Farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa has lost between 30 and 50 percent of fruits and vegetables to inadequate storage. Harvest Protection Network, HPN, an Non-Governmental Organisation that provides custom designed buildings to meet specific needs like the need to stop crop spoilage losses, disclosed this while announcing the introduction of a programme to reduce crop spoilage losses in Africa.
According to the organization, the business model will test the premise that revenues from the sale of crops previously lost to spoilage will pay for these buildings.
HPN noted while many programs focus on how to increase food production, HPN will focus on protecting what it already grow saying that in addition to providing waterproof and pest proof storage, these buildings can serve as a distribution center and/or an indoor market.
The founder and owner, Ian Bennett said that the programme also contemplated outright ownership of these buildings by smallholder farmers.
Bennett, who has been involved in the business of agriculture in Africa for over 40 years, pointed out that the programme was not a “handout” programme, noting that “while participating African countries are not being asked to provide any of the funds to deliver and assemble these buildings, they are being asked to remove any import duty and the participating farmers are being asked to provide the land on which these buildings will be erected.”
He stated that preliminary talks with foundations have been characterised by surprise that HPN is not interested in grant funding. “Our immediate challenge is to confirm that these buildings are self-funding.
If this pilot program is successful, HPN will seek a renewable credit facility to make it possible to continue delivering these buildings to Africa’s farming communities”, he said.
Africa.com Chief Executive Officer, Teresa Clarke said his company remained “in a unique position to help bring awareness to important projects desiring to reach the continent and expressed his pleasure to have the opportunity to follow and document the HPN programme.”