There are many general agricultural databases accessible through web sites on the Internet that contain inter alia post-production information. In order to facilitate post-production search, only major web sites focusing on post-production issues are presented here. The number of relevant and interesting sites is steadily increasing. An overview of selected post-harvest research sites is given by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under:
https://www.idrc.ca/foodlinks/browse
(Remark of html-editor: This link is no longer operational)
IDRC is a public corporation created by the Canadian Government to help communities in the developing world find solutions to social, economic and environmental problems through research. The Foodlinks Secretariat is working to promote mutually-benefiting partnerships between food sector members in developing countries and in Canada and the United States. IDRC actively supports the marketing of organic produce. The overview of the foodlinks site covers universities, governmental, non-governmental and international organisations, the private sector, newspapers and journals, studies and other documentation, virtual libraries and information networks and directories of agriculture-related sites. (Remark of html-editor: This link is no longer operational)
_
The INPhO project of FAO has created a comprehensive site that is the ideal starting point for any post-production search. It offers information about new developments and provides a large number of links (182 at the end of 1998) to other post-production sites on the Internet. The web address of INPhO is:
https://www.fao.org/inpho/
This site is operated by the Information Network on Post-harvest Operations, a project run by the Post-harvest Management Group at FAO and supported by CIRAD and GTZ. This reference facility comprises three basic components: an integrated database, interactive services and links to other post-production databases. In the initial phase of the project, the database is dealing with information relevant to African countries, covering selected cereals, roots and tubers. The facility will rapidly be expanded to include information relevant to post-production systems of staple foods in Latin America and Asia. Gradually, it will cover a wide range of commodities. INPhO supports the systems approach to post-production development.
In order to facilitate access in the early phase of the project, the service includes other means of information dissemination such as CD-ROM, floppy disks and hard copies of documents.
_
https://www.gtz.de/post_harvest/
This web site provides information on the GTZ's extensive post-production activities. Special attention is given to post-production systems, post-production issues in small-scale farming and the biological control of the Larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus). It provides links to other important sites that contain post-production information. The full text versions of about 30 extension leaflets and books dealing with post-production topics in five languages are a highlight. These are also included in the Humanity Development Library for Sustainable Development and Basic Human Needs, a project related to chapter 34 of Agenda 21 (see https://www.oneworld.org/globalprojects).
_
https://www.lib.ksu.edu/depts/issa/phds/
This is the direct access to the database of the Food and Feed Grains Institute at Kansas State University (KSU). This institute has been serving developing countries via airmail since 1980. Known formerly as the Post-harvest Documentation Service (PHDS), the database comprises an international collection of documents developed originally for reducing post-production losses in grain and grain-based foods. Information Support Services for Agriculture (ISSA) now supports the database from Hale Library at KSU, and the focus has been enlarged to include privatisation, economic restructuring and new uses of starch, protein and oils in grain-based industries. The collection contains over 30,000 documents and the database is expanding to cite post-production collections in Africa and Latin America.
There is also a special post-harvest training site at KSU under
https://www.lib.ksu.edu/depts/issa/fao/train.htm
which provides detailed information on training opportunities. It covers harvesting, transport and handling of food commodities, storage protection and post-harvest physiology, processing of food commodities (including nutrition), quality and food safety evaluation (including regulations and standards), food procurement and security, market regulation and structure, distribution and transport logistics, management (including marketing, pricing, finance), socio-economic aspects and post-harvest system management.
_
https://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr/mbrqa.html
This site gives the best overview of matters relating to methyl bromide substitution for post-production and other uses like soil decontamination, structural fumigation and quarantine purposes. It provides links to many other relevant sites that deal with methyl bromide and the protection of the ozone layer in general.