Harnessing postharvest innovation for indigenous crops to advance nutrition and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: a review

Olaoluwa Omoniyi Olarewaju, Asanda Mditshwa, Olufunke Omowumi Fajinmi · 2026 · Frontiers in Food Science and Technology

Summary. Postharvest losses of indigenous crops in sub-Saharan Africa undermine nutrition security and climate resilience. This review identifies four functional patterns of indigenous crop systems and evaluates both emerging technologies like bio-preservation and digital monitoring alongside traditional preservation practices. The authors find that infrastructure gaps, weak coordination, market fragmentation, and gender inequalities block innovation scaling. They propose a four-pillar roadmap combining policy reform, inclusive financing, locally designed technologies, and strengthened governance to unlock indigenous crops' potential for nutrition-sensitive, climate-resilient food systems.

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@article{olarewaju-2026-harnessing-postharvest-innovation-indigenous-crops,
  title   = {Harnessing postharvest innovation for indigenous crops to advance nutrition and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: a review},
  author  = {Olaoluwa Omoniyi Olarewaju and Asanda Mditshwa and Olufunke Omowumi Fajinmi},
  journal = {Frontiers in Food Science and Technology},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.3389/frfst.2026.1745256},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3389/frfst.2026.1745256}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Harnessing postharvest innovation for indigenous crops to advance nutrition and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: a review
AU  - Olaoluwa Omoniyi Olarewaju
AU  - Asanda Mditshwa
AU  - Olufunke Omowumi Fajinmi
JO  - Frontiers in Food Science and Technology
PY  - 2026
DO  - 10.3389/frfst.2026.1745256
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3389/frfst.2026.1745256
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.3389/frfst.2026.1745256

Countries

South Africa

Regions

Africa

Categories

food-systems, climate-and-environment, indigenous-innovation, general-innovation

Added

2026-09-01