Nutrition-sensitive food value chain in the Africa region – investing in MSMEs for delivering healthy diets

5 December 2024. Nutrition-sensitive food value chain in the Africa region – investing in MSMEs for delivering healthy diets by IFAD

• Webinar Summary_Nutrition sensitive value chains & Role of MSMEs.pdf # 5 pp.
• Concept Note - virtual dialogue on nutrition-sensitive food value chain_03.12 # 3 pp.

The virtual event attended by [102 participants / 319 registrations] aimed at advocating and raising awareness of the issues towards creation of sustainable and inclusive food value chains to meet food and nutritional demand for consumers. The specific objectives of the event were: 

• bring innovations and different technologies, exchange of share good practices and case studies in promoting sustainable food products development by SMEs that are environmentally friendly, ecologically sustainable, safe and nutritious. 
• discuss the issues and challenges for ensuring sustainable consumption, including reducing food loss and waste 
• identify policy and investment options for promoting sustainable food products development by SMEs and promotion of sustainable consumption. 

Speakers:

• Welcome Remarks – delivered by Ms Sara Mbago, Regional Director, IFAD East and Southern Africa Regional Office ESA
• Why invest in value chains? - Sustainable value chains introducing eco-friendly, safe and nutritious food products that support local and traditional safe and nutritious foods cultivated by small-holder farmers (e.g. adding value to traditional foods; processing of safe, better quality and nutritious food products; packing using environmentally friendly degradable packaging system, food labeling) – Ms Betty Kibaara, Director, The Rockefeller Foundation, Africa Region Office
  
  Citing the example of investing in school feeding (in Ghana), Ms. Kibaara clarified that children in schools comprise 48 billion dollar market globally and the need to encourage aggregator models that supply schools with locally procured nutritious value chains. She emphasized the need to collaborate with governments to accelerate impact through institutional procurement including embracing initiatives like capacity building to strengthen local sourcing.


• What technologies and innovations can be offered? Working with MSMEs to deliver nutritious diets: food fortification as means to combat micronutrient deficiencies in Africa: – Mr. Penjani Mkambula, Deputy Director, Programme Services, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) 
• Investing in nutrition-sensitive value chain in Africa - Dr. Kennedy Bomfeh, Senior Director, The Ajinomoto Foundation 
  
  Dr. Kennedy Bomfey gave five key points on how to leverage the public-private partnerships: i) The need for both sectors to understand the problem in context in order to co-create synergistic interventions; ii) The need to provide a science based response to understand the context thus enabling participation for scale up of proposed solutions; iii) collaboration for holistic impact by using evidence as a bridge to link private sector and public sector; iv) localizing for uptake or utilization of locally available raw materials by ensuring local food culture is respected to protect local food value chains; v) The use of market based distribution for sustainability by leveraging public private partnerships to enhance market penetration mechanisms. 
  
  See for more information: 08/10: In the spotlight: Forgotten Foods / Opportunity Crops and Nutrition in the First 1000 Days
  
  
• facilitated by Ms Nomindelger Bayasgalanbat, Senior Technical Specialist (Social Inclusion – Nutrition), IFAD, ECG 

Panel with representatives of MSMEs

• 
  Moderated by Ms Putso Nyathi, Senior Value Chain Specialist, IFAD, PMI
  
• Creating safe and nutritious local food products at affordable price, – Ms. Marie Claire Nyirankundizanye, Farm Fresh Foods Ltd (Rwanda) - Precooked beans biofortified
  
  The FarmFresh Food Company is an innovative Kigali-based food processing company that markets branded, fully cooked Rwandan beans in laminated pouches 
  
  
• Increasing utilization of local foods for healthy diets: Ms. Rachel Gikonyo, Eden Harvest Limited, Vegetables value chain, Kenya 
  
  Eden Harvest Limited, an agricultural enterprise that specializes in farming, aggregating, packing, and distributing high-quality, fresh agricultural produce to schools, restaurants, supermarkets, and households.
  
  
• Diversifying products to support nutritious diets: Insects as Future Food - Dr. Geoffrey Ssepuuya, INSFOODS Limited, Uganda 
  
  
• 
  Creating safe and nutritious local food products at affordable price - Mr. David Kamau, Fortified Whole Grain Alliance, Eastern Africa focus on Burundi 

Closing Remarks – delivered by Sara Kaoukou, ESA Regional Lead Portfolio Advisor, IFAD

Related: 

From December 1–3, 2024, the Micronutrient Forum convened a “Regional Dialogue on Improving Access to Locally Produced Nutritious and Safe Complementary Foods in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” in Dakar, Senegal. 

This important meeting, supported by the European Union and Expertise France through their EU4SUN project, brought together local producers, policymakers, regulatory authorities, funders, social impact investors, and technical agencies. The discussions focused on applying a systems approach to address barriers to producing safe and nutritious, locally made complementary foods. 

Read the meeting pre-read material, “Barriers to improving access to locally produced nutritious and safe complementary foods in low- and middle-income,” available in English and French.

Micronutrient Forum. Barriers to improving access to locally produced nutritious and safe complementary foods in low and middle-income countries. Washington, D.C.: Micronutrient Forum; 2024. # 14 pp.