GAIN - Stories

Empowering Communities through Sustainable Dairy Enterprises

safiria — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 08:07:30 +0000

Empowering Communities through Sustainable Dairy Enterprises safiria Wed, 10/11/2023 - 09:07

The Ngerengere Village in Morogoro rural is surrounded by Maasai who are pastoralists. They are highly dependent on cattle for their livelihood, including milk, which is one of the major sources of income to the Maasai women. Naturally, with a huge cattle population, the production of milk was very high. However, during rainy seasons there was no reliable market for the Maasai to sell the milk. Therefore, they opted not to milk their cows.

Identifying a business opportunity, three graduates: Victor Mfinanga, Florent Nguma and Samwel Massawe from Sokoine University of Agriculture, started a milk company called Shambani Graduate Enterprises in 2003. They started collecting milk by installing a Milk Cooling Tank, training the milk producers on best dairy farming practises, and processing dairy products. This created a reliable market for the milk producers, the Maasai. Soon, other community members who are not the Maasai also started rearing dairy cows.
Later rebranded as Shambani Milk Company, the business has been working closely with GAIN through the SUN Business Network, Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW) programme and GAIN’s Access to Better Dairy Greening Project in providing both technical assistance (capacity building/trainings on food safety and business development) and financial support ( including provision of grant and facilitating linkages to commercial funding) to strengthen its role in increasing the consumption and production of nutritious food specifically dairy products in the community.

Naturally, with a huge cattle population, the production of milk was very high. However, during rainy seasons there was no reliable market for the Maasai to sell the milk. Therefore, they opted not to milk their cows. © GAIN

Due to challenges the community faced in consuming nutritious products particularly dairy products as well as food safety issues, the company observed many children suffering from malnutrition in the village. Though there was plenty of milk produced in that area, it was sold under poor hygienic conditions (milk sold as raw milk and sometimes adulterated).

As a result, Shambani Milk Company identified an opportunity to add value and ensure customers get quality and hygienic milk by establishing a milk processing plant with one milk supplier; at a processing capacity of 30 litres of milk per day; producing only one product fermented milk (mtindi). Currently the company has installed new machines of 1,000lts capacity per hour, producing more than four products and, offering permanent employment to more than 20 people (80% youth) who engage with more than 300 milk suppliers, 90% being the Maasai women.

Safe, affordable, accessible milk products

Shambani Milk is reaching lower income consumers with safe and healthy products and distributes small size pack of 250ml and 500 ml that are being sold in Mangi shop (local shops) at less than 1 dollar through retailer shops located the region of Morogoro, Dar es salaam and Dodoma.

Previously, there were challenges around improving quality control measures particularly on product spoilage and spillage which was caused by human error, specifically cross contamination and machine breakdown. Moreover, there were gaps in record keeping that made it difficult to trace product issues and customer complaints.

As a result, during the first two quarters, 65% of milk collected was reported as spoilage from various cases, compared to only 15% of milk reported at the end of quarter 4 of 2022. Furthermore, the trend of handling poor milk cases and losses has been reducing significantly from the beginning of the FY 2022 to end of FY 2022 as shown below.

The trend of handling poor milk cases and losses has been reducing significantly from the beginning of the FY 2022 to end of FY 2022. © GAIN

To further reinforce the gains realized, it was equally important to adopt a food safety culture in the factory and make it as part and parcel of staff daily implementation activities. Moreover, frequent trainings, daily morning meeting reminders and monitoring was emphasized, for example, introducing commitment form by the human resource department to every staff to sign, making a commitment to abide by food safety regulations.

Most importantly, GAIN has continued to work with the company to provide technical recommendations on how they can further improve the quality of milk. This has included implementing several quality control systems that have greatly streamlined business functions, and improved efficiency. Overall, the strategic outlook for Shambani Milk Company is to be the first ISO 22000 certified dairy processing company offering best quality product and services.

Authors

Bernadetha Shosho

Countries

Tanzania

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Publication Date

Wed, 10/11/2023 - 12:00

Location

Tanzania

Individual

Entrepreneurs

Short title

Empowering Communities through Sustainable Dairy Enterprises

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Unlocking the Power of Fish: A Tasty Solution to Combat Malnutrition

safiria — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 11:44:44 +0000

Unlocking the Power of Fish: A Tasty Solution to Combat Malnutrition safiria Fri, 09/29/2023 - 12:44

In 2018, GAIN in collaboration with Ministry of Health (MoH) established Jejaring Pasca Panen untuk Gizi Indonesia (JP2GI), formerly known as the Indonesia Postharvest Loss Alliance (IPLAN). The coalition, with the assistance from GAIN, has successfully established a network of 642 individuals across different sectors and fields including researchers and academics, as well as collaborated with government ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the Ministry of National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), in ensuring an increased supply of fish and fish products for Indonesia’s population. GAIN has facilitated the entire process of the initial establishment of the secretariat, provided resources for its networking process and outreach activity to disseminate information about this coalition.

With the establishment of a wide network and dissemination, JP2GI was entrusted by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) in 2021 to conduct an in-depth landscape analysis of the local fish supply chain to pinpoint the challenges that cause fish harvest loss and how JP2GI interventions can address it. The value of support from MMAF was around 70% of the total budget for the landscape analysis study.

