Background

Post-harvest loss (PHL) is identified as one of key contributors to food insecurity. These losses vary from 17% for durable commodities to over 50% for perishable commodities like fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers. The value of lost grain is estimated up to USD60 billion, and those grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asian countries could meet the annual food requirements or dietary requirements for several million people. The substantial post-harvest grain losses put more pressure on global food production in front of growing population and deteriorating climate change. According to the FAO, food production will need to grow by 70% to feed world population which will reach 9 billion by 2050.

PHL reduction has emerged as a widely discussed topic on a global scale, making it a crucial and impactful aspect of fostering sustainable and resilient food systems. Nevertheless, the journey towards reducing PHL is fraught with numerous challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure, limited access to modern storage facilities, substandard post-harvest handling practices, pest infestations, adverse climatic conditions, underutilization of appropriate technologies, insufficient market linkages, and more.

WFP prioritizes PHL reduction in its field interventions as a key component for building sustainable and resilient food systems. WFP works with governments to strengthen national policies, standards and regulations, improves the post-harvest loss management capacity of institutional buyers, and provides smallholder farmers with PHL training and equipment. The WFP Centre of Excellence for Rural Transformation (WFP China COE) specifically emphasizes PHL management as a core thematic area. Over the years, WFP China COE has organized numerous South-South Cooperation capacity-building activities to share China's technologies, experiences, and good practices in PHL reduction, benefiting hundreds of individuals. Additionally, grant projects in Guinea and C?te d'Ivoire involve delivering innovative grain storage equipment and training to support smallholders in reducing post-harvest losses. Through the WFP-China South-South Cooperation Knowledge Sharing Platform and Cloud School (www.ccww222.com), technical solutions and video courses have been shared to enhance the post-harvest loss management capabilities of developing countries. In 2023, WFP China COE conducted an online training session on PHL management for smallholder grain storage, offering insights into China’s technologies, equipment, and solutions, including quality management and pest control methods, to participants from 27 developing countries.

Rationale

Adaptable and practical solutions for reducing PHL are eagerly sought after by government authorities, aggregators, and individuals, particularly in developing countries. The need for knowledge sharing and leveraging expertise in post-harvest management and handling technologies through South-South cooperation is particularly pronounced especially in Asia and Africa. Demand for post-harvest loss capacity building initiatives offered by WFP remains high among smallholder farmers, farmer groups, aggregators, extension service providers, and institutions. Developing countries continue to express increasing expectations for further exploration and exchange of knowledge, good practices, and technologies in this field.

China has made significant strides in addressing PHL reduction in recent years through various proactive measures. Investments in modern storage equipment and facilities, adoption of advanced technologies in post-harvest handling and innovative equipment in food processing have played a crucial role in reducing food spoilage and promoting long-term sustainability. These collective efforts have not only enhanced food security within the nation but have also positively impacted the development of agricultural sector. China’s valuable experience and good practice can serve as references for other developing countries, with WFP China COE playing a key role as a broker for South-South Cooperation.

The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (NAFRA) of China serves as the strategic partner of WFP China COE in PHL management. Since the signing of the MOU on South-South Cooperation between WFP and NAFRA in 2019, a series of capacity building activities have been jointly organized by NAFRA and WFP China COE, allowing for the sharing and leveraging of China's experience and expertise in PHL management. With the backing of NAFRA, experts from its specialized agencies have been actively involved in knowledge sharing and capacity-building programmes organised by WFP China COE. Notably, the Academy of NAFRA, a specialized agency focused on grain post-harvest research (Annex), has provided crucial technical support for the thematic activities conducted by WFP China COE over the past few years.

Objective

The webinar aims to share China’s experience, technologies, and practice to enhance the capacity of governments and aggregators in reducing PHL. Specifically,

· Share China’s experience and practice in post-harvest management, focusing on grain reserves and storage management, post-harvest service systems, and standards systems.

· Share China’s technology and practice in grain post-harvest handling by aggregators across various post-harvest stages

Programme

There will be two modules of this webinar scheduled in August and September 2024. The webinar will cover a total of 10 sessions, with four sessions in Module I and six sessions in Module II. Two sessions will be scheduled at 18:30-20:00 Beijing time/10:30-12:00 GMT on Tuesdays and Thursdays within one week. Each session will consist of a one-hour thematic presentation by expert(s) and a 30-minute interactive discussion between speakers and participants.

Module I   Experience on Grain Post-harvest Management

Registration: https://wfp-org-conference.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrfuuvrTIpHda77_2MVo7ALj0kPtLG7_rG

Zoom ID: 976 9273 9372  Passcode: 969610

Target Participant: Government officials from relevant departments and national agencies

Module II    Technology and Practice on Grain Post-harvest Loss Reduction

Registration: https://wfp-org-conference.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkdeuoqzkiH9aEN4qlliEe9ufFXydlWARg

Zoom ID: 969 2205 2852 Passcode:212876

Target Participant: Representatives from local warehouse recipient systems, technical agencies, and institutional buyers

Schedule

A post-survey will be prepared and circulated among participants to collect feedbackon the webinar and identify theirmore specific needs for capacity buildingactivities in this area. 

Relevant video courses from the SSC Cloud School will be shared with registered participants in advance as reference.

Organization

WFP China COE will organise the webinar with support from the Department of International Cooperation of NAFRA and Academy of NAFRA. The Academy of NAFRA will support the webinar implementation, providing technical consultation, inviting experts, offering interpretation services, and preparing knowledge products.

Each session will have Chinese-English-French interpretation. Invitations will be sent to concerned developing countries, with support from WFP Regional Bureaux and Country Offices, primarily targeting those involved in PHL thematic activities and projects. WFP staff working on relevant topics and others interested in these subjects are also welcome to join the webinar.