Background

Across much of sub-Saharan Africa, fragile post-harvest infrastructure, limited cold chains and inadequate storage mean that a significant share of crops spoil before they ever reach markets. These avoidable losses erode farmers’ incomes, push up food prices, weaken urban food security and waste precious natural resources such as land, water and energy. They also add unnecessary greenhouse-gas emissions because food that is produced but never eaten still carries an environmental cost. Tackling food loss and waste is therefore a powerful lever for building agrifood systems that are more resilient, inclusive and climate-smart. Practical solutions already exist—hermetic grain bags, solar-powered cold rooms, digital links between farmers and buyers—but uptake remains uneven. Value-chain actors need reliable data on where losses occur, access to appropriate technologies and coordinated policy support. Documenting loss hotspots and piloting context-specific interventions will provide the evidence base that governments and investors require to scale effective practices and align national strategies with the global goal of cutting food loss and waste.