2013 RE4Food

In sub-Saharan Africa significant losses are as a result of a number of factors which include insufficient drying, inadequate storage, insufficient cooling and poor transport - all of which rely on high levels of energy input. Decentralised, distributed food processing supported by distributed energy supply can not only improve food security but also provide employment and income generation in rural communities. The local processing of food enables better storage and easier transportation, longer shelf-life, reduced seasonal supply effects, and produces products with added value.

The project aims to provide research which will support rural community business models for low and renewable energy input into optimized food processing which minimise loss and waste in the food value chains selected. The project has the following specific objectives:

- Investigate the opportunities and barriers to the use of renewable energy for rural food processing as well as optimisation of the processes to o a) minimise losses along the value chain while at the same time aiming for improved product quality and o b) increase local value addition by SMEs and organised community groups. o Assess the losses in the food value chain for the products chosen, in Kenya, Sierra Leone and Ghana, and o identify low carbon and energy efficient storage and processing technologies and practices which can be de-centrally applied, reduce these losses and take advantage of renewable energy sources in a cost-effective way.

- Deliver focused support to stakeholders through a network facilitating engagement, dissemination and knowledge transfer to reduce postharvest losses and energy demand.

- Explore the opportunities for rural livelihoods in reducing post-harvest losses and adding value (through initial produce preparation, storage, washing, packing and common process unit operations, such as sterilization, pasteurization, drying, and evaporating).Coordinator: Prof. Tony Roskilly, Sir Joseph Swan Centre for Energy Research, Newcastle University 

Partners:

- Practical Action (PA)

- Njala University, Sierra Leone

- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Biomechanical and Environmental Engineering Department, Kenya

- Stellebosch University, South Africa

- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Project Manager: Dr. Barbara Sturm