10025346Pick Store Buy 105667 ResilianceClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKWaste of highly nutritious fresh produce is a significant problem for developing countries, where 70% of the population can be engaged with the sector. It threatens the growth of primary agriculture industries, the livelihoods of workers, economic progress and food security. Whilst Nigeria is the largest producer of tomatoes in west Africa, 50% of harvested produce perishes, before it can be distributed and sold to consumers. This project will develop an integrated, cost effective and sustainable solution to manage the postharvest value chain where most produce is lost. The project partners, one based in Nigeria and three UK organisations will deploy cutting edge technology from biological and physical sciences and sensor engineering to develop Pick, Store, Buy. The project will focus on three key innovations for the Nigerian tomato sector i) ripening suspension using air purification and the removal of ethylene a key ripening hormone which is produced by plant tissues, ii) printable robust and portable microelectronics to measure real time key environmental factors that control ripening iii) shelf life prediction using gene discovery and real time data streaming algorithms. An extensive project partner communication programme in Nigeria will be critical to raising awareness and implementation of this much needed technology for the fresh produce value chain.