Sjarief Widjaja, Head of research and Human resource management Ministry of Marine and Fisheries. © GAIN

According to Sjarief Widjaja, Head of Research and Human Resources Management of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, his department supported JP2GI to conduct the study as they wanted to reduce post-harvest loss from fish and make more people consume fish as a source of protein. "Fish are not only obtained from the market but can also be produced from fishermen's families, cultivators, and fish processors around their homes. So, this is our effort firstly, to increase public attention towards fish consumption, secondly to encourage people to become fish farmers and cultivate their own fish for private and commercial use, and thirdly to improve the quality of fish effectively and efficiently, resulting in high production levels".

Curbing Fish Harvest Loss

Widjaja acknowledges that nutrients found in fish are very important for human diets. Unfortunately, there is too much waste loss from fish production. Therefore, his department has been encouraging ways to prevent fish loss waste right from the process of catching and cultivating, to the supply chain and consumption. Although Indonesia has great marine resources that have competitive advantage to increase economic income, almost 40% of fish harvested is lost and wasted due to poor fishery management.

Faridjan delivers fish to community representative. © GAIN

Mr. Widjaja further states that one of the problems faced by fisheries actors in Indonesia is the high loss of fishery products and yield losses in the cultivation. Fishery food loss is the total value of post-harvest loss of fishery products due to damage to fish, which occurs from the moment the fish is caught, until it reaches the consumer. There are several types of yield losses that include physical, quality, market force, nutritional, functional, and financial.

Increased consumption of fish in Indonesia is essential. Nutritional deficiencies are common including 30% stunting among children under five partially caused by chronic undernutrition. Almost 50% of pregnant women are anemic, a high proportion due to nutrient deficiency, particularly in iron. In Indonesia, fish is an important source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. It is cheap and easily found in markets in coastal areas, but it is easily spoiled before reaching customers living inland.

Affordability can also be a barrier for poorer households.

Research data from 2020 suggests that fishery production in Indonesia reached 7.7 million tons. Meanwhile, the average consumption of fish in Indonesia is around 78.4 grams per person per day while at the same time having around 19.4 million Indonesians who are unable to meet their daily nutritional needs (World Food Program study, 2017)

With the support from eight Maritime Academies under the management of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, JP2GI conducted the study in 14 priority locations: Jakarta, Cilacap, Probolinggo, Jembrana, Yogyakarta, Tegal, Bitung, Ambon, Kupang, Banyuwangi, Serang, Maros, Bantul and Sorong.

The main purpose of the study was to connect small scale fishermen and sellers with the government and regulators to give them a platform to have discussions. The results of the study have been used by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to develop their strategic plan in managing fish loss and waste.

Impacts of JP2GI program work has also influenced BAPPENAS to include JP2GI as part of a think-tank group for developing the 2020-2024 National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and which has mainstreamed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several of the 17 SDGs along with their indicators have become an inseparable part of the seven current development agendas of the Government of Indonesia.

Scaling Impact

Through its education and awareness program, JP2GI has also impacted some of its 642 members to conduct social projects in their respective locations. For example, since 2021, 47-year-old Faridjan Soemardi, a civil servant working for the District Office of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in Kebumen, Central Java, has initiated a social project for distributing fresh fish and fish related products (nugget, crackers, fish stick, etc.) to poor families including households with pregnant women, children under five years old, and elderly people, to increase their protein consumption.

The regular educative training programs via routine webinars, conducted by JP2GI with GAIN’s support and assistance, has influenced him to develop a proposal for distributing fish products to poor families and until now, the initiative has been recognized by Central Java provincial government and been scaled up to other districts in Central Java province. The value of the fish distribution is $4 USD per family per month.

Not just nationally, JP2GI was also recognized globally. It won the Best Practices Award in Sustaining Urban Food Systems from the Dubai International Award for Best Practices in 2022.

To-date JP2GI has been able to run independently and has successfully attracted more than 600 members across Indonesia. During the Business Innovation Challenge in 2019, 200 members applied improved postharvest loss technology and practices to their businesses with over 20,000 cold chain technology products sold and used by 400 fishers and 56,000 fish-based food products sold on the local market.

Through JP2GI alliance, small-scale fishermen and fishmongers can increase their capacity to produce quality fish and reduce loss and waste. This is done through technology development, facilitating access to markets, training, and policy advocacy. Though Indonesia still has further to go to increase the availability of affordable nutritious foods in the market by reducing fish loss and waste, building alliances like JP2GI has brought significant impacts by creating a multi-stakeholder forum where people can grow and make connections and collaboration. In the future, JP2GI targets to outreach more members from fishermen, more gender approach and build strategic actions to collaborate with influential stakeholders in fish loss waste.

Countries

Indonesia

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Publication Date

Mon, 10/02/2023 - 12:00

Location

Indonesia

Individual

Entrepreneurs

Short title

Unlocking the Power of Fish: A Tasty Solution to Combat Malnutrition

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Women as Changemakers: Bringing Nutritional Shift to Communities

safiria — Wed, 25 May 2022 13:27:53 +0000

Women as Changemakers: Bringing Nutritional Shift to Communities safiria Wed, 05/25/2022 - 14:27

"Healthy Diets for Tea Communities" is an initiative to address nutritional challenges in the tea supply chain. Presently active in Assam, India the program is empowering local women working in tea estates as 'changemakers'. Known as the 'Dharmalife Entrepreneurs', these women drive community awareness activities and provide access to nutritious foods through door-to-door sales.

