was prepared which aims to draw attention to the importance of food losses and food wastes all over the world in terms of economy. In addition, a web-based E-learning module is available in five languages at https://elearning.postharvestproject.com/ During the project in order to increase awareness and to be able to disseminate project results different training and dissemination activities were performed; Opening Conference, short term joint staff training events, dissemination seminars in Austria, Romania and Spain, trainee trainings and on field trainings, workshop and Final Dissemination Conference were organized. Participation of mayor, governor and decision makers to the Project meetings helped to increase public awareness and maket he Project more visible in newspapers, TVs and social media platforms. By the help of new innovative training materials, the target groups have increased their skills and competences at every stages of postharvest. New, innovative training materials met the requirements of vocational education in the field of postharvest sectors to reduce postharvest losses and improve the quality, safety and marketability of selected horticultural products. Training materials filled the gap in vocational education and increased the skills of trainers and teachers in the universities and VET institutions.