00:01Uganda is losing mountains of fruits and veggies every day.
00:06What if a tiny Sasha could save these tons of fruits and veggies from rotting?
00:13How do you save your bananas when they've turned brown?
00:17Banana bread? Banana milk?
00:20Munlaki does it the Ugandan way.
00:23She turns them into fried pancakes, mixing them with cassava flour.
00:30When I make pancakes, I don't recover all the losses.
00:34But at least I gain something, I get something out of it.
00:39But often, there's too much waste.
00:41What she can't use, she throws away, and pays for it to be collected.
00:47The rubbish is also expensive.
00:49It's expensive, and most people don't want to know.
00:53Or why I've made losses, or why I did not sell anything, it's okay.
00:58Approximately 1.3 billion tons of food produced is wasted.
01:03On the African continent, up to 40% spoils before reaching the consumers.
01:10Uganda's storage and transport system is failing, and researchers say the consequences go far beyond rotting fruit.
01:19Close to 70% of municipal waste in Kampala is food waste.
01:27These rot promote growth of microorganisms, increase the spread of diseases, their public nuisance.
01:34The rapid decomposition of organic waste is responsible for 58% of methane emissions.
01:41Methane is to blame for around 30% of the rising global temperatures.
01:47And decomposing garbage isn't just a problem in the capital Kampala.
01:53If too many pineapples ripen at once, farmers can't find buyers.
02:00Some have dumped their harvest by the roadside after losing hope.
02:07Once pineapples ripen, they go bad fast.
02:11I tried selling them in Mitiana, where they aren't grown.
02:15But they didn't sell.
02:19To address this problem, Makerere University has trained over 2,000 students in food processing and preservation.
02:26Here, fruits are turned into pulp and pasteurized.
02:29What would spoil in a week can now last more than a year if refrigerated.
02:34Even the waste has value.
02:36Orange peel, for example, contains pectin, used as a thickener and a gelling agent.
02:43Pectin is the one which provides strength for the fruit.
02:47So, these acidic fruits, some of them, like citrus fruits, are believed to have a lot of pectin.
02:54Pectin acts as a stabilizer in dairy products and also in germ making.
02:59But back to the fruit vendors at the Kampala market.
03:03One scientist has found a way to make the vendors' produce last longer without refrigeration.
03:10Biotechnologist Gift Arnold Mugisha developed the idea as a student at Makerere University.
03:16His solution uses nanotechnology.
03:19Extremely small materials engineered to work at a microscopic level.
03:24We are talking minuscule.
03:25A single nanoparticle can be as small as 1 to 100 nanometers wide.
03:31And a nanometer is up to 100,000 times smaller than a human hair.
03:39Nanomaterials have unique physical and chemical qualities that differ from conventional materials.
03:44Their properties can be adapted at this microscopic level.
03:48Mugisha uses that to produce bio-based nano-enzymes to improve the longevity of fruits.
03:56He discovered that by surrounding fruits with these enzymes, he can extend their shelf life by up to 31 days.
04:04We use electrospinning technology to be able to create nanofibers.
04:09Which nanofibers are blended into our formulation that we pack in our sachets, like you see here.
04:19They are able to infiltrate the fruit on a molecular level.
04:24The sachets release natural compounds that interact with gases around the fruit, slowing activity of microbes and enzymes that cause
04:32decay.
04:36Because this tomato is alive. It's alive, it's breathing, it's respiring. So what we do, we curtail those processes and
04:44we keep that tomato metabolizing at a very slower state.
04:48But the sachets can also have the opposite effect if farmers need faster ripening to meet market demand.
04:55I can give an example of plantain. Plantain comes from the field when it's green.
05:00But for consumers, to unlock the nutrients, plantain is more nutrient-filled when it's ripened up.
05:08So with this, we are able to accelerate that ripening and provide fruit very quickly for consumption or for sale.
05:16Today, more than 500 vendors are using the sachets, primarily in Kampala.
05:22Two big Ugandan food exporters have also adopted them.
05:26Vendors say Mogisha's sachets make a big difference, even if improvement is needed.
05:33The sachets that accelerate ripening still need work, but those that delay ripening appear to be effective.
05:40Beyond food security and income, food waste is a global public health and environmental issue.
05:47Reducing food loss is not just about saving crops.
05:51So when fruits spoil, the energy, the water, the resources, the transportation that has been used in transporting, growing these
05:59fruits is wasted.
06:00That means there is another reinvestment that is done, which increases, actually it doubles the carbon footprint.
06:05With further funding, Mogisha aims to scale distribution across Uganda's food industry.
06:12His work shows how technological solutions can be significant in rising to global challenges and help feed people on the
06:19ground here in Uganda.
06:24During research for my report, I learnt that nearly 40% of all food produced in Africa is wasted every
06:32year.
06:33That really stayed with me.
06:35And when I was filming, what stood out was how much resource and effort goes into food production.
06:42Yet this food doesn't make it to consumers, even as many people go hungry every day.
06:48It made me realize that the challenge isn't just about how much food we produce, but how we preserve it,
06:57distribute it and consume it.
06:59And then thisHH fĂĄr within a few of them will stay hidden before the human life.
07:00Right?
07:00If we ask for them, J&I will send a family to your download list.
07:03Yeah, you're here.
07:03Please!
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