As the clock strikes five in the morning, Lakhinayak begins her day with a cup of freshly brewed tea. While she completes her household chores and responsibilities towards her family, now it is time to transform her role from being a mother, wife, and daughter-in-law to a Dharmalife Entrepreneur (DLE. As she walks down the lane, people fondly greet her as "Baideo" (a colloquial term used to address someone as sister), reminding her of the responsibilities which give her a sense of purpose and immense pride.

"When I was 13 years old, I used to give tuition to children in my village. My father then realized my inclination towards social work," beams Lakhinayak. Her qualifications do not define her, although she has studied till Class 10th, working for society naturally comes to her. Following her passion to bring change in her community, she has previously worked as a Panchayat committee member and is now a DLE.

"I leave the house when I have to conduct a home visit, organise events or sell products. I like going out to work. I like organising these events," mentions Lakhinayak with enthusiasm and zeal. Donning different roles throughout the day, she is a friend while conducting home visits, an entertaining host during cooking competitions and an enterprising saleswoman, who provides nutritious food products at the doorstep of tea workers’ house. Playing these varied roles has helped her gain confidence, enhance her communication skills, build empathetic relationships with people, and becoming a role model for her community.

The activities conducted by her are focused to spread awareness on four key areas: Promoting consumption of a balanced diet use of vitamin and mineral- fortified food items, consumption of local seasonal fruits and vegetables, and adoption of handwashing practices.

Digital Connection: Lakhinayak (R) engaged with a woman during one of her home visits

"I don’t even have to call people whenever I organize an event. They join me on their own." She narrates how people are excited to learn about nutrition and more participants turn up for her workshops. This positive and overwhelming response from the community keeps her motivated to do good work.

Empowered for Good: Lakhinayak (L) talking to a woman about the importance of balanced diet

With continuous efforts and building of strong interpersonal relationships among the community members, Lakhinayak has formed a loyal customer base to sell her products. "I can sell products easily in my division. Whenever I procure the [vitamin A]-fortified oil, the stock lasts for only one to two days", she explains as a sense of achievement shines through her eyes.

Good Diet, Good Cognition: Lakhinayak selling a bottle of fortified oil explaining its health benefits

The program led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and implemented by Dharmalife selects and provides intensive training to local women aged 18-45 years in each of the tea estate to drive the program activities. For improving awareness and behaviors towards good nutrition and healthy diets the DLE conducts multiple activities that include street plays, cooking demonstrations, competitions, and door-to-door visits. Access to nutritious foods and various other socially relevant products are ensured through DLEs via door-to-door sales.

Just like Lakhinayak, 36 other DLEs are working tirelessly to bring a shift in the nutritional status of tea workers in Assam. It is observed that tea workers remain nutritionally vulnerable due to poor diets that consist largely of staple foods such as rice, wheat and potato that lack essential micronutrients needed for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

In the baseline study conducted by GAIN in 15 tea estates in 2021 only on third of women consume minimally diverse diets. Although 77% of the community members were aware of the benefits of having a balanced diet, only 14% regularly consumed fruits and 32% consume dark leafy vegetables respectively, both locally available and affordable nutrient rich foods. In addition, only 17% of the tea workers were aware of fortified oil, oil fortified with vitamin-A as per government standards and an important contribution to a vitamin lacking in most diets in Assam

Realising the need of the hour, "Healthy Diets for Tea Communities", a sector-wide nutrition program was started in Asia and Africa by GAIN and the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) aiming to reach 750,000 people in Kenya, Malawi and India. The project is funded by Unilever, Taylors of Harrogate, Republic of Tea, Jacob Douwe Egberts, Ringtons Foundation, Wollenhaupt, Reginald Ames, and Bigelow along with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In India, the program aims to cover 110 tea estates reaching approximately 110,000 workers and their families in Assam. With the help of more women like Lakhinayak, the program is setting an example among tea estates, empowering women to gain an important voice in the community not only to bring healthy behaviour change in the community but to create a sustainable livelihood by providing access to nutritious food products.

Authors

Biju Mushahary

Countries

India

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Publication Date

Wed, 05/25/2022 - 12:00

Location

Assam, India

Individual

Farmers and workers

Short title

Women as Changemakers

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Healthy Line Shops: Transforming the food ecosystem in tea estates

safiria — Wed, 25 May 2022 13:55:39 +0000

Healthy Line Shops: Transforming the food ecosystem in tea estates safiria Wed, 05/25/2022 - 14:55

At the heart of the tea estates in the state of Assam, an innovative supply chain model has been launched: The Healthy Line Shops (HLS). These neighbourhood retail shops provide healthy and nutritious food products to tea workers and their families. The model creates a sustainable supply chain of nutritious products through novel networks with local distributors to reduce the burden and costs of sourcing products from wholesalers in the nearby town. Offering products in cash and credit, these ‘Healthy Line Shops’ are important and sometimes the only access points for tea workers for their daily nutritious products.

As Sheila Devi opens the shutter in the early morning, she awaits the arrival of her customers to buy products from her shop. Her confident smile is a testimony that she will do good business owing to the Bihu festival.

Sheila Devi waiting for her customers after opening her shop in the morning.

