Ghanaian agri-tech platform SankofaFresh is leveraging data and machine learning to address the persistent issue of post-harvest losses in the country's agricultural sector. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), sub-Saharan Africa loses 23 percent of its food between harvest and retail, with Ghana experiencing losses of 30 to 50 percent of fruits and vegetables along the value chain. This results in lower incomes for smallholder farmers and reduced food availability for consumers.
SankofaFresh combines two tools to tackle post-harvest losses. The first is cold-chain monitoring, which involves temperature and humidity sensors in storage rooms and delivery trucks sending readings to a dashboard that flags produce at risk of spoiling. The second is a matching system that schedules pickups and pairs each harvest with a buyer based on volume, location, and quality. This approach aims to make the supply chain more efficient and reduce losses.
The platform's first commercial user is Leehouse and Chemical Ventures, a food manufacturer in Mallam Gbawe, Accra. Leehouse processes Ghanaian staples such as gari, plantain, and cocoyam fufu, and palm oil, with export markets including the United States and Canada. Since adopting SankofaFresh in March 2025, Leehouse has used the platform on cassava and plantain deliveries from 40 supplier farms, achieving significant reductions in post-harvest losses.
According to Leehouse's operations manager, the company has seen a notable decrease in losses, with one in five loads of plantain previously lost between the farm and factory, now reduced to about one in ten over the past 12 months. A plantain farmer from Nkawkaw who supplies Leehouse also reported benefits, stating that with SankofaFresh, they now know ahead of time when the truck is coming and what price they'll get, resulting in less harvest sitting and rotting.
SankofaFresh's co-founder, Joshua Kojo Aduampong Mantey, a PhD researcher in chemical engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, built the model that estimates spoilage risk from temperature and transit-time data, as well as the farmer-to-buyer matching algorithm. Mantey's doctoral work focuses on using large-scale computer simulations and machine learning to study the gut's mucus lining interactions with bile salts, nutrients, and medicines.
SankofaFresh was co-founded by Rhoda Osei-Nkwantabisa, Joshua Kojo Aduampong Mantey, George Arthur, and Rosemary Aku Agbozo. In 2026, the platform was selected as a finalist in the World Bank Group Summit Pitch Competition, where it won the People's Choice Award. The team plans to extend its monitoring to two more processors in 2027 and publish its loss-reduction data.
The platform's success has sparked interest from other food processors, with SankofaFresh in early discussions with two additional companies. As the team continues to expand its services, it aims to make a significant impact on Ghana's agricultural sector by reducing post-harvest losses and increasing efficiency in the supply chain.
Key points
- SankofaFresh uses data and machine learning to reduce post-harvest losses in Ghana's agricultural sector.
- The platform has achieved significant reductions in post-harvest losses for its commercial user, Leehouse and Chemical Ventures.
- SankofaFresh plans to extend its monitoring to two more processors in 2027 and publish its loss-reduction data.
