The absence of appropriate transportation and storage systems is contributing to post-harvest losses among farmers, particularly those dealing with highly perishable crops, social entrepreneur and innovator Mathias Charles Yabe has said.
Speaking on the 13th edition of the Loud and Green X-Space on JoyNews, Mr Yabe said the transportation of fresh produce could result in significant losses before the food reached consumers.
He cited the experience of a lettuce farmer near the Dodowa Road who supplies produce to a buyer in Spintex.
According to him, the farmer previously transported the lettuce by Aboboya to a lorry station before continuing the journey by trotro.
He said the produce could break and wilt during the journey, significantly reducing the farmer’s earnings.
“If the farmer is expecting to make GH¢1,500, by the time she gets to the buyer, she may end up with about GH¢700,” he said.
Mr Yabe, however, said the losses should not simply be blamed on the farmer but should be viewed as evidence of the need for better systems to move perishable produce from farms to markets.
As part of efforts to address the challenge, Agrofresh introduced a solar-powered refrigerated tricycle.
“We recently introduced solar-powered refrigerated tricycles. These tricycles are a complementary solution to the stationary and then the mobile refrigerated units,” he said.
Mr Yabe said the tricycle was piloted in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy, Holland Green Tech and Eden Tree.
He said one of the farmers who participated in the pilot reported no losses while using the refrigerated tricycle to deliver produce.
“The farmer reported zero losses when she used our tricycle for the delivery,” he said.
The intervention forms part of Agrofresh’s broader efforts to reduce post-harvest losses through solar-powered refrigeration.
Mr Yabe said the company also builds refrigeration units that can be installed on farms and in communities to preserve fresh produce for longer periods.
“Basically, we are building fridges on farms and in communities. Essentially, these fridges are supposed to help preserve food and extend its shelf life, especially fruits and vegetables, from five days to up to 21 days,” he said.
He said the initiative was particularly relevant to farming communities where limited access to electricity made conventional refrigeration difficult to deploy.
The discussion, which examined opportunities emerging from Ghana’s climate challenges, formed part of the 13th edition of the Loud and Green X-Space.
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