While waiting, she talks about one of the reasons that motivated her to start the shop, “We felt cheated as most of the existing shops in our neighbourhood sold food products at higher prices than the nearby markets. Even packed food was sold at prices above Market Retail Price (Maximum price that can be charged from customers in India as specified by authority)”. She has come a long way since she started her shop 25 years back with a mere investment of INR 500 INR ( USD 6.7), to now stocking products worth more than INR 1,00,000 INR (USD1333).

This was not always the case. Initially, her target was to provide the basic staple food items to the neighborhood. Over time, she kept on adding new products and offered them at a competitive price. She also introduced credit-based payments which helped her to attract new customers and grow her business.

The central distributor provides doorstep delivery of the entire stock of food products.

When the Ecociate Team first approached her with the concept and model of Healthy Line Shops, she was a bit hesitant. The promise of doorstep delivery of stocks and extension of interest-free credit purchase from the project seemed too good to be true. Nonetheless, with the consistent efforts of the project team, she gave it a try and received a one-time free supply of nutritious food products. Among others, the free stock included fresh fruits and vegetables which she thought could never be sold in a small retail shop like hers.

The model has proven to be more than a one-time free supply of food. Since then, the project team has linked Sheila with a centrally located demand aggregator from the nearby town. This aggregator collects orders from different Healthy Line Shops, sources food and other products from wholesalers at fair prices, and later delivers them to each shop. At first, the transportation cost for the delivery by the aggregator had to be supported by the project. With time, the growth in business between HLS distributors and HLS generated enough surplus to meet the transport cost for doorstep delivery. As a result, transportation costs from the project were phased out over time, increasing the sustainability of the model. Apart from linking Sheila with the aggregator, the project team also provided support to her for business operations such as structuring the order cycles, maintaining stock registers, tracking the sales, and placement of orders before depletion in stock, as well as basic nutrition information to promote her nutritious food products.

The model helped Sheila to cut down on the business cost, especially on transport as shifted from procuring stocks 6-7 times a month to only 2-3 times a month. This helped her in saving multiple visits to the wholesaler, making it possible for her to spend quality time with her family. In addition, the project also taught her to plan her stocks efficiently and created a unique identity for her shop by branding it with nutrition messaging. Apart from providing last-mile connectivity, the project also organizes various activities to spread awareness on the availability and consumption of healthier diets which helped her to acquire new customers and grow her business.

Sheila Devi’s shop is one of the 32 Healthy Line Shops on Assam tea estates, with more to come. Just like Sheila’s shop, other shop owners have also benefited from the project and have observed an increase in demand and consumption of nutritious foods. The model has provided an opportunity for both the HLS Demand Aggregator and the retail shop owners to expand business with low investments. This Healthy Line Shop is part of a sector-wide nutrition program, named “Healthy Diets for Tea Communities.” The program is jointly led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) and is implemented across Asia and Africa. The aim is to reach 750,000 tea workers and their family members in Kenya, Malawi, and India with improved diets by increasing awareness of and access to nutritious and safe foods. The project is a public-private partnership, funded by 7 tea companies (Unilever, Taylors of Harrogate, Republic of Tea, Jacob Douwe Egberts, Ringtons Foundation, Wollenhaupt, Reginald Ames ,and Bigelow) along with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In India, the program aims to cover 110 tea estates reaching out to approximately 110,000 workers and their families in Assam. Currently, there are 32 Healthy Line Shops across 8 tea estates that are functioning independently and are ensuring a regular supply of nutritious foods to 3200+ households. As a result of its success, the model is now being scaled up to 120+ new Healthy Line Shops covering 30 tea estates in the north-eastern region of Assam. This upscaling has the potential for an annual business of INR 25 million (USD 3.2 million) and would provide nutritious food products to 50,000 tea garden workers and their families.

Authors

Biju Mushahary

Aishwarya Choubey

Countries

India

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Publication Date

Wed, 05/25/2022 - 12:00

Location

Assam, India

Individual

Entrepreneurs

Short title

Healthy Line Shops

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3 Strategies to Revive Local Foods and Achieve a More Sustainable Food System in Indonesia.

hodoro — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 10:37:40 +0000

3 Strategies to Revive Local Foods and Achieve a More Sustainable Food System in Indonesia. hodoro Wed, 11/03/2021 - 11:37

Most Indonesians tend to consume and rely on homogenous foods, or on a single staple food. This tendency has had implications on the government’s food policy decisions. For example, the national government imported 41,000 tons of rice in July 2021. Last year, the Jakarta government had to import 130,000 tons of sugar. In Papua, it was typical for the local government to worry over the insufficiency of local rice production as less than 20% of Papuans consumed sago and tubers; which are traditionally the local source of carbohydrates in the region.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the fragility of Indonesia’s food and land use systems. While the Government of Indonesia has implemented different policies over time in different areas, from central to provincial level, with emergency public activity restrictions, the widely disrupted supply chains had deleterious impacts on food supply, market and livelihoods. Worldwide, 2020 data from UNDP projected that 780 million people would suffer from hunger in the next one year, a marked increase from the current 690 million. The pandemic is also expected to have a negative impact on the number of children with stunting and wasting in the millions in the next two years, effectively wiping out the previous 10 years of global progress in reducing malnutrition.

