| Popis: |
Post-harvest management of spices is crucial in minimizing losses and upholding quality and safety along the value chain. This study assessed harvesting and post-harvest handling practices of clove and black pepper organically grown in Tawa Ward, Morogoro; to establish the quality compromising stages. A total of 107 clove and black pepper farmers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to assess harvesting, drying and storage practices. Thirty-four spice samples from 34-randomly selected farmers were collected in airtight bags for moisture content determination. Data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 20. Farmers in this study practice mixed farming, and handpicking harvesting to manageable amounts of spices ( |
