𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

A cold room can preserve food. But for a cold chain to deliver lasting value, it needs to be in the right place, powered appropriately and connected to the markets that need it.

Across Africa, the conversation around post-harvest loss has increasingly focused on the need for more cold-chain infrastructure. But an important question sits behind that conversation:

Where should that infrastructure be built and what needs to exist around it for it to work?

A new tool developed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is putting greater emphasis on answering precisely that question.

In September 2026, SEforALL published the methodology for its Agriculture Cold Chain Analysis and Prioritization (AgCAP) tool, an open-source, geospatial tool designed to help identify communities with strong potential for agricultural cooling interventions.

The development points to an important lesson for the future of Africa’s cold chain: building more cold rooms is only one part of the solution.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

A cold-storage facility needs more than physical space.

It needs to be reasonably close to the agricultural activity it is intended to serve. It needs access to the relevant value chain and customers. It needs suitable logistics and, depending on the business model, access to markets where producers can sell their products.

SEforALL’s AgCAP methodology reflects this broader perspective. The tool considers factors including agricultural production, climate, market connectivity, electrification, food security and socioeconomic conditions when identifying locations with potential for cooling interventions.

This matters because cold-chain infrastructure is ultimately market infrastructure.

A facility can have excellent refrigeration technology, but if the surrounding agricultural production is insufficient, customers cannot afford or do not need the service, or the facility is poorly connected to markets, its commercial and developmental potential may be limited.

That is why the question should not simply be:

“𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺?”

It should be:

“𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺?”

Energy is not an afterthought

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆.

Cold storage requires continuous energy to maintain controlled temperatures. For agricultural communities where grid electricity is unreliable or unavailable, energy availability can significantly influence whether a cold-chain solution is viable.

SEforALL notes that national energy planning has historically focused heavily on residential demand, while productive uses of energy, including agricultural cooling, have often received less attention.

This creates an important connection between energy planning and food-system planning.

If an area has significant agricultural production but inadequate energy infrastructure, expanding cooling access may require renewable-energy systems, mini-grids or other appropriate energy solutions alongside the cold-storage investment.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) similarly identifies renewable energy as having applications throughout agrifood value chains, including irrigation, transport, processing, storage and cold-chain refrigeration.

In other words, the conversation about agricultural cooling cannot be separated completely from the conversation about energy access.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁

A cold chain exists to serve a value chain.

Farmers produce. Traders aggregate. Transporters move. Storage facilities preserve. Processors transform. Retailers sell. Consumers ultimately buy.

If these components are disconnected, the cold chain may not achieve its full potential.

For example, a producer may have access to cold storage but still struggle to reach a profitable market. Conversely, a market may have strong demand for fresh produce but insufficient infrastructure to preserve quality between harvest and sale.

SEforALL’s research on sustainable cooling in agriculture and fisheries highlights the importance of considering production, infrastructure and proximity to local, national and international markets when identifying potential locations for cooling investments.

This reinforces a simple principle:

Cold storage should not operate in isolation from the market it serves.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺

This is where the concept of the cold chain becomes particularly important.

A cold chain is not simply a cold room.

It is a connected system involving elements such as:

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 → 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 → 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 → 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 → 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 → 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿

𝘈 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮.

A well-designed cold-chain intervention therefore needs to consider not only refrigeration capacity, but also energy, transportation, packaging, market access, customer demand, maintenance and operational viability.

FAO describes cold chains as part of wider food value chains and notes that sustainable cooling requires consideration of energy, infrastructure and the different stages through which food moves from production to consumption.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

Perhaps one of the most interesting developments is the increasing use of data to inform cold-chain planning.

Rather than relying entirely on assumptions about where cooling infrastructure might be useful, tools such as AgCAP use multiple datasets to help identify areas with potential.

SEforALL describes AgCAP as a first-level prioritisation tool, meaning that its results are intended to narrow the search for promising locations rather than replace detailed technical, market and financial feasibility assessments.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁.

Data can help identify where to look.
Detailed feasibility work determines whether an investment makes sense.

This combination of data and on-the-ground knowledge could become increasingly important as governments, development organisations, investors and private-sector operators look for ways to expand sustainable cooling across Africa.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮

Africa’s need for cold-chain infrastructure is significant.

SEforALL estimates that in Sub-Saharan Africa, around 40% of perishable harvested products can be lost to spoilage before reaching markets, with consequences for livelihoods, food security and the climate footprint of agriculture.

But solving that challenge is unlikely to be achieved simply by building as many cold rooms as possible.

The bigger opportunity is to build cold-chain systems that are strategically located, appropriately powered and commercially connected to the agricultural value chains they serve.

That means asking better questions before infrastructure is deployed:

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?

𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨?

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵?

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴?

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵?

𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦?

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺?

These questions shift the conversation from “𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱?” to “𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?”

And that is a much more important question for the future of Africa’s food systems.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗵𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆
A cold room is a piece of infrastructure. A cold chain is a system.

Read the original article → SEforALL: Agriculture Cold Chain Analysis and Prioritization (AgCAP)⁠