Post-Harvest Innovation Programme

Download PHI-2 Application Form

Download PHI-2 Application Process Guidelines

A globally competitive fresh produce industry is vital to the well being of the South African economy. With this in mind, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has renewed its funding support for the Post-Harvest Innovation (PHI) Programme, a public-private initiative aimed at promoting innovation in the South African Fresh Fruit Industry, through the support of high-priority and high impact research and development.

It is widely agreed that the industry cannot afford to compromise on fruit quality – escalating costs in the supply chain is affecting the industry's competitiveness, which is becoming more challenging as competitor countries become bolder and aggressively target the same markets.

South Africa, in the face of these challenges, needs cutting-edge post-harvest interventions, which will make the country the preferred supplier abroad. We believe that this Programme will help us to achieve this.

The Programme, first launched in 2008, was renewed in March 2011 to run for another two years, thanks to the cash injection of R15m from DST. In its first phase, the Programme funded 28 different projects submitted by the fresh fruit industry to address post-harvest issues. These projects aimed to improve product temperature control during transit; packaging; non-invasive fruit quality assessment; and post-harvest disease control, among others.

The second phase of the Programme, also known as Post-harvest Innovation (PHI-2) Programme will strive to improve the technological capabilities of the fresh fruit supply chain in a number of identified priority areas which include post-harvest pathology and entomology, integrated packaging solutions, post-harvest treatment, energy efficiency and ICT, to ensure alignment with market demands across the various fruit sectors.

PHI-2 will further strive to support the development of human capital for the sustainability of the industry's innovation capability. The two areas being prioritized in the 'human capital development' portfolio are the gaining and maintaining of research graduates in our industry, and the integration of emerging farmers into the export value chain.

For more information about the PHI programme and projects refer to PHI brochure I and PHI brochure II