Harvesting hope: How cold chain can transform Africa's food supply and future

By 2050, nearly a quarter of the world’s population–about 2.5 billion people–will live in Africa. This young, energetic population is a tremendous engine of economic and social mobility, but this progress is threatened by an unlikely source: food loss. 

In Ghana alone, as much as 45 per cent of fruits and vegetables are wasted, according to a 2019 Mckinsey Report. That’s enough to feed an additional 12 million people, without clearing a single acre of new farmland or using an additional drop of water. 

Globally, post-harvest loss accounts for 14 per cent of total food production, about 180 million tons annually.

Wasted food is wasted potential. The World Food Programme estimates that 23 million African children attend school hungry. Children with empty stomachs struggle to concentrate, and underperform. 

For Africa to be competitive globally, all of its children must achieve their full potential, and this goal cannot be reached when students are hungry.

Post-harvest loss

Tackling hunger in Africa by tackling post-harvest loss is a uniquely solvable problem. Post-harvest loss occurs at staggering rates because in many countries perishables travel long distances from agricultural areas to population centres, where buyers live.

Without the aid of refrigeration, agricultural goods, fruits and vegetables, dairy milk and fish spoil before they can be sold. Not only does post-harvest loss reduce available food, it drives up the cost of the food that remains.

Yet cold chain logistics can also serve as the conduit for commerce. Once linkages are made between producers and buyers, these channels can be leveraged to provide all manner of products - from vegetables to vaccines. 

Not only has this, but also returns afforded by effective distribution created value that can catalyse a journey up the value chain for the food producers. 

Global dairy company Arla harnessed its origins as an agricultural cooperative, comprising groups of small dairy farmers in Denmark, to becoming one of the world’s leading fast moving consumer packaged goods companies today. 

Similarly in South Africa, FMCG behemoths, Pioneer Foods and Rhodes Food Group evolved from the amalgamation of farming cooperatives that expanded their operations to a wide range of products such as fruit juices, canned products, jams and convenience meals. 

Africa's demographic dividend is not a given; it's a potential that must be nurtured. 

By ensuring food security through innovative solutions such as cold chain logistics, we can cultivate a generation ready to seize opportunities and drive Africa's transformation.

The writer is a Member of the Board of Directors of Global Cold Chain Foundation and CEO of FreezeLink