The objective of this manual is to provide technical knowledge about food Processing; and to guide the communities, who are willing to set up small agro processing enterprises, to tap the natural resources existing in their environments. In general terms, the benefits of small-scale food processing for people in developing countries can be broadly stated as follows:
The types of products that are suitable for small-scale productions are those for which there is a high demand and higher value can be added by processing. Typically fruits and vegetables have a low price when they are in the raw state, but can be processed into a range of dried foods, jams, juice, pickles and etc, which have a considerably higher value.
The high added value means that the amount of food that must be processed to earn a reasonable income is relatively small. Hence, the size and type of equipment required to operate at this scale can kept to levels that are affordable to most aspiring entrepreneurs.
In many countries, vegetables and fruits are among the most accessible raw materials for processing. Traditionally, cultivation of vegetables in small garden plots has been common in most tropical regions and the planting of fruit trees around the house or compound has provided shade and wood as well as fruit.
The FAO programmes, together with an increasing awareness of the value of processing for improved food security and income generation have resulted in fruit and vegetable processing being seen as important methods to improve livelihoods, of both rural and urban populations.
