Project profile — Post-Harvest Management to Improve Livelihoods

This project aims to increase the capacity of Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM) to provide high-quality training, research and services in post-harvest management and value-added agriculture. It includes long- and short-term training of JUCAVM staff, as well as support for curriculum development and community outreach. In so doing, the project aims to contribute to one of the Government of Ethiopia's priorities on food security through an increased availability of food and the creation of an enabling environment that supports the commercialization of agricultural products.

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Results achieved as of March 2013 include: (i) establishing a Bachelor of Science program and a Master’s program in Post-Harvest Management at the Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM) with 234 undergraduate (B.Sc.) and graduate (M.Sc.) students (72 women, 162 men) enrolled; (ii) providing 681 JUCAVM instructors, faculty members, graduate students and trainees (156 women, 525 men) with 21 short-term training sessions delivered by Dalhousie University and McGill University experts; (iii) creating the first post-harvest management and value-added agriculture network (including six universities, one government agency, five industry representatives and one non-governmental organization) and launching a network website on post-harvest management; (iv) convening the first “Post-Harvest Management and Technology for Food Security” International Conference in Jimma, Ethiopia in May 2012 attracting over 200 participants from nine countries; (v) training faculty and graduate students on topics such as waste and by-product management, food quality assurance, and processing; and (vi) fully equipping the University’s laboratory for Post-Harvest Management. These results are contributing to improving the ability of JUCAVM to provide high quality training in post-harvest management.