Postharvest losses of 40–50%, as reported in Kenya and Tanzania, undermine farmer incomes, reduce food availability, and drive up consumer prices. Strategic investments in cold chain infrastructure, improved packaging, processing technologies, and aggregation centers can significantly reduce waste while creating new economic opportunities. These interventions strengthen entire value chains, particularly in peri-urban and regional trade hubs.
Proven solutions already in use across East Africa demonstrate commercial viability, delivering returns through higher marketable volumes, reduced losses, and improved farmer incomes. With every dollar invested, stakeholders can unlock measurable gains in food security, nutrition, and rural employment while building more resilient horticultural markets.
Presentation of the report
- Katheryn Gregerson Responsible Innovations (hosted by the University of California) - Former Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture. Katheryn Gregerson has over four years of experience in international agriculture development, including business development and program coordination, building skills in proposal writing, communication of success stories, cross-disciplinary research, and international partner coordination. As a Graduate Student Researcher at the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, she facilitated Horticulture Investment Study workshops in Kenya, Guatemala, and Nepal, collaborating with individuals and organizations.
- Erin McGuire, Responsible Innovations
- Archie Jarman, Responsible Innovations
- Khush Bakht Aalia, Responsible Innovations
One of the major findings of this study was that more investment is needed in postharvest loss. 3 presenters focused on post harvest loss:
- Dr. Jane Ambuko Lukachi - Professor of Horticulture. Jane Ambuko is a Professor of Horticulture at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a BSc in Agriculture, MSc in Horticulture from the University of Nairobi, Kenya and a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (Pomology and Postharvest Major) from Tsukuba University, Japan. Her area of specialization is Postharvest Management. Her research, training and outreach initiatives are focused on food loss and waste reduction mainly in Horticultural value chains. Prof. Ambuko works closely with smallholder farmers in capacity building and innovation/technology scale-up initiatives geared towards better postharvest management. horticultural markets.
- Dr. Peninah Yumbya - Nutrition and Food Systems Researcher at International Center for
Evaluation and Development (ICED). Peninah Yumbya, PhD, is an experienced horticultural scientist with over 15 years of expertise in agricultural research, specializing in postharvest science and technology. She currently serves as the Kenya Country Director and Food Systems Researcher at the International Center for Evaluation and Development (ICED), where she leads programs aimed at improving smallholder farmer livelihoods through sustainable and inclusive agricultural innovations. Previously, Peninah served as the Regional Manager for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, East Africa regional Hub. A strong advocate for localization, she champions a shift in the research model to empower Global South researchers to conceptualize and lead their own research initiatives. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to reducing food loss and waste, enhancing food safety, and empowering women and youth across food systems through research and evidence synthesis.
- Dr. Gloria Essilfie - Senior Lecturer | University of Ghana. Dr. Essilfie's research interests are in the development of management and intervention strategies that may be applied to eliminate or control pathogenic contamination of fruits and vegetables specifically the safety of waste water irrigated vegetables as well as adaptation and assessment of the effectiveness of low cost preservative technologies to reduce postharvest loss in agricultural commodities.
- See: Enhancing the production and consumption of African indigenous fruits and vegetables (AIFV) to improve diets in Ghana and Mali.
- The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture at the University of Ghana organised a call for application for agri-preneurs (deadline 31/12/2024) to participate in the Postharvest Innovation Challenge, with the opportunity of up to $10,000 in grants to establish business plan/ideas after a week-long intensive Post Harvest Innovation Training.
GFAiR chat comment: As of 2025, a total of 128 countries had developed national food systems transformation pathways. (These are the official “pathway documents” countries prepared following the UNFSS process.) There’s no readily accessible data or analysis indicating how many of these national pathways specifically focus on—or integrate—fruits and vegetables in their policy frameworks.
Resource
This global report presents the first cross-country analysis of research and development (R&D) investments in fruits and vegetables (F&Vs), drawing on insights from 179 experts across nine low- and middle-income countries. The study explores how investment trends, systemic barriers, and stakeholder priorities shape the availability, affordability, and accessibility of F&Vs in diverse food systems.
It combines Delphi and Q methodology to quantify investment patterns, uncover barriers, and identify strategic entry points for action. The findings underscore the urgent need to rebalance agricultural investments toward F&Vs to improve nutrition, resilience, and inclusive economic growth.
It combines Delphi and Q methodology to quantify investment patterns, uncover barriers, and identify strategic entry points for action. The findings underscore the urgent need to rebalance agricultural investments toward F&Vs to improve nutrition, resilience, and inclusive economic growth.