Indonesia has demonstrated a strong commitment to shifting to a more diverse and sustainable, healthier diet. © Anggit Rizkianto/Unsplash.

The economic ramification of the pandemic is felt across Indonesia in form of loss of income. As a result, a 2020 online survey done by J-PAL and partners found that more than a third of the households surveyed have reduced their food intake due to financial constraints, putting families in danger of malnutrition. In light of these projections, it is prudent to ask oneself if the impact of the pandemic could have been less severe, if people consumed more local foods.

Indonesia has demonstrated a strong commitment to shifting to a more diverse and sustainable, healthier diet. This is mandated in the Law no. 18 of 2012 on Food and the country’s effort to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 2 on ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Another commitment to strengthen the implementation of the Food Law has been included in the 2020- 2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), which outlined the strategies for achieving an ideal and balance dietary pattern, especially to increase the consumption of more nutritious and championing local foods.

As an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is blessed with fertile soil and rich mega-biodiversity; two aspects which support robust production of local foods and in turn contribute to food security. Indonesia has 77 types of carbohydrate-resource food plants, 389 types of fruits, 77 types of protein-resource, and 228 types of vegetables. Instead, Indonesia relies only on rice and corn as sources of carbohydrates. This is one of the factors that has led our food system to transition away from local food and towards national dietary convergence, a concept where people tend to consume homogenous foods, despite the availability of other local foods. Consequently, research shows that lack of dietary diversity influences national food security.

Improving the production and consumption of local food will support the Government of Indonesia’s plan for transforming its food system to a more sustainable one. From an environmental perspective, a diet based on local foods has a high potential to lower Green House Gas emissions, reduce food losses during transport, and utilize less packaging during retail due to close proximity to food sources, all these shortening the food supply chain. From a socio-economic sustainability standpoint, it allows a sense of ownership for local heritage and local identity, which may bring communities together. Establishment of local markets brings producers and consumers closer and provides more employment opportunities in rural areas. From a health perspective, a shorter supply chain reduces incidence of food spoilage and increases rural access to healthy, diverse diets.

Therefore, more effort should be made to revive Indonesia’s local food to help realise a sustainable food system for the nation. The government should focus on the following three strategies: improving supply chain, productivity as well as data and technology.

First, shortening the food supply chain between farmers and consumers by integrating online digital platforms. This need was most visible during the pandemic, as the country’s food supply chain grapples with restricted movement of goods compounded with poor logistics. The e-commerce sector could play a key role in ensuring both smooth distribution of food between farmers and consumers, lowering food prices, while improving food quality for both parties in the process.

Several agri-technology e-commerce platforms in Indonesia such as Tanihub, SayurBox, Aruna and Jala have encouraged farmers to expand their business activities online. OkeJeck, a local initiative in Papua, is a good example where an online platform helps the marketing of local foods in forested areas. On top of increasing local producers’ access to the market, this also allows wider distribution of surplus food from the neighboring markets, thereby reducing food waste.

Second, boosting yield productivity through regenerative agriculture. To achieve more sustainable agricultural practices, Indonesia needs to implement regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is one of the tipping points to support more sustainable agriculture systems through the use of organic fertilizer, soil and livestock management that gradually increase the nutrient of food products and decrease GHG emissions. It should substitute the current agriculture production which relies on traditional practices such as the use of chemical fertilizer, abundant water and hybrid seeds.

A study by the Food and Land Use (FOLU) Coalition in 2021 observes its five main potential benefits of implementing regenerative agriculture: (1) for the environment, by rebuilding soil health and carbon content, for the health by improving air quality, (2) for the inclusion, by developing more diversified and profitable agricultural products, (3) for the food security, by boosting productivity, and (5) for the economy, by gaining more profits. In Indonesia, implementing regenerative agriculture should start from the education and capacity building from the government, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture, to local farmers then combining with agricultural participatory extension.

Third, utilizing technology and data. A sustainable local food-based diet requires a local food system that is tailored to Indonesia’s varied geographic, demographic and cultural characteristics. A district-based Food Systems Dashboard could provide local policymakers not only with reliable data, but also a high-level overview of their food system (and their neighboring districts) wherein potential issues and synergies could be identified. On a broader level, the dashboard provides a complete overview of a country’s food system and has aided policymakers in setting out priorities to improve their nutrition and health outcomes. Under proper development, a subnational model of the platform will be a powerful tool in assisting Indonesia’s transformation into a sustainable, resilient food system.

Authors

Agnes A. Mallipu

Countries

Indonesia

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Publication Date

Wed, 11/03/2021 - 12:00

Location

Jakarta

Individual

Entrepreneurs

Farmers and workers

Short title

3 Strategies to Revive Local Foods

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A Local Consumer’s Investment

safiria — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 12:56:12 +0000

A Local Consumer’s Investment safiria Wed, 10/20/2021 - 13:56

Ever since Khadiza Binte Asad was a child, she has enjoyed the sights, sounds, and products of the Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market. Now 22 years old, she is a student of Dhaka Eden College and has been living in the Islambagh area with her family since the age of five. The wet market is not far from her home, and for the last 13 years, she’s visited the market either alone or with her father to buy daily necessities.

