Post-harvest activities along the maize and cowpea value chains in Benin

The project “Postharvest Management in Sub-Saharan Africa” (PHM-SSA) is one of three mandates under the umbrella programme of the Global Programme Food Security (GPFS) of SDC with the common goal to “to increase food security of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa through reduced postharvest losses at farm and community level”.

PHM-SSA is a regional project with Benin and Mozambique as focus countries, coordinated by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation (HSI) and implemented in a consortium with FANRPAN (Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network), with AFAAS (African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services) and Agridea as associated partners.

The expected outcomes of the project are:

1. Improved handling and storage options within the grains and pulses value chains are benefitting smallholder farmers in focus countries.
2. Good practice options for reducing postharvest losses are compiled, disseminated and scaled up.
3. Appropriate regulatory frameworks on reducing post-harvest losses in food supply chains are introduced and implemented at national and regional levels and financing is secured.

A range of materials for training and advocacy were developed by the project, including the following Postharvest Management training materials: