lagos, nigeria. the destination conjures up a variety of imaginations. i grew up in south africa but nothing could have prepared me for the highly populated, superresourced, bustling west african nation. a quarter of africa&39s population lives in nigeria. it is the 7th most populous country an estimated 200 million people in the world with 42 of its population 014 years of age. it is the world&39s 8th largest exporter of petroleum. it is a country of huge extremes and i feel privileged to have been asked to participate recently in a five day residential training program rtp focusing on packaging technology education.the world packaging organisation wpo approached aip to deliver this week long training program. 34 students from nigeria, ghana, côte d&39ivoire, kenya and south africa attended all with a strong desire to learn more in the field of the science and technology of packaging. the majority of the attendees were graduates including some with masters qualifications and two with phds. but packaging technology is what they were hungry to learn about. no small wonder when one considers that more than 50 of africa&39s food supply is lost through poorineffectiveinsufficient packaging. all participants keenly absorbed information and their eagerness to improve their knowledge in this field was most evident in their final project presentation on the fifth day.this west african rtp initiative will be the first of more to come. already the african packaging organisation apo is planning similar programs in 2014 in accra and another in lagos the latter focusing on pharmaceutical packaging. although this recent rtp covered the entire spectrum of packaging technology, what drove the students and which was evident in their questions, was how one can improve packaging and reduce costs. participants wanted to know what their packaging counterparts were doing in developed countries and how they can improve, particularly the packaging of foodstuffs to reduce wastage.in this region much fresh produce is sold on the &ldquoopen markets&rdquo where, better knowledge of material selection coupled with more effective storage, would greatly reduce the loss of fresh fruit and vegetables. subsistence farming is the order of the day in nigeria where the farmer brings a few baskets of produce to the market and transfers the contents to another basket belonging to the open market vendor. fresh produce is exposed to the elements during display and sales resulting in a very limited shelflife.there is significant evidence of informal packaging happening throughout africa. this is where vendors buy in bulk and repack into small pack sizes for &ldquoopen market&rdquo sales which better suits the consumer owing to low income and poor storage facilities at home. affordability also drives daily supply of household, hygiene items such as toothpaste where 15ml one day dose sachets are by far the biggest seller of toothpaste units. it is in this area of small dose packaging that most support, knowledge and advice is required.this recent rtp has been a good start. ongoing education is required at all levels of the packaging spectrum, i.e. formal and informal sector. the aip, in collaboration with wpo, has the knowledge, the resources, the first world experience and the ability to share information and expertise. in fact, we have an obligation to help those in developing countries. the apo and wpo are to be commended for taking the initiative to begin addressing this most serious need in africa. the aip can feel proud that it was approached to deliver this week of education and support. the aip is committed to offering similar training over the next 12 months in indonesia, malaysia, vietnam, china and bangladesh. the road ahead is long and it is wide but the journey has commenced. the destination is not necessarily in sight but the rewards along the way for all involved will be big and long lasting. you are invited to join in this journey as you begin thinking about your contribution to improving packaging standards around the world.pierre pienaaraustralian institute of packagingwpo education asia and africareturn to world packaging organisation news 
