First Africa-Wide Postharvest Food Loss Reduction Conference and Exhibition

It is estimated that 1.3 billion tons or 30% of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the supply chain. In the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the losses are in part attributed to lack of affordable/appropriate postharvest technologies; poor linkages and organization of food supply chain actors; infrastructural challenges and lack of an enabling policy environment. The good news for SSA is that there are proven technologies and strategies for effectively reducing these losses. The technologies remain largely under-utilized due to a variety of factors including lack of awareness; unaffordability; and lack of access due to limited distribution. It is against this background that the WORLD FOOD PRESERVATION CENTER™LLC in conjunction with its sister University (University of Nairobi) and a consortium of Universities and a Research & Development Institution in Africa are organizing the First Africa-wide Postharvest Loss Reduction Conference and Exhibition. The conference will be held from 28th to 31st March, 2017 at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. The conference theme is ‘Reducing Postharvest Food Losses: Sustainable Solutions for Africa’ and will bring together diverse stakeholders in the food supply chain including farmers, transporters and traders. Other targeted participants include researchers, academics, policy makers, technology developers and entrepreneurs in the public and private sector. The overall aim of the conference is to provide a platform where technology developers and promoters can interact with potential users, sponsors and policy makers with an ultimate goal of scaling up for wider adoption in an enabling policy environment. Success stories of technologies, practices, strategies and policies that have worked to reduce food losses in the African context will also be showcased. The Conference organizers would like to extend an invitation to you as a paper presenter, exhibitor, or sponsor. We believe that this Conference can be a seminal event in setting  a stage to  substantially reduce postharvest food losses and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers on the African continent.Contacts:Charles L. Wilson, Ph.D.Founder/Chairman & CEOWorld Food Preservation Center® LLCE-mail: mailto:worldfoodpreservationcenter@frontier.comWebsite: http://worldfoodpreservationcenter.comPhone: (304) 279-4029 Jane Ambuko, Ph.D.Senior Lecturer, Department of Plant Science and Crop ProtectionFaculty of AgricultureUniversity of NairobiP.O. Box 29053 - 00625, NairobiE-mail:  jane.ambuko@uonbi.ac.ke  OR ambuko@yahoo.comWebsite: https://profiles.uonbi.ac.ke/jane_ambuko