Reducing post-harvest losses and improving market access for vegetable farmers in Lower Guinea through value addition, processing and stronger market linkages.
Background
Trias Guinea is part of the wider Trias network, which strengthens business organisations of farmers and entrepreneurs so they can better support local members. In Guinea, Trias works with producer and entrepreneur organisations to improve incomes, market access and self-reliance through training, organisational support and agroecological approaches.
The host organisation is FOPMA-BG, a federation based in Lower Guinea that supports its members with production advice, marketing support, training, simplified accounting, budgeting and access to finance. FOPMA-BG operates in a context where vegetable farming is a major source of income and food security, and represents more than 20,000 members, the majority of whom are women and young people.
The main challenge is that a large share of vegetable production is still sold raw, with very limited processing. Because vegetables are highly perishable and storage, transport and preservation infrastructure are weak, producers face high post-harvest losses. Local markets also become saturated when many producers sell the same products at the same time, pushing prices down and reducing incomes. Producers also have limited access to processing equipment, limited skills in value addition and marketing, and few links to more profitable market channels.
I2Impact Students
The proposed project focuses on identifying and structuring concrete opportunities for the processing and marketing of market garden products in Lower Guinea. Rather than starting from a single product or a fixed technical solution, the student team will first analyse where losses occur, which products are most affected, and which processing or preservation options are both technically and economically realistic in the local context.
Students will assess the vegetable value chain, study concrete options such as drying, preservation or artisanal processing, and analyse market opportunities beyond the current informal outlets. The aim is to help FOPMA-BG identify which solutions can realistically reduce losses, add value and improve producer incomes — and to translate this into a concrete action plan with pilot options for the field phase. The project combines technical feasibility, market analysis and organisational fit.
What Students Do
The project unfolds across two phases. The preparation phase (September–June) focuses on research and analysis. The implementation phase involves a 6–8 week on-site experience in Kindia, Guinea.
September – June
Summer — 6–8 weeks in Kindia
Why It Matters
By helping FOPMA-BG reduce post-harvest losses and increase the value added to vegetable products, the project can improve producer incomes and make market gardening more stable and profitable.
Improve incomes for FOPMA-BG's 20,000+ members, the majority of whom are women and young people
Reduce post-harvest losses through better processing, preservation and storage practices
Develop new market opportunities and pilot processing initiatives for vegetable producers
Strengthen the federation's role and help producers move away from a vulnerable low-value model