Last year, when the global COVID-19 pandemic hit, Khadiza’s family was uncertain about where and how to continue their shopping. Like millions around the world, they were afraid to visit a market known for its multitudes of people and lax hygiene standards. Before various lockdown periods, as Khadiza continued to purchase necessary nutritious foods at the market, she noticed that no market vendors were wearing sanitary face masks and that fellow consumers were not following social distancing protocol. That summer, after GAIN’s emergency KFMW programme launched at Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market, Khadiza says she saw things begin to change.

Like millions around the world, they were afraid to visit a market known for its multitudes of people and lax hygiene standards.

One day while shopping, two people approached her and asked about changes in the market. They were with EatSafe, a complementary GAIN project that conducts bimonthly surveys and data collection to inform the KFMW programme’s market infrastructure audits and improvements. Since then, Khadiza has looked forward to regularly providing her impressions and feedback to project teams and seeing results to match.

Recently Khadiza said, "Now I get pure drinking water in the wet market, but previously it was not available. I also can use a separate female toilet. Vendors are using masks. At every shop, there is a social distancing barrier system. Health, safety, and cleanliness are maintained properly in the market." In addition, she said that the availability and quality of fresh and nutritious food items had increased among vendors.

Despite the workload of her studies and other commitments, Khadiza has invested time and energy regularly participating in various training and workshops that inform the KMFW programme. She says she has learned a great deal about the coronavirus, its preventive safety measures, and other food safety tips. It’s clear to Khadiza how much strategic collaboration is happening daily at the wet market to keep safety measures strong and to engage consumers.

Now I get pure drinking water in the wet market, but previously it was not available. I also can use a separate female toilet. Vendors are using masks.

"Most of the time when I visit Islambagh market, I notice market committee members are active in monitoring the vendors and consumers’ activity….Thanks to these measures through GAIN, Islambagh market committee does not allow any consumer to enter without a mask. As a consumer, I am very much satisfied," Khadiza said.

In this context, Khadiza is more than a student and avid learner invested in COVID-19 awareness - she is also an educator. Khadiza makes a point of sharing the information she’s collected via market activities with family, friends, and neighbours so that they, too, can benefit along with their extended networks. Khadiza’s position as a neighbourhood consumer is a powerful one for the continued success of the KFMW programme.

Through the testimony of her long-time and recent experiences at the Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market, GAIN and its partners are able to make safety and infrastructure improvements that much better.

Contact

Lewis Bett

Countries

Bangladesh

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Publication Date

Wed, 10/27/2021 - 12:00

Location

Dhaka

Individual

Entrepreneurs

Short title

A Local Consumer’s Investment

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EatSafe

Scaling up adoption of nutrient dense foods in schools and communities in Tanzania

hodoro — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 06:29:39 +0000

Scaling up adoption of nutrient dense foods in schools and communities in Tanzania hodoro Wed, 10/27/2021 - 07:29

The Commercialisation of Biofortified Crops (CBC) Programme being implemented by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition - GAIN and HarvestPlus has taken shape in Tanzania. The programme is being implemented with the objective of reducing malnutrition caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, iron, zinc, folic acid, and iodine in the diet, as known as 'hidden hunger'. In Tanzania, the project is commercialising maize and beans crops, biofortified with Pro vitamin A and Iron respectively.

Among Tanzania’s population of about 57 million people, 58% of children under five, 45% of women aged 15 to 49 are anaemic while 36% are deficient in vitamin A. The commercialisation of high iron beans presents an opportunity to help address iron deficiency, especially among under-five children, adolescent girls, and expectant mothers, as more than 75% of households in Tanzania depend on beans for daily subsistence. On the other hand, Pro vitamin A biofortified maize is a considerable solution to addressing vitamin A deficiency for the 36% of women between the age of 15 to 49 as maize is widely consumed staple by almost 90% of the population.

The programme is working to ensure schools have a diverse menu containing nutrient rich foods. © GAIN Tanzania.

The CBC Programme seeks to address malnutrition by improving farmers access to inputs and markets for biofortified seeds, increasing the availability of biofortified food products on the market and creating awareness for institutional buyers and consumers. Demand creation activities across the value chain from seed production to food marketing are being utilised to ensure nutrient enriched staples are reaching all consumers. The strong support demonstrated by the government is key in driving efforts to ensure an enabling environment for biofortified food products through the strategic engagement of policy makers and businesses.

Between May and September 2021, the programme in Tanzania worked on demand creation for these nutrient dense crops through institutional capacity building. A total of 152 participants comprising of heads of schools, food suppliers to schools, education, and nutrition officers from nine project’s focused regions (Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Iringa, Songwe, Ruvuma, Geita, Kigoma and Kagera) underwent capacity building on biofortification and strengthening the supply chain of high iron beans and pro vitamin A maize for school feeding programmes.

Channels for raising awareness for the nutrient dense crops and foods have been established through the Regional Multisectoral Nutrition Committees (RMSNCs) which are multi-partner nutrition platforms that oversee regional implementation of nutrition interventions in Tanzania.

School feeding programmes provide an avenue to accelerate the consumption of biofortified crops in the programme implementation regions. Towards this end, training, and cooking demonstrations in schools across the nine regions have been conducted focusing on the importance of consumption of biofortified crops by students, the role of good nutrition in improving learning outcomes and encouraging adolescents to make healthier food choices. The live demonstrations saw a participatory approach where school heads, teachers and cooks took lead in preparing pro vitamin A ugali (a meal made from maize flour) and high iron beans - some 1,972 students tasted the food during lunch hour.

