Alumni Workshop 2011
International DAAD-Alumni workshop 2011 “Maintenance of the food
quality within the value added chain with special focus on postharvest treatment” within the German Alumni Food Network (GAFooN)
Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, September 18 – 24, 2011
The DAAD-Alumni Workshop was organized and conducted by The Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR). The main campus is located in Curitiba, capital city of the State of Paraná. The coordinator of PUCPR was Director of International Relations Office – Prof. Álvaro Amarante.
The workshop was designed as follow; the participants heard and discussed about the related themes which were presented by invited Brazilian experts, contribution of the participants, which dealt with food quality and postharvest treatments, and field trip to some agricultural industries and farms. The opening ceremony by Prof. Alvaro Amarante as the host of the workshop, Vice Rector of PUCPR and Prof. Elke Pawelzik as GAFooN Coordinator. Prof. Pawelzik gave the guideline and purposes of the workshop.
The invited experts and their themes were as follow; OCEPAR, Reginaldo Barreiros presented Strategic Management of Cooperatives, Prof. Carlos Hardt depicted and presented the process of Curitiba Urban Planning, then The researcher of PUCPR and UFPR presented the Research Projects which they have conducted and developed.
The alumni gave also their contribution due to the theme of the workshop, such as
Pre-feasibility study fro the transformation of the palm peach fruits into flour for adding value, Developing of tool for monitoring the fresh fruit quality at harvest – Case study: Apple Harvest, Microorganism and plant extract control post0harvest diseases and diseases transmitted by seeds, maintaining food quality, Value Added Chain of cassava modified flour, Quality Evaluation of the effect value-added-chain of cacao production in Nigeria, Post Harvest Trreatment of Some Sudanese Fruits, and The Post Harvest of fruits and vegetables in Santa Catarina State: Overview, challenges and perspective.
Furthermore some visits were conducted and attended by all participants. Some interesting places or industries were chosen as follow:
Irmãos Lazaroto works with hydroponic products, fresh and minimally processed supplying southern Brazil. Supply food for large supermarket chains and fast food restaurants to all Curitiba and its region.
FIEP is the genuine entity which represents the industry of Paraná. The Federation provides direct assistance to 107 business unions affiliated to the organization, representing more than 42.000 industries and generate 750.000 jobs.
Mercado Municipal de Curitiba is designed to sell horticultural and a variety of other domestic and imported products. Today's market is home to shops which sells from meat and fish to Asian popsicles, a variety of products such as fruits, sweets and chocolates, gifts and crafts, organic products, among others. Walking the aisles of the market you realize the cosmopolitan city life, especially the European and Oriental influence. The second floor contains several restaurants that bring typical food from Brazil to the Asian food preparation.
The Fazenda Experimental Gralha Azul was established with the objective of promoting teaching and research through direct contact with the latest agricultural technologies. Innovative by nature, the farm has the most advanced technological resources, thereby ensuring the development and academic participation in its fullness.
The Cooperativa Agrária Agroindustrial is an agribusiness cooperative. The main agricultural products are soybeans, corn, wheat, barley, oats and pigs. The Cooperative has malt, flour mill, feed mill and factory of crude soybean oil and soybean meal. The warehouses are located in Entre Rios, Guarapuava (PR) and Pinhão (PR).
The National Supply Company – Conab is present in all Brazilian regions, following the trajectory of agricultural production, from planning to planting until arriving at the consumers table. The Company's performance contributes to the decision of the farmer time to plant, harvest and store and will continue until the distribution of product on the market, step where the guarantee of minimum prices are offered by the government and is translated into an abundance of supply and stimulate production. Transactions of Conab are coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply.