Inaugural Cold Chain Exhibition Promotes Use of Cold Chain Infrastructure in Egypt
Brett Aronson, Program Officer at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), and Carlo Abuyan, Program Coordinator at CNFA, recap the 2020 Inaugural Egypt Cold Chain Exhibition.
International and domestic participants joined cold chain experts at the 2020 Inaugural Cold Chain Exhibition, hosted by the Feed the Future Egypt Food Security and Agribusiness Support (FAS) project in 6th of October City, Cairo, Egypt. Organized to promote the use of cold chain infrastructure to open up local and global export markets, the exhibition was well attended with over 500+ local and international participants.
Participants included packhouse owners and operators, exporters, agricultural associations, farming cooperatives, input suppliers, end-market retailers, government officials, and logistic agencies from Egypt and international markets.
The two-day event featured educational seminars on cold chain best practices, new technologies and operational innovations. Led by experts in the field, seminars focused on issues such as “Maximizing Your Cold Chain Business with Access to Resources”, “Technology and Innovation in the Cold Chain”, and “Energy Efficiency and Application of Solar Energy in Cold Stores”. In addition, attendees networked with local and international cold chain exhibitors — taking advantage of opportunities to discuss the latest in modern cold chain technology with global equipment suppliers.
The event commenced with a keynote from Dr. Saad Moussa, General Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations, Ministry of Agriculture and Land and Reclamation, followed by remarks from Brinton Bohling, USAID/Egypt, Director, Office of Economic Growth.
“Cold chain infrastructure helps to reduce agriculture post-harvest losses and enables the proper handling and storage of perishable products through the development of systems and best practices for the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of food. Developing a modern, integrated cold chain has proven effective for agricultural development for many countries and offers the potential for economic growth in Egypt,” said Dominic Graham, FAS project Chief of Party, during opening remarks.
The event also provided a platform for institutional collaboration within cold chain management. The UN Technology Innovation Labs (UNTIL) presented on its partnership with FAS and Agri-Misr’s e-finance on the use of technological inovations to tackle cold chain mobilization challenges. A proposed solution included the use of networking technologies to address common asset problems faced by cold chain actors and digital platforms, such as Agri-Misr’s e-finance, to better integrate different agricultural value chain stakeholders.
Implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), the FAS project is a $23 million project working to increase agriculture-related incomes of smallholder horticultural farmers in Upper Egypt through production, post-harvest, marketing and nutrition support. CNFA collaborated with the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO) to facilitate and launch this event.
