Festival of Cooling Day 1 - Focus on Farmers outreach
Across much of sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions, Farmers are losing 20-50% of their perishable produce post-harvest.
Not because of poor yields, but due to the absence of reliable cold-chains.
Farmers and agricultural cooperatives are the backbone of food security and rural livelihoods. Yet post-harvest losses caused by the lack of cold-chain infrastructure reduce incomes, undermine nutrition, widen gender disparities, and compromise national GDP - which are all key priority areas in Rwanda’s PSTA 5.
Day 1 centers on the people who grow our food, Farmers. Join us at the Rubirizi Campus, Kigali, Rwanda, and explore different cooling technologies, best practices, market linkages, and real-world success stories.
How will you benefit?
- Demonstrations & training: Farmers will see, utilise, and understand cooling solutions like solar-powered cold rooms, pre-cooling units, and temperature monitoring tools.
- Knowledge transfer: Through hands-on training sessions, you’ll learn about post-harvest handling, how to reduce spoilage, when to cool and how, and simple load management for maximum shelf life.
- Access to finance & market insights: Sessions will introduce farmers to financing options (leasing, pay-as-you-store, cooling as a service, etc.), and discuss how cooling access opens doors to new high-value markets.
- Networking: Connect with agribusinesses, exporters, input suppliers, and government programmes that can support them in expanding their post-harvest capabilities.
- Inspiration & success stories: Hear from peers who have adopted cold-chain solutions and transformed their agricultural enterprises.
Register for free, and join us on day 1, at the Rubirizi Campus, Kigali, Rwanda, at the Festival of Cooling.