Smallholder farmers to greatly benefit from the development of Coolbot, a cold storage technology expected to contribute to the reduction of postharvest losses. AWARD Fellow and lecturer at the University of Nairobi, Dr. Jane Ambuko, who is spearheading the piloting of the Coolbot Innovation in Africa, recently spoke to journalist, Maureen Odiwuor of the Standard Newspaper, at the Second African Conference of Science Journalists held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The adage “waste not, want not” is University of Nairobi horticultural researcher Dr. Jane Ambuko’s vision for her own country and for Africa, where the equivalent of four billion dollars’ worth of food is lost annually due to inefficiencies across the agricultural value chain after crops are harvested, according to a study by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. This kind of food waste is referred to as “postharvest loss” and has many causes ranging from poor infrastructure for transporting agricultural goods to improper or outdated food storage practices. 

Ambuko’s area of specialization is postharvest science and technology. Her research focus is postharvest loss management in horticultural commodities, especially among smallholder farmers. She is currently working in several multi-institutional research projects focused on increasing productivity and profitability of horticultural and related enterprises.