Manage episode 514728672 series 3502817
Bas Hetterscheid from Wageningen University and Nico discuss Cold Chains in Africa and the role minigrids can play in their development.
The growing urban middle class in many African countries is demanding more fresh products, which may not be available close to the cities. Cold chains are required to make sure the products arrive at the market in good condition. Traders and processers of food products will soon look out for opportunities to source these products from slightly more rural areas. Where minigrid companies align their electrification activities with these plans from the food industry, interesting business opportunities may arise.
Here are the links to the publications mentioned in the podcast:
- Agri-energy nexus: https://gogla.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Beyond-Silos_Strengthening-Nexus-Collaboration-to-Power-Food-Systems-with-Off-Grid-Solar-1.pdf
- ~70% of near farmer milk tanks remain empty: https://a.storyblok.com/f/191310/906d8d8d95/bridge-20milk-20cooler-20survey-20brief.pdf
- 3-pager on (un)successful cold chain developments (starting at page 10): https://efficiencyforaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Keep-it-Cool_Oct-2023_2023-10-21-110734_xzds.pdf
- Postharvest assessment methodology – method to design viable postharvest interventions: https://edepot.wur.nl/582556
Contact Bas Hetterscheid under:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bashetterscheid/
Organisation website: https://www.wur.nl/en.htm
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inensus-gmbh/mycompany/
Twitter: INENSUS (@INENSUSgmbh) / X (twitter.com)
Visit www.inensus.com for more info.
Chapters
1. Setting The Stage: Cold Chains (00:00:00)
2. Successes And White Elephants (00:01:29)
3. Why Projects Fail: No Pull, Wrong Crop (00:04:18)
4. Market First, Energy Follows (00:06:34)
5. Crop Needs: Fast vs Delayed Cooling (00:08:54)
6. Leafy Greens And Potatoes Reality (00:12:08)
7. Push vs Pull Markets In Practice (00:16:07)
8. Animal Products And Food Safety (00:19:19)
9. Enforcement, Costs, And Equity (00:23:09)
10. Rural To City Flows And Who Operates (00:26:15)
11. From Cooling Service To Trading (00:29:16)
12. Logistics Models And Partners (00:33:22)
13. How Offtake Actually Gets Built (00:36:11)
14. Centralized Vs Smallholder Dynamics (00:39:24)
41 episodes