MAVUNOLAB

We #kick-off this week very #energized while also #celebrating the life of #Tanzania’s #Father of #Nation, #Mwalimu #Julius. #K. #Nyerere. A devoted #Pan-#Africanist and one of the #key #founders of the #African #Union, Nyerere’s legacy is #unmatched not just in #Tanzania but all over the world. In #Tanzania, #Nyerere built the #foundation of #national #peace and #unity, but #most importantly, #inclusive and #people-centered #development, values that are still #intact #today. At MAVUNOLAB, our work with #small-#scale #farmers and #small-#scale #fish #processors in #Lake #Victoria also #echoes #Nyerere’s philosophy of #development, where these two groups remain the #central #focus of our #postharvest #research and #technology #development. Wishing you a #productive week and #Happy #Nyerere’s Day!!! #mavunolab #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind #CelebratingNyerere2024 #people-centred-development #sustainablefoodsystem

#Inspirational #Monday “#Change must be #participatory. Let #farmers define the #problem and get #involved in the #solution while #scientists provide #knowledge. #Adoption will then be #easier”.- Dr. Bola. A. Asiru Wishing you all a productive week!! #mavunolab #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind ##unlockingZanzibarblueeconomy #sustainablefoodsystem

#Leaving #No #Food #Behind a #Call to #Action This past Sunday on September 29th, we #celebrated the #International #Day of #Awareness of #Food #Loss and #Waste, a day set by FAO and #UNEP to #remind each one of us to #take #bold #actions in not just #cutting #down the #amount of #food we #waste but to #end #food #loss and #waste. Now on its #fifth #year since its launch, the #commemoration of this day has #catalyzed #policy #actions from the #global community towards interventions to stop food loss and waste. However, a lot more work needs to be done as more food still goes to our #landfills. For #agriculture-#based #economies like #Tanzania, #losing or #wasting food comes at a #high #cost. Food loss destroys the livelihoods and incomes of #millions of #smallholders #pushing them #further into #poverty. It also creates #food #shortages leading to a spike in #food #prices increasing #food #insecurity for urban #consumers. But worse enough, when we waste food, we are not just wasting #kgs or #tonnes of #food #commodities, we are #also #wasting our #precious #natural #resources, especially #land, #water and #forests used to #produce the food that never #gets to #consumers. This is why #Tanzania can’t #afford to #waste #food. At MAVUNOLAB, we are more than committed to ending food loss and waste. Our postharvest innovations, especially #solar-#powered #food #drying #technology, are #designed and #specifically target #smallholders #vulnerable to #food #loss and #waste and #lack #basic #infrastructure to #avoid it. In this year of food loss and waste awareness, whether you are #policy #maker, #food #technologist, #business #acumen, #agriculture #engineer, #software #engineer, #farmer and several others.. We are calling and looking for your #skills, #talents, #expertise to come and join us in our mission to #LEAVE #NO #FOOD #BEHIND in #TANZANIA with technological solutions that match the #needs of #small-#scale #farmers critically affected by Food Loss and Waste. If you would like to make a change in our local food system, please get in touch, and we will be happy to benefit from your expertise. #leavingnofoodbehind #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #sustainablefoodsystem Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Global Resilience Partnership Global Seaweed Coalition Pure Ocean Fund WWF FAO World Food Programme WFP Innovation Accelerator UNDP Accelerator Labs UNDP Tanzania Blandina Kilama Dr. Lisa Kitinoja Nicole Koenderink USAID USAID Tanzania

#Inspirational #Monday "Cutting #food #waste is a #delicious way of saving #money, helping to #feed the #world, and protecting the #planet. By not #saving, we are #trashing our #land to produce the #food that no one #eats"-#Tristram #Stuart. Wishing you all a productive week with no food left uneaten or thrown away!!

Three weeks ago, we successfully #trained #10 young #technicians from #Karume #Institute of #Science and #Technology (KIST) about MAVUNOLAB Solar-powered #seaweed #drying #technology. As part of the training outcomes, we are excited to reveal our #first #batch of #4 MAVUNOLAB #Solar #driers ready to serve up to #100 #seaweed #farmers with a #combined #drying #capacity of up #400kg of fresh (wet) #seaweed using less than #50% of drying time when #compared to #direct #sun-#drying. These driers are expected to save about #400kg of fresh seaweed that would have either #spoiled or #thrown away because of a lack of #better #drying #facilities. In the coming months, we will be #conducting further #seaweed #solar-#drying #trials, #monitor and #collecting data on #driers’ #performance specifically on #drying #rate, and #quality of dried #seaweed when #fully #dried. Collected data will then be #used to help our team #refine and #improve the deployed driers while being used by #farmers. As our third #food #product, we can't wait to #hear #farmers’ #experience with our #technology as we #prepare to deploy more units and reach more seaweed farmers in Zanzibar and across Tanzania, where there is a significant #need for this #technology. #mavunolab #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind ##unlockingZanzibarblueeconomy #sustainablefoodsystem Global Seaweed Coalition The Nature Conservancy Global Resilience Partnership Royal Academy of Engineering Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) USAID The Postharvest Education Foundation Nicole Koenderink Dr. Lisa Kitinoja FAO USAID Tanzania UNDP Tanzania World Food Programme WWF WFP Innovation Accelerator Feed the Future Food Systems for Nutrition Innovation Lab CGIAR International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Kelp Blue UN Ocean Decade

