PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. A. A. Adebowale
COLLABORATORS:
Sierra-Leone Agricultural Research Institute, Sierra-Leone
Njala University, Sierra Leone
CSIR-Food research Institute, Accra, Ghana
University d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin Republic
PROJECT SUMMARY: This project is being executed in 4 West African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Benin Republic). The main objective of the project is to promote efficient and proven drying technologies for sustainable food security and poverty alleviation in West Africa. The project will reduce/remove drudgery and postharvest losses being experienced by smallholder farmers. In order to make a significant and sustainable contribution to post harvest technology and remove/reduce drudgery involved in processing and preserving of harvests for sustainable food security in West Africa, the project team recognizes that effective project implementation extends far beyond the evolvement and promotion of proven commercialized drying technologies, hence the project comprehensive approach will include attention to the social dynamics (social and economic dimensions) that extend beyond material improvements from evolvement and promotion of proven commercialized drying technologies. The project will pay particular attention to issues of livelihood change (with a focus on the opportunities and constraints to adoption), gender impacts, poverty elimination, environmental impacts, market development, and sustainability of the project within the project communities and scaling up of such even beyond the catchment areas. The novel/innovative technologies and systems that will be developed from the project will contribute immensely to reduction of postharvest losses through drying. The project output will also be useful for policy maker in poverty alleviation and pro-poor farmers’ livelihood improvement initiatives. Data generated from the study will serve as knowledge base for national and regional network of professional involved in drying, entrepreneurial development and capacity building.
STATUS: On-going