<p>Jane Ambuko, <em>University of Nairobi</em></p>
<p><em>The the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that one third of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted along the supply chain. Losses are even higher in Africa, and have a negative effect on food security, nutrition and economic stability. Jane Ambuko, a Senior Lecturer and Postharvest Specialist from the University of Nairobi examines the challenges for Africa and possible solutions available to the continent.</em></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-125105 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Farming-Kenya_Wikimedia-e1495626008731.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="680" /></p>
<p><strong>What constitutes post-harvest losses?</strong></p>
<p>The loss of harvested maize and other food commodities can be qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative losses are easy to determine and report since they constitute a physical reduction in the marketable volume and can be easily measured. Globally, quantitative grain losses are estimated to be 10–20% of the total volumes.</p>
<p>Qualitative losses refer to deterioration of nutritional quality, safety or grade. Qualitative loss data is hardly ever reported. But it’s a loss that must concern everyone. For example the levels of qualitative losses due to aflatoxin contamination, although not reported, have dire long-term effects on health. Chronic dietary exposure to low doses of aflatoxins is a known risk factor for liver cancer and other health-related issues.</p>
<p><strong>How serious is the problem of post-harvest losses in Africa?</strong></p>
<p>According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 30% of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the supply chain every year. This is a whopping 1.3 billion metric tons of food that doesn’t ever reach the consumer. Some reports have estimated that this lost or wasted food could be used to feed 1.6 billion people every year.</p>
<p>In Africa, the losses are even higher: between 30% and 50%. They occur mainly downstream, between the production and retail stages of the supply chain. Fruit and vegetable losses are estimated to be 50% or more. This estimate is cumulative because losses occur at every stage of the supply chain – from production to the consumption. Losses at the farm level can be attributed to poor harvest practices and poor handling.</p>
<p>Generally, any loss of produce translates to lost production resources, mainly land, water, energy and inputs. It is also lost income for the various actors in the supply chain. A 2011 World Bank study estimated the value of African grain losses alone at USD$4 billion for grains alone in Africa. This could feed 1.6 billion people each year.</p>
<p>This study further showed that 470 million smallholder farmers suffer a decline of 15% income, while 25% of fresh water and 20% of farmland is wasted on unconsumed food. These figures are alarming. But they’re important in highlighting the seriousness and impact of post-harvest losses.</p>
<p>The world’s population is projected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, with Africa contributing more than half of that increase. To feed these people, production must increase by up to 70%. However production resources – land, water, energy and so on – are limited and inelastic. Instead of producing more, we could increase the amount of food available by ensuring that most of the food produced for human consumption reaches the end user.</p>
<p>Quantitative and qualitative losses negatively impact on all aspects of food security – access, availability, utilisation and stability. There can be no sustainable food systems when 30% of food produced using limited production resources is lost or wasted along the supply chains.</p>
<p><strong>What are the main drivers of Africa’s post-harvest losses?</strong></p>
<p>Losses occur at all stages between production at the farm level through to consumption. There are unique challenges at each stage depending on specific commodities and value chains as well as context. The causes are complex and interrelated; actions or lack of action at one stage of the supply chain could be the driver of post-harvest loss at a different stage.</p>
<p>Qualitative and quantitative losses are driven by poor or wrong harvest practices and poor handling. This includes poor storage or packaging, mode of transport, processing practices, lack or poor access to markets and poor coordination among the actors in the supply chains. There are other broader factors such as poor infrastructure and lack of policies that have a direct impact on post-harvest issues.</p>
<p>** What are the latest interventions to reduce post-harvest losses and what are the limitations or prospects of success?**</p>
<p>Many technologies and innovations have been developed to address the various causes of food losses. However, some of these have either not reached the targeted user or have not had the desired result. This is partly because people aren’t aware of them or can’t afford them. Some technologies are also unsuitable for the African context.</p>
<p>Creating awareness about the applicable technologies and demonstrating their benefits is one way to yield results. This strategy has been used in promoting hermetic storage bags for grains. Hermetic storage is a proven solution for the threat of storage pests like weevils which attack stored grain. Its adoption has risen because of stakeholders’ concerted efforts.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87312/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />The same aggressive campaign should be adopted for other technologies that are useful for smallholder farmers. Forums such as the one held in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this year provide an opportunity to showcase new technologies and innovations from all over the world. Such forums should be encouraged as a way of creating awareness about food losses and available solutions.</p>
<p>This article was originally published on The Conversation.</p>


Why reducing post-harvest losses is a priority for Africa

<p>Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for second, five-year term on Tuesday, ending months of political turmoil in the east African nation.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-292594 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Kenyatta-Swearing-In_GettyImages.png" alt="" width="850" height="567" /></p>
<p>Kenyatta won a repeat presidential election on Oct. 26 after opposition leader Raila Odinga boycotted the vote, citing concerns over fairness. Police prevented opposition leaders from holding a rival gathering on Tuesday.</p>


Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in for second, five-year term

