How access to energy can influence food losses
This report (PDF) from FAO reviews the current evidence on the magnitude and geographical distribution of food losses. It especially scrutinizes the role of energy in post-harvest losses and the main entry points in the food value chain where lack of access to energy is the dominant factor influencing food losses. The report outlines low cost and off-grid post-harvest cooling and processing technologies that can be made fit-to-purpose in developing countries. These are household to community scale evaporation cooling systems, solar assisted cooling systems, as well as solar drying systems that can help increase shelf life. In addition, case studies are presented that focus on assessing the technical and economic feasibility of cooling and processing technologies. Finally, recommendations are made that could be incorporated to further develop food loss strategies that can classify food value chains based on their energy demand. This could enable policy makers to quickly understand the main technologies for food preservation and processing that can be introduced based on the available energy sources in a given region.
Published in 2016