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Future Fortified

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Nutrition for Growth Paris 2025: Tracking Commitments to Large-Scale Food Fortification

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Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent: Unlocking renewable power for Africa’s food systems

gloireri — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:32:24 +0000

Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent: Unlocking renewable power for Africa’s food systems gloireri Wed, 03/18/2026 - 14:32

Executive summary

This study on energy efficiency and renewable energy in food processing was commissioned by Partners in Food Solutions (PFS), SNV, and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). With a focus on Nigeria and Uganda, the study examines energy use, efficiency gaps, and opportunities for clean energy adoption across Africa’s food-processing sector with a nutrition lens.

It also provides actionable recommendations for governments, development partners, and the private sector to support small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) transition to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy systems - delivering a triple win for nutrition, climate, and economic growth.

Key Messages

Africa must align clean energy transition with nutrition gains. Food and energy prices are closely linked. Energy inefficiencies in processing raise costs, waste food, and undermine food and nutrition security. Urgent, energy-efficient, and clean energy interventions are needed to improve the availability of nutritious foods and reduce spoilage.
African food processors are up to two times more energy intensive than their global peers. Outdated equipment, inefficient thermal systems, poor maintenance, and inadequate waste and heat recovery mean that processing one kilogram of produce can require nearly double the energy, reducing competitiveness.
Fossil fuel lock-in undermines Africa’s agro- industrialisation and climate mitigation goals. Diesel dominates off-grid processing operations, while unreliable power drives greater diesel dependence. Biomass and firewood account for 18%-48% of fuel use in rural dairy plants and 70%-90% in fish processing, adding to emissions, deforestation, and health risks

2026

Partners in Food Solutions, SNV, and GAIN.

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SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Global Alliance For Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

Partners in Food Solutions

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Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent: Unlocking renewable power for Africa’s food systems

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Environment

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GAIN Working Paper n°65: Cities Accelerating Transitions to Regenerative Food Systems

gloireri — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:58:17 +0000

GAIN Working Paper n°65: Cities Accelerating Transitions to Regenerative Food Systems gloireri Mon, 03/09/2026 - 12:58

Transformation towards just and sustainable food systems is needed to ensure the health of people and the planet. Current large-scale industrial agri-food systems practices across an increasingly urbanised system are increasing soil degradation. These practices, alongside intersecting environmental challenges and widening socio-economic inequalities, are negatively impacting food security and access to healthy diets and increasing interest in climate-smart, agroecological, and regenerative food production. Cities are dynamic places of human settlement where food systems innovation can be catalysed. This makes them key to food policy and delivering nourishing, just and sustainable food systems. In 2024-5, the Transforming Urban Rural Food Systems (TURFS) Consortium conducted a mixed-methods exploratory inquiry in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to explore how cities can incentivise regenerative agricultural transitions. This inquiry focused on three areas of interest: food production, food retail, and food systems governance. Three participatory group workshops (with 146 total participants) and 27 key informant interviews were conducted. Findings highlight opportunities to leverage the city’s organic food culture, better use existing local food systems data, and strengthen coordination, clarity, and resourcing across levels of government. Enabling actions will be needed to foster effective and inclusive collaboration among diverse actors (e.g., farmers, vendors, governments, and researchers) on shared priorities. Persistent knowledge gaps on local markets, urban food systems governance, and the socio-economic and environmental trade-offs of regenerative approaches remain. The participatory design of the inquiry supports locally led transitions and offers insights for scaling and transferring regenerative strategies in other urban contexts.

2026

Rachel Nel

Ann Trevenen-Jones

Min Jung Cho

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GAIN Working Paper n°65: Cities Accelerating Transitions to Regenerative Food Systems

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https://doi.org/10.36072/wp.65

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Food Systems Governance

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GAIN Working Paper n°64 Worker Nutrition In Bangladesh And Opportunities For Integration Into Occupational Safety and Health

gloireri — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:15:51 +0000

GAIN Working Paper n°64 Worker Nutrition In Bangladesh And Opportunities For Integration Into Occupational Safety and Health gloireri Mon, 03/02/2026 - 10:15

Many adults spend most of their waking hours in the workplace, making it an important—yet underappreciated—leverage point for change. In the context of food systems, workplaces can contribute to significantly improved nutrition through employer-provided nutrition programmes (also known as ‘workforce nutrition programmes’ (WFN)). However, the process of gaining support for these initiatives and the potential for institutionalising them within policy remain underexamined. This case study aims to address this by examining the development of WFN in Bangladesh, including at the factory level and through the government-led National Workforce Nutrition Alliance (NWNA). It also considers opportunities for integrating nutrition considerations into occupational safety and health (OSH) policies, regulations, and practices in Bangladesh.

