Analysis in brief: With half of agricultural production wasted due to rotting and essential drugs spoiled from a lack of refrigeration, the need for a sustainable cold chain from field to market is now recognised by the private and public sectors. Action is being taken by innovative pilot projects for small farmers, and there is massive investment in shipping preservation.
Investment in preservation devices is no trivial matter
Cameroonian entrepreneur Anastasie Obama was recognised by the UN in 2021 as a “Food Hero” for adding revenue to prawn exports by using a family recipe of smoking the seafood to make a value-added product. Her business has grown since that recognition, thanks to improvements in a system that allows her company to mass-produce their tasty product. That system is a better cold chain infrastructure. A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain that preserves agricultural products – fruits and vegetables, fish and meat, dairy and cut flowers – from the moment of harvest to the items’ arrival at stores and markets. Some of these markets are overseas. However, by the time a perishable product has reached a port or airport, the cold chain infrastructure available there is usually well-developed. It is on the farm itself and transportation links from farm to shipper where problems arise.
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