Accelerating Post-Harvest Food Loss Reduction in Nigeria Through the Development of a Pilot-Scale Vacuum Cooling and Storage System

Abstract

The problem of the loss of food after harvest has drawn worldwide attention in the latest decades. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other national and international organizations had estimated that one-third of all foods produced and half of all fruit and vegetables are lost or wasted between harvest and use. In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) announced its objective of decreasing global food waste and significantly decreasing global food loss by 2030, as part of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The post-harvest loss of food is a major challenge in sub-Saharan African nations for farmers and growers, with spoilt foods leading to up to 50% of harvested food that does not reach the marketplace. This is not only a problem for farmers themselves, who are suffering from decreased incomes and loss of commercial opportunities, but it is also a problem for the environment and resources as far as unnecessary emissions of greenhouse gas are concerned. This paper examines the opportunities that a vacuum storage system presents in reducing food losses after harvest and highlights the challenges in Nigeria to adopt this technology. The equally encapsulated the design, fabrication and testing of vacuum cooling machine

Keywords: Postharvest, Food Loss, Nigeria, Storage, Vacuum-Cooling

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-20-03

Publication date:October 31^st 2021