Nestlé partners with Africa Food Prize to strengthen food security and climate change resilience

Nestlé announced is partnering with the Africa Food Prize to help accelerate the transformation of food systems in Africa, as a way of strengthening the continent’s food security and building greater climate change resilience.

The Africa Food Prize awards USD 100,000 to individuals and institutions that are pioneering agricultural and food systems transformation in Africa. The Prize puts a spotlight on uniquely impactful agri-food initiatives and technological innovations that can be replicated across the continent to increase food security, spur economic growth and development, and eliminate hunger and poverty in Africa. The Africa Food Prize is hosted by AGRA, an African-led and Africabased institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. AGRA is headquartered in Kenya and works in 15 African countries.

This year, Dr. Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, a plant geneticist from Ghana, was awarded the prestigious prize during September’s AGRF Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. Dr. Danquah was celebrated for his outstanding expertise and leadership in establishing the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) and developing it into a world-class center for the education of plant breeders in Africa.

Nestlé will contribute CHF 100,000 to the Africa Food Prize, which will be awarded in 2023. Part of the contribution will go to the main award and part to a special category focusing on innovations that advance regenerative food systems.

Remy Ejel, Chief Executive Officer of Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa, Nestlé S.A. said, “Transforming agriculture to be more productive and sustainable is key to reducing hunger and improving livelihoods for the long term. We aim to support and amplify efforts that spearhead regenerative agriculture and food systems to enable better productivity, better nutrition and better incomes for people in Africa.”

Commenting on the partnership, Dr Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA said, “We are happy to be partnering with Nestlé to recognize Africa’s best in food systems. The Africa Food Prize is a great opportunity to shine a bright spotlight on

New brewer to engage 3 000 Zimbabwe sorghum farmers

Anew traditional beer brewing company, Buffalo Brewing Company is set to engage 3 000 sorghum farmers in Zimbabwe to grow the crop for brewing on 750ha of land. Buffalo Brewing Company is a subsidiary of Innscor Africa Holdings, a Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed group.

The brewing company’s managing director; Richard Mann confirmed that 3 000 sorghum farmers were set to benefit from the project as the new-kid-on-the-block braces for competition with traditional brewers such as Delta Beverages. “We will get half of our requirements from 750ha under contract farming at market with the rest being sourced from the free market at harvest time,” he said.

“We have contracted just a few farmers, but the target is to increase our contracted crop and build the supply from the small-scale market in the coming season. The support package will include seed accompanied by the much-needed agronomic backing.

Sorghum is an ancient grain and pro-planet protein source that’s packed full of nutrients, and it can be grown as a grain, forage or sweet crop. Sorghum is one of the top five cereal crops in the world. Innscor Africa invested close to US$70

Africa’s outstanding minds, giving the rest of us a chance to learn and replicate their good work that is moving us closer to sustainable, inclusive and resilient food systems and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2 on Zero Hunger.” million into a beer manufacturing plant under its Buffalo Brewing Company with more funds expected to be injected into the alcohol unit in the near future.

Nestlé’s partnership with the Africa Food Prize builds on its years-long work in Africa to improve the continent’s nutrition and agriculture. The company has taken great strides to expand access to affordable nutrition in many communities, for example, by fortifying Maggi bouillon cubes with iron in Central and West Africa. It is also pioneering regenerative dairy farming with the establishment of the first net zero dairy farm in Skimmelkrans, South Africa.

In early 2022, Nestlé launched an innovative income accelerator program, aimed at addressing child labor risks and closing the living income gap for cocoa-farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Recently, Nestlé announced an investment of CHF 1 billion by 2030 under the Nescafé Plan to transition to sustainable coffee farming, including in Côte d’Ivoire.

Entries in the Africa Food Prize are evaluated by a judging committee comprising some of Africa’s greatest food system leaders. Winners are selected based on proven results and scalable efforts.

Submissions for next year’s Africa Food Prize will be open from January 2023 and winners will be announced at the AGRF, Africa Food Systems Forum, in September.

The group is Zimbabwe’s largest food processor, with profitable interests in maize-meal, fast-foods and beverages.

Cassava disease haunts Zambia

Thousands of Zambians in Luapula province in northern Zambia are threatened with hunger after a brown streak and another mysterious disease hit more than 20,000 hectares of cassava-their staple.

soil is adaptable. Kabaso Kapampi, a lawmaker from Mwansabombwe in north eastern Zambia laments the increased damage to the crop because of the termite which has threatened the lives of the local people with a call for authorities in disaster and agriculture to resolve the matter and avert hunger.

“It’s a disaster, we literally have no food, my people have been left with no food because the termites have forced all the tubers to rot which is the actual reason it is grown,” he says, while praying for appeal.

“We have basically asked the Government to declare this problem a disaster because people in the area have no food, it has been eaten by the termite, and we are talking about over 15,000 hectares of land which has no cassava to fall back to,” he told FRA in an interview.

Nchelenge, Mwansabombwe, Kawambwa are among other cassava producing areas that are grossly affected by the Brown Streak and a mysterious termite that is forcing the tuber to rot forcing the farmers to fail to harvest, a threat to food security in the area.

Findings by lawmakers and Zambia Agriculture Research Institute confirm that multitudes of hectare land have been affected in more than six districts of the country that grow cassava for consumption and commercial-including being an ingredient for clear Beer-Eagle-a brand by Northern Breweries-a unit of Zambia Breweries. The brand launched three years ago has attracted business to brewers who have bolstered its production in excess of 20,000 tons from various farmers in Luapula and other areas where the