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<p>Rwanda’s hopes to increase its energy supply from 190 MW in 2016 to 563MW in 2018 with a combination of 48 per cent on grid and 52 per cent off grid energy supply solutions.</p>


Ignite Power’s Yariv Cohen gives update on powering Rwanda initiative

<p>Kenyan security forces fired teargas to control crowds trying to force their way into a stadium for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s inauguration on Tuesday, as riot police sealed off an area where the opposition planned to hold a rival rally.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-292572 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Uhuru-Kenyatta_New_Flickr.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" /></p>
<p data-reactid="46">Kenyatta won a second five-year term on Oct. 26 in a repeat presidential election boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair.</p>
<p data-reactid="47">The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election, in August, over irregularities.</p>
<p data-reactid="49">The extended election season has divided Kenya, a Western ally in a volatile region, and blunted growth in East Africa’s richest economy.</p>
<p>Supporters of Kenyatta &#8211; who won with 98 percent of the vote after Odinga’s boycott &#8211; are urging the opposition to engage in talks and move on.</p>
<p data-reactid="51">“Our responsibility after the political competition is to come together and work to build the nation,” Kenyatta told a church service on Sunday.</p>
<p data-reactid="52">Hours before the inauguration was due to start, 60,000 Kenyatta supporters, many clad in the red and yellow Jubilee party colours and carrying Kenyan flags, filled the stadium where the ceremony will take place.</p>
<p data-reactid="53">Others, chafing at being kept outside, overwhelmed police and streamed in. Officers then fired teargas in a bid to control them.</p>
<p data-reactid="54">“I’m sure Uhuru will be able to bring people together and unite them so we can all work for the country,” said Eunice Jerobon, a trader who travelled overnight from the Rift Valley town of Kapsabet for the inauguration, before the disturbance.</p>
<p data-reactid="55">But Odinga supporters say such talk of unity is tantamount to surrender. They accuse the ruling party of stealing the election, rampant corruption, directing abuse by the security forces and neglecting vast swathes of the country, including Odinga’s heartland in the west.</p>
<p data-reactid="56">“A return to the political backwardness of our past is more than unacceptable. It is intolerable &#8230; This divide cannot be bridged by dialogue and compromise,” Odinga’s National Super Alliance opposition alliance said in a statement.</p>
<p data-reactid="57">The opposition planned to hold a prayer meeting in the capital on Tuesday, saying it wanted to commemorate the lives of Odinga supporters killed during confrontations with the security forces over the election period.</p>
<p data-reactid="58">More than 70 people have been killed in political violence this election season, mostly by the police.</p>
<p data-reactid="59">But a Reuters team at the scene of the planned rally said it had been sealed off by seven truck loads of police. Two water cannons were standing by.</p>
<p>Police began firing teargas in nearby residential areas two hours before the rally was due to start, apparently attempting to prevent opposition supporters from gathering.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="60">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="61">Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld; writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Robert Birsel</p>
</div>


Kenyan president to be sworn-in as opposition prepares to hold rival rally

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<p>Over half of limited partners (LPs) plan to increase their allocation for the African private equity market in the next three years.</p>


Private equity activity in East Africa

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<p>Technology multinational, Microsoft has embarked on a drive to influence creation of technology and innovation policies in Africa.</p>


Microsoft calls for resilient tech policy in Africa

<p>Kenya’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 10.0 percent on Thursday for the seventh time in a row, citing muted inflation that was expected to drop further, the Monetary Policy Committee said.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-286682 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Kenya-Flag_Grune_Flickr.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="695" /></p>
<p data-reactid="40">All 15 analysts polled by Reuters last week had predicted the hold decision mainly due to the impact of a cap on commercial lending rates, which is complicating policy.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">The year-on-year rate of inflation slowed to 5.72 percent last month, its lowest level in 17 months, as prices of food items fell following good rains that boosted harvests.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">The exchange rate remained stable and it was backed by healthy hard currency reserves, the MPC said, adding that private sector credit had expanded by 2.0 percent in the year to October, from 1.7 percent the previous month.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="43">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="44">Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg</p>
</div>


Kenya central bank holds main lending rate at 10.0%

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<p>The 7th World Healthcare Students Symposium (WHSS) officially kicks off tomorrow, with renewed commitment to understanding the link between researchers, involvement of students in research and policy makers.</p>


Importance of innovation in medical healthcare technology

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<p>The 7th World Healthcare Students Symposium (WHSS) officially kicks off tomorrow, with renewed commitment to understanding the link between researchers, involvement of students in research and policy makers.</p>


Healthcare symposium to highlight role students in research

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<p>Following the ruling by Kenya’s Supreme Court to uphold President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win in the repeat election of 26th October, different stakeholders are now shifting focus from the prolonged election period to his economic priorities.</p>


What to expect from Uhuru Kenyatta’s 2nd term?