2026

Mila Petrova

Christina Nyhus Dhillon

Stella Nordhagen

Naila Yaumima Rahma

Ahmad Ibn Salim

GM Reza Sumon

Bärbel Weiligmann

Kris Woltering

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GAIN Working Paper n°64 Worker Nutrition In Bangladesh And Opportunities For Integration Into Occupational Safety and Health

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https://doi.org/10.36072/wp.64

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Nourishing Food Pathways

Workforce Nutrition

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I-CAN Policy Brief: Bridging Climate And Nutrition Policies In Tanzania

gloireri — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:18:55 +0000

I-CAN Policy Brief: Bridging Climate And Nutrition Policies In Tanzania gloireri Thu, 02/26/2026 - 20:18

I-CAN Policy Brief, June 2025. This policy brief highlights the challenges and opportunities arising from the need to better integrate climate and nutrition policies in Tanzania. Despite growing recognition of their interconnectedness, policies remain largely fragmented and operate in silos, particularly across health, nutrition, and other food systems sectors. Food and agriculture policies lead in climate-nutrition integration by including concrete strategies and accountability mechanisms. However, outdated legacy policies, weak institutional coordination, and fragmented financing and data systems hinder effective integration and implementation. Key barriers include limited cross-sectoral collaboration, under-resourced coordination structures, and lack of shared data and financing mechanisms. Recommendations include establishing a national Climate–Nutrition Coordination Committee, implementing integrated financing tracking, adopting joint monitoring indicators, and promoting inclusive stakeholder engagement to strengthen policy coherence and accelerate impactful climate-nutrition action in Tanzania.

2026

Amelia Giancarlo

Tumaini Charles

Silvia Silvestri

Antony Ogolla

Oliver Camp

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Tanzania

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Africa

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Food system

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I-CAN Policy Brief: Bridging Climate And Nutrition Policies In Tanzania

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GAIN Working Paper n°63: Workforce Nutrition In Collective Bargaining Agreements

gloireri — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:40:03 +0000

GAIN Working Paper n°63: Workforce Nutrition In Collective Bargaining Agreements gloireri Thu, 02/26/2026 - 19:40

Many adults spend most of their waking hours at the workplace, making the latter a strategic, yet underappreciated, environment for health and well-being interventions. Evidence shows that workforce nutrition initiatives can improve workers’ health and well-being as well as business outcomes, yet their full potential as occupational and public health interventions remain underexplored. This paper examines the extent to which collective bargaining agreements globally include clauses on workforce nutrition, operationalised as healthy food at work, breastfeeding support, nutrition-focused health checks and follow-up, and nutrition education. Using web-based and bibliographic searches, the study identified open-access global, national, and sector-specific collective bargaining agreement (CBA) repositories. It analysed 26,015 agreements from the WageIndicator CBA database (global coverage), Légifrance (France), and the Office of Personnel Management (US) databases. Explicit references to workforce nutrition were rare.

The term "nutrition" appeared in 3.88% of US agreements and 0.23% of French agreements and was not a standalone variable in the global database. Keywords for relevant contexts and arrangements, such as for meal vouchers or breaks (whether or not the consumed food was nutritious and health-promoting) or for medical care (whether or not it attended to diet-related diseases and risk factors), were captured far more frequently. Among the four workforce nutrition pillars examined, breastfeeding support received the most focused attention, though primarily in the global database. In-depth analysis of 49 agreements confirmed the quantitative findings but also provided detail of exemplar clauses of workforce nutrition.

2026

Naila Yaumima Rahma

Bärbel Weiligmann

Stella Nordhagen

Christina Nyhus Dhillon

Gabriele Medas

Mila Petrova

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GAIN Working Paper n°63: Workforce Nutrition In Collective Bargaining Agreements

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https://doi.org/10.36072/wp.63

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Programme (2024)

Nourishing Food Pathways

Workforce Nutrition

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Trade as a catalyst for expanding access to fortified food in ESA (East and South Africa)

gloireri — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 09:41:03 +0000

Trade as a catalyst for expanding access to fortified food in ESA (East and South Africa) gloireri Mon, 02/23/2026 - 10:41

ESA countries began fortifying foods in the 1990s, starting with salt and gradually including wheat flour, edible oil, maize flour, and sugar. Today, 21 of 26 countries mandate salt fortification, 13 wheat flour, 10 edible oil and maize flour, and 5 sugar. Despite this, deficiencies in iron, vitamin A, zinc, folate, and iodine remain widespread.
Governments, development partners, and private actors have invested in fortification programs, setting standards and supporting producers, but consumption remains insufficient to reduce deficiencies. Strengthening regional trade in fortified foods could help bridge supply gaps, improve access, lower costs, and expand consumer choice, though its potential is still underexplored.

