AU Develops Post-harvest Loss Reduction Strategy for Member States

Addis Ababa ENA September 17/2019 The African Union Commission said it has developed post-harvest loss management strategy in collaboration with partners to help 55 member states in the continent.

This was disclosed during the opening ceremony of the 2nd All Africa Post-harvest Congress and Exhibition that took place in Addis Ababa.

AU Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Professor Victor Harrison said the new strategy is a landmark for Africa and the first ever post-harvest loss strategy for the continent which demonstrates AU commitment to provide the right strategies and frameworks to get member states to increase agricultural productivity, create jobs and improve incomes from strengthening  value chains and by reducing post-harvest losses.  

The strategy will support 55 member states in implementing actions in all efforts in agricultural food value chain to reduce post-harvest loss, he added.

The specific interventions of this strategy include supporting member states to develop and implement robust national policy, technology advancement and adoption of improved market infrastructure as well as institutional capacity building, among others.

FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Africa, Jocelyn Brown Hall on her part said post-harvest management is a priority area of FAO.

She added that FAO estimates that in Africa alone the total  quantitative  food  loss  has  been estimated to  be  over 100  million  metric tonnes every year.

According to her, the food organization is also working with African farmers in general and Ethiopian farmers in particular on how to store their grain in proper way.

Food loss is critical in Africa and the new strategy is a foundation which all partners, donors, government and other key actors would cooperate to put into a reality.

Global  food  losses  and  waste  are  estimated at 1.3  billion  metric tonnes, equivalent to over 30%  of  the  total  food  produced  for  human  consumption,  and  it  is estimated that global food wastage could feed up to 1.6 billion people annually.