Sh2bn to cut post-harvest loss in Africa
What you need to know:
- She said scaling up of simple technologies such as safety storage bags (hermetic) can reduce post-harvest losses by up to 50 per cent and significantly increase farmers’ income.
Kenya is among sub-Saharan African countries that will benefit from Sh2.1 billion from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) meant to curb post-harvest losses.
The 36-month project will scale up the use of technologies across the region to support applied research and bring effective field-tested innovations for reducing after harvest loss on grains.
Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President Agnes Kalibata said the funds will go a long way in keeping Africa food secure as it will eliminate wastage caused by post-harvest losses.
“We now require the technology that will play a key role in minimising post-harvest losses and this partnership with IDRC will go a long way in curbing the wastage,” said Dr Kalibata whose organisation will implement the programme.
Post-harvest losses
She said scaling up of simple technologies such as safety storage bags (hermetic) can reduce post-harvest losses by up to 50 per cent and significantly increase farmers’ income.
She said the time has come to roll out these technologies across the continent to ensure that smallholder farmers reap maximum benefits from their investment and toil.
The Rockefeller Foundation is also investing $130 million through its YieldWise initiative to address food waste and losses. About 30 per cent of the grains produced on the continent is lost due to inadequate post-harvest management, lack of structured markets, inadequate storage and limited processing capacity.
In sub-Saharan Africa-home to over 230 million people suffering from chronic undernourishment – the majority of these losses occur after grains have been reaped, but before they reach the consumer.
Access to markets
Over the last decade, many actors have developed a set of innovative technologies to reduce post-harvest agricultural loss across the value chain – from the farm to the user.
“Reducing post-harvest losses, increasing the quality of produce and improving farmers’ access to markets are key to sustaining the productivity driven transformation of the agricultural sector,” said Mr Simon Carter, regional director for sub-Saharan Africa at IDRC.