2026

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

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Large‐scale food fortification

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Trade as a catalyst for expanding access to fortified food in ESA (East and South Africa)

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GAIN Working Paper n°62: Alternative Sources to Improve Sustainability and Resilience of Tempeh Supply Chains

gloireri — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:11:25 +0000

GAIN Working Paper n°62: Alternative Sources to Improve Sustainability and Resilience of Tempeh Supply Chains gloireri Fri, 02/13/2026 - 12:11

Tempeh is a popular traditional plant-based protein that plays a vital role in Indonesian diets. Indonesia’s reliance on imported soybeans (2.6 million tons/year) for tempeh production, however, creates market instability and food vulnerabilities, particularly regarding cost and supply fluctuations. This paper analyses the technical, economic, and market feasibility of alternative legumes—specifically, jack beans, mung beans, and peanuts—as sustainable substitutes for soybeans in tempeh production. The aim is to identify the most viable option for immediate scale-up to support local food systems and improve nutritional outcomes.

The analysis reveals that jack bean tempeh offers the most compelling opportunity for immediate scaling, primarily due to its low raw material cost, which translates into the highest potential profit margin for producers. Nutritionally, jack bean tempeh is the closest alternative to soybean, being rich in fibre and low in fat, making it attractive to consumers who prioritise nutrition. Mixed-bean tempeh, particularly a 60:40 soybean-jack bean mix, presents a lower-risk entry point for producers, leveraging existing soybean infrastructure while reducing cost dependency.

2026

Sinta Mahardita

Ibnu Budiman

Ingmar van den Brink

Desti Candrasari

Zaudhatul Ulya

Eristyana Yunindio Sari

Jessica Colston

Michelle Nova Lauwrhetta

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https://doi.org/10.36072/wp.62

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Food Systems Governance

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GAIN Convening Paper n°22: Shared Learning, Inspired Action: Insights From Global Exchanges on Strengthening Urban Food Markets

gloireri — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:19:36 +0000

GAIN Convening Paper n°22: Shared Learning, Inspired Action: Insights From Global Exchanges on Strengthening Urban Food Markets gloireri Fri, 02/13/2026 - 12:19

To strengthen evidence and practice about local fresh food markets and food systems governance, in 2025, ICLEI CityFood, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and World Farmers Markets Coalition published two editions of a handbook about markets and resilient cities. The second edition comprises 31 city-market case studies and is structured around the CityFood Market Action Framework. Between May and December 2025, following the launch of the first edition, ICLEI CityFood and GAIN co-convened eight online sessions of a Community of Interest focused on markets and cities. The sessions were structured around four thematic areas: an introduction to how cities shape food markets; gender and social intersectionality; managing food waste; and access to nutrition. Across all eight sessions, a total of 327 participants from 27 cities and 56 organisations took part. This paper shares a summary of those prior sessions and signposts upcoming sessions

2026

Dickson Minja

Ann Trevenen-Jones

Balance Phala

Selina Emmanuel

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GAIN Convening Paper n°22: Shared Learning, Inspired Action: Insights From Global Exchanges on Strengthening Urban Food Markets

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https://doi.org/10.36072/cp.22

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Food Systems Governance

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Integrating Climate and Nutrition For a Resilient and Food-Secure Nigeria

gloireri — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:58:38 +0000

Integrating Climate and Nutrition For a Resilient and Food-Secure Nigeria gloireri Mon, 02/02/2026 - 06:58

Key Insights

1. Nigeria faces intertwined crises of climate change and malnutrition. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events are already reducing agricultural yields and threatening food security, with an estimated 30.6 million people at risk of severe food insecurity in 2026—about 7 million more than in 2025. Climate shocks and poor nutrition reinforce each other, putting vulnerable populations at even greater risk.
2. Policies and initiatives largely operate in silos. Most national and sub-national climate and nutrition policies and initiatives do not intentionally integrate both agendas, limiting opportunities for synergistic action. While a few policies and initiatives show emerging awareness of the climate–nutrition link, these remain largely analytical rather than actionable, leaving many interventions vulnerable to climate shocks.
3. Integrated action can yield “win-win” outcomes. Linking climate and nutrition in policies, investments, and programs—such as through climate-smart agriculture, water management, and community resilience initiatives—can strengthen food security and improve health outcomes simultaneously. Urgent, coordinated action across government, civil society, and private sector actors is needed to translate national commitments into tangible, locally responsive solutions.

2026

Joyce Akpata

Glory Solomon-Eseh

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