AkoFresh deploys mobile solar-powered cold storage trailers to reduce post-harvest losses
Post-harvest losses remain a challenge across sub-Saharan Africa due to limitations in transport, storage, and market infrastructure.
GHANA – AkoFresh has launched a mobile cold storage trailer to reduce post-harvest losses among farmers in Ghana, with a focus on remote and underserved areas.
The agritech enterprise stated that the innovation expands its solar-powered cold storage model by offering flexible, on-demand cold chain services in locations with limited cold storage infrastructure.
Founder and CEO Mathias Charles Yabe said the initiative targets a critical point in the supply chain. “This mobile trailer allows us to meet farmers where they are and reduce losses at the most critical moments,” he said.
Post-harvest losses remain a challenge across sub-Saharan Africa due to limitations in transport, storage, and market infrastructure.
“Despite producing enough food to feed communities, smallholder farmers in Ghana and across sub-Saharan Africa face a paradox: they lose between 40–60 per cent of perishable crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and leafy vegetables due to spoilage before reaching markets,” Yabe stated.
“This is not due to production failures but infrastructure deficiencies. The lack of affordable, accessible cold storage means that produce harvested in the morning can become unsaleable by evening.”
The launch follows AkoFresh’s recognition as the Most Innovative Development Project 2024 by the Global Development Network. Based in Accra, the company focuses on reducing post-harvest crop losses for smallholder farmers in Ghana and across West Africa.
According to the company, its solar-powered off-grid cold storage systems have extended the shelf life of perishable produce from three to five days to up to 21 days, giving farmers more time to sell their produce and reducing losses.
AkoFresh stated that its interventions have strengthened farmers’ bargaining positions, improved supply stability, and reduced waste. The company reports that more than 10,000 people have been reached through its programmes, with farmers’ income increasing by up to 40% in some communities.
In addition, the project has received support from the Global Development Network and the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Japan under the Global Development Awards Competition.
AkoFresh’s mobile, solar-powered cold storage units provide a scalable solution to the infrastructure gap that has long undermined agricultural value chains.
The on-demand trailers can be deployed to remote farming communities during peak harvest seasons.
The company expects the new trailer to support ongoing efforts to modernize Ghana’s agricultural value chain and to address post-harvest losses among smallholder farmers.
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