Innovation hackathon sparks ideas for solving post-harvest losses in Senegal
Photo: AICCRA
More than 250 people—many of whom were women and youth—recently gathered in Dakar, Senegal to participate in the inaugural SenAgriHack, a two-day collaborative event for stakeholders in the country’s agriculture sector hosted by AICCRA, CGIAR Hub for Sustainable Finance, CGIAR Accelerate for Impact Platform and Haskè Ventures.
Senegal faces post-harvest losses which affect somewhere between 12 to 40 percent of GDP, and often result in annual financial losses of around USD 167 million.
Post-harvest losses in cereals, protein crops, and horticulture have a direct impact on the country's food and economic sovereignty, and occur at various stages of the agricultural value chain.
When it comes to horticulture for instance, on average, 30% of vegetable production is lost on the farm and therefore never reaches the stage of sale or consumption.
Eliminating these losses could increase the total value of vegetable supply by 45% (equivalent to USD 72 million) per year and reduce annual vegetable imports by 22%.
Post-harvest losses have been identified as a common challenge in Climate Smart Investment Plans (CSAIP) that have been co-developed in partnership with local stakeholders and decision makers.
The CSAIPs, through science-based evidence, identify concrete actions governments can take to boost climate-smart agriculture, both in the form of investment opportunities and policy design and implementation.