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<p>Kenya has unveiled a trade portal to serve as a one-stop-shop for traders seeking to import or export various commodities from Kenya.</p>


Kenya unveils online trade portal to ease import, export trade

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<p>ICT company, Syspro has entered the Kenyan market with its eyes trained on manufacturers and distributors. The firm says the Kenyan office will support its operations in East African economies of Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia.</p>


Syspro’s Mark Wilson on how innovation is keeping them ahead

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<p>YPO, an organisation that pools together industry leaders, has over 26,000 members globally, turning $6 trillion on average, and making them the 4th largest GDP per capita across the globe.</p>


YPO Africa Great Lakes chapter opens

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<p>The 2017 Ibrahim Index of African Governance notes that Africa’s overall Governance trajectory remains positive, although moving at a slower in recent years.</p>


Citadel’s Craig Kiggen on why Africa needs strong leaders

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<p>President Uhuru Kenyatta will be sworn in on 28th November for a second five-year term following the Supreme Court decision to uphold his re-election.</p>


Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta poll win

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<p>African founded company, WorldRemit has been officially confirmed as the first official online money transfer partner of the Premier League club, Arsenal.</p>


WorldRemit, Arsenal partner to provide online money transfers to fans

<p>Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta in last month’s repeat presidential vote.</p>
<div id="attachment_43936" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43936" class="wp-image-43936 size-medium" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/uhuru_kenyatta2_wikipedia-300x227.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="227" /><p id="caption-attachment-43936" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Wikipedia.</p></div>
<p data-reactid="40">Chief Justice David Maraga said the court dismissed two legal challenges to the vote in a unanimous decision by six judges.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">“As a consequence, the presidential election of 26th of October is hereby upheld,” he said.</p>
<p>The petitioners had argued, amongst other reasons, that the outcome should be voided because the election board did not seek fresh nominations after the earlier Aug. 8 poll was invalidated, and because the vote was not held in each of Kenya’s 291 voter constituencies.</p>
<p data-reactid="44">The repeat election had been ordered by the Supreme Court after it nullified the results of the August presidential election.</p>
<p>The ruling clears the way for Kenyatta’s swearing-in on Nov. 28, but it is unlikely to end the worst political crisis in East Africa’s richest and most developed economy in a decade.</p>
<p data-reactid="52">Police said on Sunday at least four people were killed overnight in a Nairobi slum that is a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga.</p>
<p>He accused the government of being behind the killings, which followed at least five deaths on Friday as police tried to disperse opposition supporters.</p>
<p data-reactid="65">In several areas of the capital, riots broke out on Sunday in response to the deaths, as residents lit cars and buses on fire and police responded with tear gas.</p>
<p data-reactid="66">The court, created by a 2010 constitution that followed a violent political crisis three years earlier, made history on the continent when it nullified Kenyatta’s win in August elections, citing irregularities.</p>
<p>Odinga successfully petitioned against Kenyatta’s initial victory in the Aug. 8 vote and subsequently boycotted the repeat poll on Oct. 26, saying it would be unfair because the election commission had failed to implement reforms.</p>
<p>Kenyatta won with 98 percent of the vote, though opposition supporters staged a boycott and prevented polls from opening in the west of the country.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="68">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="69">Writing By Maggie Fick; Editing by Toby Chopra</p>
</div>


Kenya

Why reducing post-harvest losses is a priority for Africa

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in for second, five-year term

Ignite Power’s Yariv Cohen gives update on powering Rwanda initiative

Kenyan president to be sworn-in as opposition prepares to hold rival rally

Private equity activity in East Africa

Microsoft calls for resilient tech policy in Africa

Kenya central bank holds main lending rate at 10.0%

Importance of innovation in medical healthcare technology

Healthcare symposium to highlight role students in research

What to expect from Uhuru Kenyatta’s 2nd term?

Kenya unveils online trade portal to ease import, export trade

Syspro’s Mark Wilson on how innovation is keeping them ahead

YPO Africa Great Lakes chapter opens

Citadel’s Craig Kiggen on why Africa needs strong leaders

Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta poll win

WorldRemit, Arsenal partner to provide online money transfers to fans

Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds repeat presidential vote

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Kenya

Why reducing post-harvest losses is a priority for Africa

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in for second, five-year term

Ignite Power’s Yariv Cohen gives update on powering Rwanda initiative

Kenyan president to be sworn-in as opposition prepares to hold rival rally

Private equity activity in East Africa

Microsoft calls for resilient tech policy in Africa

Kenya central bank holds main lending rate at 10.0%

Importance of innovation in medical healthcare technology

Healthcare symposium to highlight role students in research

What to expect from Uhuru Kenyatta’s 2nd term?

Kenya unveils online trade portal to ease import, export trade

Syspro’s Mark Wilson on how innovation is keeping them ahead

YPO Africa Great Lakes chapter opens

Citadel’s Craig Kiggen on why Africa needs strong leaders

Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta poll win

WorldRemit, Arsenal partner to provide online money transfers to fans

Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds repeat presidential vote

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