For A TWO-DAY REGIONAL WORKSHOP To be held in ACCRA in OCTOBER 22 & 23, 2019 Organized by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) In collaboration with The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of Ghana.

Background:

Food Processing operations are a significant source of waste generation, a major user of energy and a contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing the emission intensity of food processing operations and enhancing their resource efficiency, necessitates the use of climate-smart technologies, which minimize waste generation – solid waste and wastewater; efficiently use water and energy; and have a neutral or positive impact on both the environment and communities.
Climate-smart food processing and preservation technologies may be applied at any level of the food value chain to enhance productivity and resilience, thereby contributing to improvements in national food security.
Over the years, women in resource constrained rural environments have developed local food processing and preservation technologies that minimizes the use of water and energy resources while maximizing the use of raw material resources, as coping strategies toward addressing their food security and nutrition.
Given the limited attention to this topic and issues surrounding it, FAO and the CSIR are collaborating in organizing a regional workshop, which will focus on identifying innovative climate smart technologies applied by women in rural areas, in order to foster their effective uptake, adoption and sustained use.

Moreover, this will support the preparation of a Global Report on the issues through, a bottom-up approach based on the conduct of regional workshops designed to consolidate information as a basis for the preparation of chapters that highlight the context and issues in various geographic regions. The Regional Workshop for the SSA Region is convened within this framework.

For this purpose, background papers are solicited targeting these technologies, their current applications, scope of their adaptation to increase yields and enhance the safety and quality of food products while enhancing resilience and sustainability in the agro-food sector.
Furthermore, the workshop and solicited whitepapers will discuss the socioeconomic benefits of applying these climate smart processing technologies in rural environments including their impact on individuals, communities as well as the environment. It will serve as a platform to share the knowledge and experiences of scientists and professionals from various backgrounds working on food processing and related key issues.

Terms of participation:

1. Participants of the workshop include food scientists and technologists, food processing engineers, food processing SMEs, civil societies (NGOs), representatives of local governments and representatives of professional organizations in the agro-food sector.
2. Participants of this workshop, as individuals or organizations, shall be located in the sub-Saharan Africa region, preferably from the under listed Sub regions and countries.
   • West Africa: Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal 
   • Central Africa: Chad, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon
   • East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda
   • Southern Africa: Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania,
   • Women and women organizations are encouraged to apply.
3. Each participant is required to submit a max. 10-15 pages paper (using single space, Times New Roman 12 point), with an accompanying PowerPoint for presentation, for consideration. The papers should cover the following food commodity areas: Roots and tuber crops, Cereals and Legumes, Fruits and Vegetables, Dairy, Meat, Fish and Insects, Fats and Oils, Spices and Condiments, Novel foods and Nutraceuticals,
4. Each paper should take into account one or more of the following aspects: 
   1. Food processing operations as a significant source of waste generation; a major user of water and energy; and a contributor to GHG emissions 
   2. Innovative Technologies for Food Processing and Preservation used by women, particularly in rural areas,
   3. Water Resources for food processing and preparation, particularly in rural areas 
   4. Resource efficient innovative approaches applied by women in reducing waste and creating value from waste
   5. Status of government support to facilitate the adoption and enhancement of climate smart processing technologies 
   6. Recommendations for appropriate policy interventions, incentives and institutional frameworks to promote the adoption of climate smart technologies and resources for improving access to climate smart technologies and promoting the rural agro-processing/preservation sector for women in SSA
5. The most relevant papers will be selected for oral presentations and authors will be invited to participate in the above mentioned regional workshop to be held in Accra in October 22 & 23, 2019. Selected participants will be fully sponsored by FAO
6. The workshop agenda, will include presentations, working group discussions and plenary sessions discussing the issue of climate smart food processing and preservation technologies.
7. Please submit your proposal, jointly with the appended application form, to the attention of 
   • The Coordinator
   • FAO/ CSIR Regional Workshop in Accra
   • Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
8. Important Dates
   • Submission Deadline: August 30, 2019
   • Acceptance Decisions Deadline: 15 September 2019
   • Main Workshop: October 22 and 23, 2019
9. Workshop Organizers: CSIR-Food Research Institute (CSIR-FRI), CSIR-Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (CSIR-STEPRI), FAO.

Download application form