Despite these wide-ranging benefits, F&Vs remain severely underfunded in agricultural research
and development (R&D), particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This lack of
investment contributes to chronically low consumption. (page 10)
On average, only 10.9% of agricultural crop-related R&D funding is directed toward locally consumed F&Vs, despite their critical role in improving diet quality and food system resilience. Experts emphasized that this low level of investment is insufficient to meet growing demand, address persistent nutritional gaps, or build the infrastructure and innovation needed to support smallholder production and inclusive market access. (page 10)
implemented across five CGIAR centers from 2022–2024, reflects CGIAR’s growing recognition of the importance of F&V research (CGIAR, 2025). Still, F&V as a research theme continues to receive limited investment. (page 14)
Most of this private R&D on F&Vs is concentrated in high-income countries, limiting its benefits for LMICs. (page 15)
Four core themes emerged as consistent barriers to F&V investment:
- fragmented markets,
- policy focus on staple crops,
- inadequate infrastructure for storage and transport,
- and limited technical capacity
The study highlights clear pathways for action.
- Reducing postharvest losses and strengthening value chains;
- Enhancing extension through capacity building and digital innovation;
- Promoting nutrition-sensitive consumer demand for F&Vs;
- Investing in seed systems and research infrastructure; and
- Improving women’s market access through policy instruments.
Investment Trends: 2018–2023
While overall investment in F&V R&D was relatively low, several countries experienced notable
growth between 2018 and 2023, driven by donor support and shifting national priorities:
- In Ghana, experts estimated that F&V investment grew from $7.5 million in 2018 to nearly $21 million in 2023, although they cautioned that the current level remained inadequate to meet sectoral needs.
- In Ghana, only 6.5% of total F&V research investment was directed toward locally consumed crops, despite its strong production capacity.
- By contrast, Tanzania allocated 12.3% of its F&V R&D investment to locally consumed F&Vs, nearly double that of Ghana.
- In Benin, experts estimated that total F&V R&D investment more than doubled, from $39 million in 2018 to $96 million in 2023. However, they noted that this growth was likely driven by public and donor interest in developing the export market, rather than addressing the needs of locally consumed F&Vs.
- In Nepal, experts estimated that investment rose from $27 million to $44 million over the same period, attributed to rising domestic demand and recognition of the country’s comparative advantage in high-value F&V exports (e.g., cardamom, citrus, kiwi).
- In Sri Lanka, investment data was unavailable due to political instability, with trends heavily disrupted and untrackable during the reporting period.
Regional Insights
While global trends are clear, the impacts of underinvestment manifest differently across regions.- In both West Africa and South Asia, experts' top concerns were reduced productivity and worsening food insecurity
- In East Africa, the dominant concerns were increased postharvest losses and deepening poverty, as infrastructural gaps and market price fluctuations eroded incomes and access to F&Vs.
- Central American experts noted that a lack of investment in F&V R&D would lead to increased costs of F&Vs, intensifying both poverty and food insecurity while contributing to rising out migration.
Policy Prioritization of Other Crops:
A persistent bias toward staple crops in national policy and budgets has posed a major upstream barrier to F&V investment. Governments frequently allocate funding and infrastructure to cereals and grains, sidelining F&Vs despite their role in nutrition and income generation. This has resulted in under-resourced research institutions, minimal extension support, and few public incentives for horticulture.
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture - 2009 to 2025
West Africa Regional Projects
- Promoting food and nutrition security in the West African sub-region through indigenous, neglected and underutilized fruits and vegetables Led by Dr. Freda E. Asem, University of Ghana. -African Indigenous fruits and vegetables (AIFVs) have significant benefits. The project develops a detailed analysis of how value chain actors can increase income with enhanced production and consumption of AIFVs in Ghana and Mali.
- Enhancing the production and consumption of African indigenous fruits and vegetables (AIFV) to improve diets in Ghana and Mali Led by Gloria Essilfie, University of Ghana - Emphasizing the promotion of youth-led enterprises, this project raises consumer awareness of the nutritional benefits of AIFVs, while increasing incomes for all actors along the value chain.
- Increasing youth participation in the production of indigenous vegetables and fruits using with locally available resources - Led by Atanda Oladejo, Obafemi Awolowo University
- Research aims to increase employment opportunities in the horticulture sector through youth engagement with efficient soil management practices and digital tools to enhance African indigenous fruit and vegetable (AIFV) production.
- Strengthening the horticulture sector in Guinea Bissau - Led by Dr. Naalamle Amissah , University of Ghana. The horticulture sector in Guinea Bissau offers significant promise that remains untapped. This project will strengthen input supply, production strategies, and build institutional capacity in higher education, national research, and within farmer groups.
- Strengthening the horticulture sector in Niger - Led by Erin McGuire , University of California, Davis - The project builds on the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s efforts in Niger by strengthening key horticulture value chains and increasing the capacity of actors in the horticulture sector through this Mission buy-in from the USAID Mission in Niger.
Forthcoming
- 20/08 Enhancing Extension through Capacity Building and Digital Innovation
- 03/09 Strengthening Seed Systems and Research Infrastructure: stronger links are needed between research and farmers, especially for indigenous crops.
- 10/09 Elevating Nutrition and Consumer Demand for Fruits and Vegetable
- 17/09 Enabling Market Access for Women through Policy Instruments
No comments:
Post a Comment