Quality control and stable markets are essential pillars of Africa’s food systems, ensuring that households can access nutrient-rich food, stabilise prices, and improve overall diets. However, with Africa’s swelling population, the current food value chain often falls short, leading to concerning outcomes. Approximately 37per cent of Africa’s food production goes to waste or is lost, resulting in significant financial implications and exacerbating hunger issues.
To bridge this gap and address these pressing challenges, Africa urgently needs innovative value chains, regional integration, and robust cross-border trade links. As the landscape of consumer preferences, technology, and global markets evolves, so must our strategies in agriculture and food production. Enhancing postharvest management, particularly within nutrition-sensitive value chains, can be a vital part of the solution.
This approach ensures that a larger segment of the population has access to quality, nutrient-rich foods, thus improving overall food security. To succeed in this endeavour, we must focus on targeted interventions, which include addressing supply chain barriers, nurturing market linkages, and building the capacities of producers.
In the relentless pursuit of food security and economic upturn, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), an international NGO, stands in its commitment to the enhancement of the agricultural extension system, ensuring that both extension agents and smallholder farmers are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to thrive within the agricultural value chain.
Through Value Chain Centers (VC), farmers across the continent receive comprehensive training in quality standards, empowering them to elevate product quality and reduce post-harvest losses.
Among the tools and techniques promoted are agro-processing equipment such as threshers, shellers, milling machines, grain storage and drying facilities, and other post-harvest management innovations.
A crucial aspect of SAA’s strategy involves strengthening local farmer organizations through community-based extension services. By assisting farmers across the entire value chain, from production to marketing, SAA enables these organizations to work together in a more sustainable way.
This collaborative approach helps farmers secure better prices in the market, enhances their role in the trade network, and guarantees that consumers can access high-quality products at fair prices. These initiatives play a vital role in boosting intra-Africa agricultural trade, ensuring that the benefits of trade reach everyone involved, from smallholder farmers to consumers.
For instance, in Ethiopia, SAA has revitalized Farmer Training Centers (FTC) in rural communities, making them vibrant hubs for technology transfer, education, and market linkages. These centers promote innovations in production to markets and empower smallholder farmers for self-sufficiency. While in Mali, SAA-supported Production, Post-Harvest, and Trade Centers (PHTC) not only showcase various technologies, but also foster knowledge-sharing among farmers, community leaders, and extension agents. This equips farmers with tools to improve product quality and boost agricultural trade.
In Nigeria, SAA’s efforts have led to the formation of APEX associations that unite farmer groups around specific commodities and connect them to technology providers, financial institutions, insurance companies, and input/output markets, transforming them into robust business entities. While in Uganda, SAA has established One Stop Center Associations (OSCA). These centers support agricultural innovations, bridging the gap in extension service delivery, aimed at enhancing productivity and agricultural product quality for local and foreign markets.
In this collective endeavour, we bring together a diverse spectrum of stakeholders, from farmers and researchers to consumers and development agencies. The driving force behind this effort is the commitment to improving postharvest management, a transformation that particularly empowers groups like women, youth, and people with disabilities, who hold pivotal roles in both consumption and production. Their engagement is paramount as we strive to strengthen these value chains and propel Intra-Africa Agricultural Trade to new heights.
We must foster regional collaboration and unwavering dedication to advancing our agricultural practices. Through unity and by placing these value chains at the forefront of our efforts, we can turn challenges into opportunities, illuminating the way towards a more sustainable agriculture and a brighter future for all.
Dr. Oluoch is a Strategic Partnership Director at The Sasakawa Africa Association.
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