00:00This can house up to three to four tons of vegetables, and it's coming up.
00:09What's coming is cold air.
00:11It provides a crucial solution to one of the biggest problems in Nigeria's supply chain of fresh produce.
00:18Scorching heat and limited refrigeration options mean fruit and vegetables rot quickly.
00:25Yusuf Shamsu sells tomatoes and peppers at a market in Lagos.
00:30Keeping them fresh is a daily struggle.
00:32Since I started this business, I've lost plenty of money.
00:37Sometimes I buy a basket of fresh crops, only to find that many are already spoiled underneath.
00:45I sort out the good ones and throw away the bad ones.
00:51It's a problem that doesn't start in the market, but further back in the supply chain.
00:56Farmer Hamzat Tomilayo says an even demand also plays a role.
01:01Sometimes you might have peak periods where you have customers requesting to buy, and there are times where there is
01:06glut, where nobody wants to buy.
01:09At that point, what do you do with your produce?
01:11You can't eat all of them.
01:12If we don't get to sell out these things, they go to waste.
01:15Many farms lack storage facilities that could keep produce from spoiling.
01:20The same problem exists when food gets transported across the country.
01:25In fact, continuous cooling is not guaranteed at any point in the supply chain.
01:32There are lots of things that make it difficult for farmers to store.
01:35One, farmers don't have, we don't have the money to say we want to start renting a space or look
01:41for a space where we want to store.
01:43Not everybody can afford having a freezer, having a cold truck, or having somewhere cool and regulated where you can
01:52sell your product.
01:53Companies like EcoTutu want to transform Nigeria's food supply chains to make sure produce stays fresh from farm to market.
02:02One solution is a cooling-as-a-service approach with these solar-powered, energy-efficient cold storage containers.
02:13So this is our cold storage facility.
02:17Whether fruity or leafy vegetables, this can house up to three to four tons of vegetables and it's coming up.
02:27We don't have produce here at the moment, but this is what we use.
02:35Cold storage facilities can be set up close to farms, villages, or in markets.
02:40For traders, the cost can be worth it.
02:43For around 200 naira a day, roughly 10 euro cents, a crate of tomatoes can be kept fresh instead of
02:50rotting.
02:50That's only about 2% of the potential profit from a single crate.
02:55For the cold storage facility, it has really been a great improvement.
03:00Before, there used to be the anxiousness of, if I harvest today, I have to sell today, because if I
03:08don't sell, I'm losing money.
03:10So the cold storage has come in in a way to help preserve this produce, improve their shelf life.
03:19But the founder of the company knows that food waste isn't just an economic issue.
03:23The methane released when organic waste decomposes is a greenhouse gas that's harmful to the environment.
03:33When food waste is generated, it ends up anywhere and everywhere.
03:38Environment is affected, humans are affected, animals are affected as well.
03:41We are not in the business of just providing cold room.
03:44We are in the business of enabling other businesses, right, to grow, to expand, so that we can then feed
03:49our population with healthy, quality food.
03:52For farmers, traders and consumers, better storage and continuous cooling means less food wasted, more income and a more reliable
04:02supply.
04:03Expanding access to affordable refrigeration across the supply chain is key to tackling one of the biggest hidden challenges in
04:11Africa's food system.
04:17So theç´°ca criticize can help us grow.
04:18We will give you five minutes to Face.
04:18There is an increase in service for other people that have approached the customers' activity.
04:19So if you find thatć˝® alleyway, please talk about theiver.
04:19Tomorrow is Edna, this year's podcast of Azul, and this year do you include us which I thought you have
04:19as aenas ě €íť¬ę°€,
04:19There are the last one hand.
04:19That is my family.
04:19We are perfect.
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