MIT study reports improved income, food security and well-being for Ugandan farmers participating in WFP’s Zero Food Loss initiative

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) carried out an independent study about the scalability and adaptability of post-harvest hermetic technologies based on the WFP Special Operation in 2015. The study focused on scalability, adaptability and impact of the project to Ugandan Farmers. The MIT/CITE post-harvest storage evaluation report is now live on their website and MIT News.

“The MIT report showed that Ugandan farmers participating in WFP’s Zero Food Loss initiative reported a significant improvement in income, food security, and socio-economic well-being (e.g., household health, daughters’ and sons’ education, women’s workload, and, women’s status in the community)” said Brett Rierson Head, Global Post-Harvest Knowledge & Operations Centre (KNOC), World Food Programme – Uganda.

He has also highlighted that “participating farmers reduced post-harvest losses by up to 98%. According to MIT, post-harvest losses, due to pests (e.g., insects, rodents, birds) or mycotoxins produced by mould, are an enduring problem throughout the developing world. It is estimated that 54% of food losses occur during production, post-harvest handling, and storage. This post-harvest loss (PHL) is responsible for economic costs estimated at US $750 billion. MIT CITE’s predictive models estimate the massive scaling will continue, with 1 million to 1.3 million farmers in Uganda purchasing hermetic storage before 2024”.  

For more information, the report is downloadable from the website here and there’s a news piece that describes the findings on MIT News here.