AFRICA – Save Foods, an agri-food tech company specializing in eco crop protection, has announced it is teaming up with Auryon Holdings, a strategic advisory and private equity firm in South Africa, to make Save Foods’ green treatment available in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Cutting food waste and extending shelf life is a top priority in all countries, including those in the African continent, both for economic and humanitarian reasons. The continent currently loses enough food to feed tens of millions of people a year.
Save Foods’ treatment will be propitious for African countries by helping to provide populations with fresher, healthier produce while also assisting African packers to meet export standards.
The company’s initial plan is to focus on South Africa as it is the largest fresh produce grower and exporter in Africa, and the world’s second largest citrus exporter.
As fresh produce exports from Africa takes up to nine weeks to be delivered, the exporters have but little choice to use chemical pesticides on the products. to ensure minimum decay during the long journey.
Howbeit, stricter regulations on pesticides, like the EU Field to Fork initiative, are a major impediment for the industry.
This is where Save Foods comes in to save the day. Its green treatment is a proven and trusted alternative to chemical pesticides that is easy to implement and is cost effective.
Moreover, the effects of the treatments are in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which include reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.
They have been shown to reduce, on average, 50% of fresh produce waste all along the supply chain, from grower, to packer, to retailer and consumer.
The treatments also boost production, improve efficiency, and minimize waste in agri-food systems, benefiting the economic, social, and environmental well-being of populations around the world.
“Teaming up with Save Foods to represent their all-in-one treatments was an easy decision for us. We are convinced that Save Foods’ green treatments are the only realistic and cost-effective way to cut waste and ensure food safety in Africa,” Ziv Ben-Ami, Managing Partner of Auryon Holdings, said.
He noted that these products can provide security for the U.S$ 3.3 billion fresh produce export industry and offer impressive potential for growth.
“Over the last few years, we have launched and delivered sustainable solutions for the agriculture, water, and energy sectors in South Africa, so partnering with Save Foods is a natural fit for our focus on sustainable economic growth on our continent,” he said.
Dan Sztybel, CEO of Save Foods’ Israeli subsidiary, informed that they already have a strategy in place to extend the company’s global reach and to address the increased demand for their green products worldwide.
“Our next step is to help African farmers to get better quality and more value from their crops. We want to equip growers and packers with Save Foods treatment to minimize waste and optimize the shelf life of their crops. Also, with global supply chains still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently by the Ukraine crisis, improving local food supply is becoming increasingly important,” he said.
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