The session examined progress towards the Malabo Declaration commitment to halve post-harvest losses by 2025, with a particular focus on how this commitment had been monitored, measured, and evaluated across African Union Member States. The keynote drew on findings from the CAADP Biennial Review process, the African Union's principal mutual accountability mechanism for tracking progress under the CAADP Results Framework.
Drawing on this evidence, the presentation highlighted continental and regional trends in progress towards the post-harvest loss reduction target, including policy achievements, implementation gaps, and lessons emerging from the evaluation process. It also reflected on methodological approaches, data challenges, and the role of evaluation in strengthening accountability, informing policy decisions, and shaping priorities under the post-2025 CAADP agenda.
The discussion brought together evaluation practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and development partners to explore how evaluation could better support evidence-based decision-making and improve the design, implementation, and assessment of post-harvest loss interventions across Africa.
Speaker: Mr. Cephas C. Taruvinga
Leading Expert on Food Loss and Waste and Postharvest Systems Management
Mr. Cephas C. Taruvinga is an internationally recognised and award-winning Food Loss and Waste (FLW) and Postharvest Systems Management Specialist with more than 30 years of experience supporting governments, regional economic communities, development partners, and the private sector in transforming agrifood systems across Africa. His expertise spans postharvest management, food systems development, agricultural marketing, commodity trading, strategic grain reserve management, regional trade, and value chain competitiveness.
He has provided strategic technical leadership on the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of postharvest loss reduction programmes aligned with the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the Malabo and Kampala Declarations, and SDG 12.3. His work focuses on translating continental commitments into evidence-based national policies, investment strategies, and practical interventions that reduce food losses, strengthen food security, and improve market performance.
Mr. Taruvinga has led regional studies on critical loss points along Southern African agrifood trade corridors and undertaken a continental assessment of African Union Member States' progress in implementing post-harvest loss reduction policies and strategies. His recent work has included evaluating national progress towards the Malabo post-harvest loss reduction target, assessing food loss and waste policy development globally, and contributing to monitoring frameworks that support evidence-based reporting on SDG 12.3 implementation.
Discussant: Prof. Brighton Mvumi
Prof. Brighton Mvumi is a Professor in Postharvest Science and Technology in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Food Systems, at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe. He has over 35 years of experience working on postharvest food loss analysis and reduction, agri-food systems analysis, sustainable pest management systems, action research, the effects of climate change on postharvest management, and policy development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Moderator: Dr. Mireille Totobesola
Dr. Mireille Totobesola is the Founder and Managing Director of InnovaTerra – Inclusive Sustainable Systems (IT-IS), an international strategic advisory and innovation firm dedicated to fostering strategic partnerships and delivering evidence-based solutions for sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems.