SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

Reducing Food Losses through Improved Post Harvest Management in Ethiopia

Group photo of the trainees and some of the trainers
29 May 2015

Adama, Ethiopia was the base of a FAO conducted ten-day training workshop on fabricating grain metallic silos under the Project GCP/ETH/084/SWI, titled “Reducing Food Losses through Improved Post Harvest Management in Ethiopia – Phase 1”. The training involved a group of 18 youth artisans and was conducted at Melkassa Agricultural Research Centre (MARC) in Adama from 20 - 29 April, 2015. The objective of the workshop was to develop both technical and business development skills. The training approach involved the principles of experiential learning with emphasis on practical assignments.  The training was opened by the Director of MARC Dr Mohammed Yesuf who thanked FAO for initiating this workshop and especially for involving young artisans in the effort to reduce postharvest losses. On his part, Mr Joseph Mpagalile, the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) for the project, thanked MARC staff for supporting the training and urged participants to ensure that they fabricate high quality silos that are able to meet local and international standards. The project GCP/ETH/084/SWI is funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In total, the project aims to train 70 youth artisans.

By Joseph Mpagalile (Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division), Amare Mengiste and Aresawum Mengesha (FAO Office in Ethiopia)

Fabrication of the metallic silos in progress.