The ¿Strategic Framework for a Global Post-harvest Initiative - Linking Farmers to Markets¿ was developed following an International Workshop on Post Harvest Systems held in FAO Headquarters in Rome in 2003, jointly organised by FAO/AGS, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Post-harvest Global Forum (PhAction). The International Workshop was preceded by regional consultations in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, West Asia and North Africa, and Central Asia and the Caucasus that assessed regional needs of the post harvest sector. Based on the results of the regional consultations, more than 100 participants representing different stakeholder groups participated in the workshop and contributed to the development of an innovative initiative designed to address the complexity of the post-harvest sector and to meet the trade and market access challenges that face farmers and other rural actors in a rapidly changing world.
The Strategic Framework is composed of four interlinked pillars that address policy, institutional R&D capacity, supply chain integration and infrastructure, and inter- and intra- regional learning and information sharing issues. At the GFAR Steering Committee meeting held in Mexico in October 2004, the Regional Forums and other stakeholders identified with the Strategic Framework and recommended that the GFAR Secretariat explore the development of a Global Partnership Programme within the framework of the Global Post-harvest Initiative.