Most of the participants, especially the students, liked the taste. A student from Hai day secondary school shared that the ugali was so tasty and that he would like to have this as a meal every day. The activity has had a positive effect on the implementation of the programme not just in schools but beyond, as six (6) heads of school have already been supplied with high iron bean seed for planting.

We would like to purchase the seeds for both maize and beans as we have our own farm which is used to feed the students yearly.

Mwasiti Kinyau, the Headmistress for Arusha girls’ high school.

The success of the programme highly depends on strong partnerships between the key players across the supply chain such as seed producers, farmers, grain suppliers, retailers, and institutional buyers such as schools.

"As for my school, we are ordering 3 tonnes of pro vitamin a maize flour for porridge as we wait for the school board to make permanent contract with suppliers". Said Yusuph Mwagala, the headmaster, Ifunda technical secondary school. "We need to shift to more nutritious foods to ensure proper growth and good health for our students", he emphasised.

Four schools from Iringa region have started introducing porridge from pro vitamin A flour in their school diets, while more are in the pipeline to setup supply contracts.

The programme is working to ensure schools have a diverse menu containing nutrient rich foods. As the school feeding programmes encourage the consumption of biofortified maize and beans, it can not only improve child nutrition but also bolster nutrition-sensitive agricultural and economic development in the region. The programme is striving to ramp up awareness creation about nutrient enriched foods in more schools and gradually in open markets to improve the nutrition of Tanzanians.

Authors

Mariam Luhambati

Jillian Kanaiza Makungu

Countries

Tanzania

External Link(s)

Harvestplus

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Publication Date

Wed, 10/27/2021 - 12:00

Location

Dar es Salaam

Individual

Adolescents

Women

Short title

Scaling up adoption of nutrient dense foods in schools and communities in Tanzania

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Programme (2024)

Large-Scale Food Fortification

Nutrient Enriched Crops

A Deputy Secretary’s Mission

safiria — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 09:07:48 +0000

A Deputy Secretary’s Mission safiria Wed, 10/20/2021 - 10:07

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Babor Ali Mir had the same fears as everyone else, yet he also had a platform to do something about it in his community. A Deputy Secretary of the Bangladesh government, Babor works as a Zone-3 Executive Officer with Dhaka South City Corporation, which means he has access to networks of stakeholders who can work together to inform city dwellers about the risks of COVID-19 transmission. This feeling of duty became all the more personal to Babor after he contracted the virus and recovered.

Knowing that millions of people using Dhaka’s fresh food markets would be at increased risk, Babor decided that the Bangladesh government needed help from different stakeholders, such as from the private sector, to advance sufficient awareness and prevention. He soon learned that GAIN’s emergency KFMW programme and its complementary projects would be supporting wet market safety by involving administrators, vendors, and consumers in risk education and infrastructure improvements. Eager to play a role in protecting workers and community members, he has been active with EatSafe and KFMW since attending an August 2020 meeting at the Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market.

Babor especially likes the KFMW programme’s collaborative data collection towards effective action; where wet market associations work with local market associations to establish COVID-19 response units. Through the programme, GAIN collected bimonthly data on both consumers’ and vendors’ attitudes and behaviours in the informal market as it relates to COVID-19. Based on these survey results, the programme was able to direct resources toward targeted wet market emergency support - distributing masks to vendors, installing public announcement systems, setting up clear boundaries and protective fencing around the market to help with social distancing, and even hiring a public health engineering team to create user-friendly (and theft-proof) hand-washing systems.

A Deputy Secretary of the Bangladesh government, Babor works as a Zone-3 Executive Officer with Dhaka South City Corporation. © GAIN

Never missing a meeting, Babor has since been assigned as a member of the EatSafe Technical Working Group - with many of his recommendations leading to direct improvements. He suggested, for instance, that food producers should be looped into the new food security measures, and that wet market vendors should be encouraged and assisted to get vaccinated, as well as wear hand gloves while cutting fish and meat. He often donates the use of Zone-3 office facilities to GAIN project teams so that groups of vendors and consumers can safely attend meetings, trainings, and workshops.

Babar works tirelessly to bring people together to accomplish project activities and cooperates with the market committee to ‘get the job done’ as soon as possible. KFMW thrives with the help of passionate and conscientious public servants like Babar Ali Mir, who has in turn expressed his gratitude to the project for transforming wet market safety, preserving the livelihoods of market vendors, and saving myriad lives in the process.

Contact

Lewis Bett

Countries

Bangladesh

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Publication Date

Wed, 10/20/2021 - 12:00

Location

Dhaka

Individual

Entrepreneurs

Short title

A Deputy Secretary’s Mission

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Programme (2024)

EatSafe

Journey towards better nutrition in Kenya with High Iron Beans

hodoro — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 09:25:22 +0000

Journey towards better nutrition in Kenya with High Iron Beans hodoro Wed, 10/13/2021 - 10:25

In Kenya, beans are cultivated almost exclusively by about 1.5 million smallholder farmers on about one million hectares, with yields of about 0.6MT/ha. Kenya is the seventh largest producer of beans globally and the second leading producer in East Africa after Tanzania.

