Training for Post Harvest Loss (PHL) Reduction
Full Solution
Solar Dryer Burkina Faso
GIZ Jörg Böthling
More than 30% of the world’s food is lost between the field and the plate, which threatens food security. PHL have been addressed in almost all country packages of the Green Innovation Centers. In 2020, a so-called “PHL Booster” has been launched in 8 country packages targeting various value chains. Women play a major role in post-harvest activities and are specifically targeted. The post-harvest management (PHM) is generally part of training approaches on Good Agricultural Practices and Farmer Business School. However, specific training material has been elaborated in some countries. The training not only refers to technical solutions, but also assesses the perceptions of stakeholders along the whole value chain and identifies critical loss points to locate the most effective entry points for successful interventions.
The main implementing organizations are partners from the public and private sector and training centers in the countries.
Last update: 27 Feb 2025
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Context
Challenges addressed
Food losses in agricultural value chains do have a complex set of causes. To tackle them in an effective manner means to know the critical loss points within a given value chain, to adress gaps in knowledge and in technology and to find the right solutions in terms of economic sustainability.
Food losses have a negative impact on farmers income and on food security. Moreover, they engender a high ecological footprint, as often scarce natural resources like soil and water are used inefficiently and GHG are emitted for nothing.
Location
Togo
Mali
Burkina Faso
West and Central Africa
East and South Africa
Process
Summary of the process
By including PHL reduction topics within broader agricultural training, the manuals become an integral part of a comprehensive curriculum, ensuring that practitioners receive holistic education encompassing both production techniques and loss reduction strategies. Overall, the development of manuals and their integration into training programs synergistically work together to empower practitioners with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively reduce losses in rice and sesame value chains.
Impacts
- Through additional PHL-Booster funds, more than 170,000 producers profited from specific training measures, thereof 40% women.
- Effective PHM of field crops reduces quantitative losses and increases the economic profitability of the production: better quality crops result in better market opportunities. Moreover, effective storage allows farmers to wait for better market prices.
Beneficiaries
Female and male farmers, trainers, processors
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 1 – No poverty
SDG 2 – Zero hunger
SDG 13 – Climate action
Story
In Burkina Faso 42 young men and one woman have been trained and equipped with locally produced multifunctional rice threshers to provide services to farmers in rural areas. Besides the reduction of losses and the improvement of rice quality, this service facilitates significantly the hard manual threshing work of farmers and opens opportunities for alternative income activities.
