FAO collaborated with the World Bank and the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, to organize a workshop in Accra, Ghana from 31 May - 3 June 2011 on the subject of post-harvest losses (PHL) reduction. The workshop, which attracted 30 agricultural and related professionals from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia, had the following objectives:

1. To discuss the significance of the issue of PHL and past experiences in Anglophone West Africa with respect to grains, fruits and vegetables, roots and tubers and the dairy sub-sectors;
2. To refine strategies and priority actions and harmonise approaches to tacking PHL issues; 
3. To explore modalities for the formation of an information exchange and coordination mechanism for tackling and spearheading PHL issues at the regional level; and, 
4. To inform on competencies and capacity building requirements of policy makers and senior technical public sector officials with regards to implementing PHL programmes in the region.

The workshop saw the launching of the FAO/World Bank report entitled Missing Food: The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa, which was produced in collaboration with the UK’s Natural Resources Institute. The report can be obtained by clicking here.

A video giving the main highlights of the report can be viewed at the link below.