Full Knowledge Base

Key Recommendations: 1. Gender and other general policies in the agricultural sector should be revised to reflect clear priorities for lowering post-harvest losses (PHL). 2. Crop scientists should be trained and crop-specific PHM research infrastructure should be developed so that PHM can be included as a research component for all crops. 3. Academic and research units should be located in the field, close to the farmers, so that researchers and/or university students are closer to the beneficiaries. 4. PHM programs, projects, and activities must include information and technology development and dissemination relevant to the end-users, including women, children, the youth, and poorer farmers. 5. PHL should be reduced by increasing access to carts/wheelbarrows and their respective repair kits and to draught animals, repairing critical sections of rural roads, and increasing farmers’ access to bags/sacks that are not infested and in good condition. 6. Reduce PHL along the value chain from farm to plate by extending innovations to some of the socially perceived “female-roles” of PHM. 7. Development and dissemination of PHM innovations must also be part of policies, strategies, and practices to promote a better workload distribution by increasing male participation in labourdemanding PHM activities culturally assigned to women. 8. Since women in polygamous marriages and single mothers are easier to work with when it comes to promoting investment in PHM improvements due to their decision-making power in the households, they should be given priority in work plans. 9. Prioritize female farmers in PHM capacity-building initiatives, because they are the ones who deal with most of the PHM activities. 10. Local tools manufacturers should benefit from incentives to lower the cost for the development of manufacturing, processing, and packaging equipment to make them accessible to women and the poor.