In Ethiopia, post-harvest losses (PHL) of fruits and vegetables are notably higher than those of other crops due to their perishable nature. To address this issue and extend their shelf life, cold storage has proven to be an effective method. This research aims to improve the longevity of fruits and vegetables by developing an advanced evaporative cooling storage system that utilizes a cross-flow M-cycle indirect evaporative cooler. The performance of this cooling storage system is analyzed both numerically and experimentally, with a focus on thermal effectiveness adjusted specifically to the climate conditions of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The heat and mass exchanger (HMX) designed for this system features a cross-flow pattern and incorporates enhanced moisture-absorbing (wicking) materials in the wet channels. Numerical analysis was conducted using FLUENT in ANSYS software, with varying water and inlet air temperatures. A mesh size of 0.7 mm was employed, and the multiphase model for the evaporation mechanism was used, achieving convergence at 650 iterations. The simulation results indicate a maximum temperature drop of 4.92℃ when the water temperature is reduced to 15℃, with wet bulb and dew point efficiencies of 42% and 30%, respectively. In addition, experimental investigations were carried out under the same conditions as the numerical simulations, using climate data from Bahir Dar. A cross-flow Maisotsenko cycle heat and mass exchanger was constructed using aluminum sheets and other locally available materials. The P.A. Hilton system was integrated with the manufactured heat and mass exchanger. Experimental results demonstrated a maximum temperature reduction of 5.01℃, with wet bulb and dew point efficiencies reaching 59% and 42%, respectively, at a water temperature of 15℃. This study highlights the effectiveness of an evaporative cooling storage system in reducing post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables in Ethiopia, offering a practical solution for improving food preservation in similar climatic regions. Keywords: post-harvest losses, fruit and vegetable, cross-flow M-cycle evaporative cooler, wicking and ANSYS