On the Potential of Packaging for Reducing Fruit and Vegetable Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Access to food remains a critical issue in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, 24.1% of its population suffers from undernourishment, and malnutrition affects more than a third of children under five years old. This problem will be exacerbated as the Sub-Saharan African population is predicted to double by 2050. To address this problem, it is imperative to meaningfully improve accessibility of fruits and vegetables for the population.They are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals that can fight malnutrition. Fruit and vegetable accessibility can be improved by reducing losses, which are estimated on average to be 50%. A literature review shows that there are many areas where solutions can be implemented to reduce these losses. These areas, in order of decreasing occurrence in the literature are: Cold storage, harvesting methods and pre-storage treatments, packaging, transport to markets and the sale stage. The reduction of food waste in SSA involves the establishment of better practices in all these areas. After analysis, it emerges that packaging should generate more interest due to its comparative ease of implementation to support other technologies like cold storage. Packaging made from agricultural waste or non-consumable materials should be highlighted to prevent pollution issues. This solution, in addition to offering a strong potential to fight against pollution, could also increase farmers’ income.

Solar‐powered cold‐storage and agrifood market modernization in Nigeria

“…(2008) argues that the lack of access to cold storage can partly constrain the preservation of quality differences for horticulture and other commodities. Similarly, recent studies argue that these value‐adding practices at the pre‐cooling stage can be complementary to cold storage; improved packing can minimize mechanical damage due to shocks and vibrations during the storage process (Tapsoba et al., 2022), and grading/sorting and packaging can further minimize mechanical, chilling and freezing injuries and microbial growth even during cold storage process (Makule et al., 2022).…”

“…Some also have electricity access, paved roads in front of their stalls, and piped water. These variations in access to infrastructure, including paved roads or piped water, are common in market premises in Nigeria due to insufficient public investment in agricultural infrastructure in general, as well as inadequate resources for maintenance and repairs (Hatzenbuehler et al., 2018; Nadabo et al., 2016, 2022; Takeshima et al., 2022). Lastly, only some had previously used cold storage.…”

Assessing land, nutrients and monetary value associated with postharvest loss of persimmon in Brazil: pathways toward sustainability in agri-food systems

“…In Nigeria, the use of a ZECC resulted in a reduction of tomato loss to 5% (Odeyemi et al. , 2021; Tapsoba et al. , 2022).…”

“…Another option to reduce persimmon loss is to use the zero-energy cool chamber (ZECC), which has been developed on the principle of direct evaporative cooling and does not require power or electricity to work. In Nigeria, the use of a ZECC resulted in a reduction of tomato loss to 5% (Odeyemi et al, 2021;Tapsoba et al, 2022).…”

AR-Based Food Traceability as a Means for Sustainable Development

“…Ref. [39] classifies packages according to their constitutive materials: plastic, cellulosic, ceramic, and metal, and based on their ability to degrade or not. In addition, if the package comes from natural products, it is characterized as bio-based or bio-sourced.…”