The ManicaPost
Luthando Mapepa
Chipinge Correspondent
CHIPINGE Vocational Training College has introduced food processing as part of its study programmes to train students in fruit preservation.
The course was rolled out this year and it seeks to equip young people with skills in drying fruits through the institution’s community skills outreach programme.
In an interview, Chipinge Vocational Training College principal, Mr Stephen Maseta said the institution introduced the programme to add value to the local community’s farming enterprises and enable villagers to optimise production on their orchards.
He said this will promote self-sustenance and improve livelihoods.
“The food processing programme seeks to equip students with necessary knowledge on how to dry fruits in the district. As a college, we realised that the community was not benefiting much from the fruits they grow as they are perishable. We then introduced this programme, designed to equip graduates with skills on fruit preservation to promote self-sustenance.
“Through the community skills outreach programme, we will also train them to dry vegetables like okra, covo, black jack, tomatoes as well as preserving fruits like pineapples, bananas, mangoes and apples,” said Mr Maseta.
He said the fruits and vegetables are put in solar driers under controlled temperatures.
“Both fruits and vegetables are put in trays and then spread out well in order to retain their nutrients. After completing the drying process, they are then packaged,” he said.
Mr Maseta said the products have been well received on the market and urged young people to enrol for the programme.
“The vegetables and fruits we are processing and preserving are doing well on the market. We exhibited at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) and our products sold like hot cakes.
“Young people should enrol for this programme and receive training in fruit preservation as this can be lucrative business,” said Mr Maseta.