#Inspirational #Monday “Young #people should be at the #forefront of #global #change and #innovation. #Empowered, they can be #key #agents of #development and #peace”. #Kofi #Annan. Wishing you all a #productive week!! #mavunolab #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind ##unlockingZanzibarblueeconomy #sustainablefoodsystem

#Stories from the #field- #Unguja, #Zanzibar A few weeks ago, our team spoke with over #30 #seaweed #farmers in #Buyu, #Bweleo, and #Pwani #Mchangani villages in #Unguja #Island, #Zanzibar. These interviews were done as part of MAVUNOLAB #postharvest #needs #assessment before we #deploy our #solar-#powered #dryers to #seaweed #farmers. As always, talking and listening to farmers helps us design our postharvest products and respond to their needs. Here are #key #takeaways from our #interactions with #seaweed #farmers in #Zanzibar 1.   On average, each of these villages has more than #50 seaweed farmers. The majority are women over 30 who have been farming seaweed for almost 10 years as their #primary #source of #income. 2.   Depending on #weather #conditions, an individual farmer harvests between #150kg and #3000kg of seaweed. However, #production #volume has recently been #declining due to the #outbreak of #several #unknown #diseases and #weather #challenges that are #believed to be driven by #climate #variability affecting seaweed production #cycles. More research is needed to unpack and address some of these critical production #challenges. 3.   Though a #lucrative #industry in #Zanzibar, #weak #government #regulations, especially #poor #pricing, leave many seaweed farmers unable to #profit from the industry. For women in particular, urgent government intervention is needed on the pricing of fresh/wet seaweed, which is #super #low and #unregulated, causing #small-#scale #women #farmers to be #taken #advantage of by #middlemen and #international #traders. 4.   Poor storage conditions and a lack of proper processing facilities #forces #seaweed #farmers to #rely #heavily on #sun #drying, leading to #significant #spoilage of seaweed and #quality #deterioration of #harvested seaweed. 5.   #Over-#tourism is another #emerging #threat to the #livelihoods of seaweed farmers in Zanzibar. Interviewed farmers revealed that due to the rise in the #number of #tourists in their #communities, there have been several times some of their peers were #forced to leave their #seaweed #production #sites or asked to #stop #production #completely, which is thought to #disturb #high-#paying #tourists. Want to learn more about Zanzibar’s seaweed industry and how MAVUNOLAB is #fixing some of these problems. Keep following this page. #mavunolab #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind ##unlockingZanzibarblueeconomy #sustainablefoodsystem Global Resilience Partnership Global Seaweed Coalition The Nature Conservancy Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) USAID The Postharvest Education Foundation Nicole Koenderink Dr. Lisa Kitinoja FAO USAID Tanzania UNDP Tanzania World Food Programme WWF Feed the Future MRR Innovation Lab

#Inspirational #Monday "To find #ideas, find #problems, to #solve problems, talk to #people"-Julie Zhou. Wishing you all a productive week!!! MAVUNOLAB #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind ##unlockingZanzibarblueeconomy #sustainablefoodsystem

#New #Publication #Alert We are pleased to share insights from this newly #published journal article written by our very own #Dr.#Rutta, the article titled “#Postharvest #Food #Loss #Reduction and #Agriculture #Policy #Framework in #Tanzania: #Status and #Way #Forward” examines gaps in the #past and #current government of Tanzania #policy #efforts to solve the #postharvest #food #loss #problem following the adoption of the National Postharvest Management Strategy (#NPHMS #2019-#2029). Here are #key #points discussed in the #article 1. Though Tanzania adopted NPHMS, increasing food production remains the government's policy focus, overlooking the critical need to improve #infrastructure for #postharvest #operations, especially for #perishable #food #crops, particularly #fruits and #vegetables. 2. With the current government pushing for #private-#led #agriculture growth, the #private #sector can also be a #major #player in cutting down #food #losses in the country. Past engagements with the private sector in programs such as the #Warehouse #Receipt #System, if #re-#assessed and their #weaknesses #addressed, should be introduced for other #agriculture #value #chains. 3. #Budget constraints may #hinder the implementation of #NPHMS. As of now, it is unclear how much of 2024/2025 #national #budget for the agriculture sector has been #allocated for #postharvest #food #loss #prevention #programs. Want to learn more about this article, read it here https://lnkd.in/eivTCFaW #mavunolab #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind #sustainablefoodsystem Global Resilience Partnership Global Seaweed Coalition Royal Academy of Engineering Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) USAID The Postharvest Education Foundation Nicole Koenderink Dr. Lisa Kitinoja FAO USAID Tanzania UNDP Tanzania World Food Programme WWF IUCN Feed the Future UNDP International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

#Insipirational #Monday #Teamwork #Divides the #Tasks and #Multiplies the #Success- Unknown Wishing you all another productive week!! MAVUNOLAB #lowcostpostharvestinnovations #leavingnofoodbehind ##unlockingZanzibarblueeconomy #sustainablefoodsystem