The humble potato could be the key to leveraging African farmers into the next phase of agricultural development: cold storage.

A CNBC Africa report states that more than 40% of perishables harvested on the continent are lost before even reaching the consumer. Since potatoes are only in season for a short time, investment in cold storage can prolong harvest life all year long.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) and Indian-based agrochemical maker UPL have therefore launched a US$2 billion cold storage project dubbed One Million Tons of Cold Storage. According to Agra president Agnes Kalibata, the initiative will allow farmers to decide when to put their produce on the market and enable greater income. The project aims to reach 15 million farmers over the next decade, with a target of benefiting 100 million people.

21 June 2016
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