National consumption of common beans is estimated at about 755,000MT annually against a production of about 600,000MT per year. Nationally, average consumption per person is approximately 14 kg per year but can be as high as 66 kg per year in the country’s western regions. (Katungi et al., 2010; Spilsbury et al., 2004; Buruchara, 2007).

Beans contain significant amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fiber and minerals including zinc. In 2017, nutrient enriched bean varieties containing significantly higher amounts of iron than the ordinary varieties were released in Kenya to help address iron deficiency, which stands at 21.8% for pre-school children, 36.1% for pregnant women, and 21.3% for non-pregnant women.

Collection of high iron beans from Abosi Top Hill Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd in Gorgor, Bomet County. © GAIN Kenya.

To contribute to the reduction of malnutrition, in particular iron deficiency anaemia,the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) partnered with HarvestPlus in 2018 and launched the Commercialisation of Biofortified Crops (CBC) Programme in Kenya which aims to improve the consumption of iron enriched beans. The programme is working with value chain actors including producers, seed multipliers, processors and retailers to significantly increase access to biofortified bean seeds, grains, and processed foods.

This is being done through public and private partnerships to develop a self–regulating value chain for the biofortified high iron bean varieties, Nyota, Faida and Angaza. These three bean varieties are high yielding, disease and drought tolerance, have short maturity periods and short cooking time.

Commercialisation is accelerated by activating demand throughout the value chain from seed multiplication, distribution and marketing to uptake of the beans on the market. The programme is leveraging both informal markets where local aggregators, brokers and traders are the main buyers of common beans from small scale farmers and formal markets where smallholder farmers market their produce through farmer organisations, contract farming or out grower schemes to formal institutions. It is a vertically coordinated chain relationship involving large buyers such as cereal marketing boards, food processors, wholesalers, supermarkets, schools, hospitals, exporters among others.

This Programme seeks to develop commercial markets through private and public partnerships for biofortified beans, to help create a sustainable basis for improving diet quality and tackling hidden hunger among consumers in Kenya.

Leah Kaguara, Country Director GAIN Kenya.

The project in Kenya aims to reach approximately 3 million consumers and has improved high iron beans availability while uplifting over 168,000 farmers from subsistence farming to commercial bean production in Elgeyo Marakwet, Narok, Bomet, Nakuru, Trans Nzoia, Makueni and Machakos counties. Farmers in these counties are organised in farmer groups and governed by cooperatives comprising of women and youth.

The project is also working with several processors on product development, improving packaging and other product innovations to develop the market with consumers.

The nutrient enriched beans are not only becoming attractive to farmers but to traders and consumers as well. With increased awareness of their benefits, traders and retailers are innovating on how best to package them for low, middle and high-income communities.

Consumers are becoming more sensitive and aware of their food choices which makes biofortified beans a better option for most, especially women of reproductive age.

Authors

Newton Obbuyi

Countries

Kenya

External Link(s)

HarvestPlus

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Publication Date

Wed, 10/13/2021 - 12:00

Location

Nairobi

Individual

Farmers and workers

Short title

Journey towards better nutrition in Kenya with High Iron Beans

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Programme (2024)

Nutrition Enterprise Development

Working Together to Keep Food Markets Open in Dhaka - A Fish Vendor’s Commitment

safiria — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:22:39 +0000

Working Together to Keep Food Markets Open in Dhaka - A Fish Vendor’s Commitment safiria Tue, 10/12/2021 - 09:22

Visiting a traditional ‘wet market’ in Dhaka, Bangladesh is a sensory experience full of colour, aroma, and the buzz of neighbourhood voices. Round platters full of fresh meat, fish, produce, and other perishable goods at markets have, for generations, provided nutritious and affordable food sources while supporting local livelihoods. Fresh-food markets are more than what they sell; they contribute to a sense of community as well as trust among consumers and vendors.

COVID-19 presents challenges and opportunities for the ways in which traditional markets can continue to provide vital local food products while also improving measures of food safety, hygiene, and infrastructure that protect consumers and workers. At the start of the pandemic, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) quickly adjusted its programmes on the ground in Bangladesh to ensure that life-saving COVID-19 restrictions did not in turn increase life-threatening food and nutrition insecurity. Its emergency response programme Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW) provides rapid support to food system workers, small and medium enterprises, and fresh food markets—creating a lifeline for local nutritious food sources that build strong immune systems and long-term health.

Here are the stories of three individuals—a market vendor, a local government official, and a neighbourhood consumer - whose collective knowledge, support, and feedback have helped GAIN and its partners keep Dhaka’s Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market open and safe.

A Fish Vendor’s Commitment

At the Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market, many shoppers know Nizam Uddin by name. A fish vendor living in Old Dhaka with his wife and two children, Nizam arrived in the capital 25 years ago from Shariyatpur district in search of a better livelihood. After trying his hand at a series of small enterprises, he began a fish business at the wet market in 2000.

Nizam has cultivated a trusted reputation among his clients for selling safe and high-quality fish, though his interest in food and market safety does not end with his workday. He has become a member of the Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market Committee, and, at the height of the pandemic, joined the market’s COVID-19 response team.

Nizam has cultivated a trusted reputation among his clients for selling safe and high-quality fish, though his interest in food and market safety does not end with his workday. © GAIN

When GAIN and its partners brought its emergency KFMW programme to Islambagh in August 2020 as part of the organisation’s food markets workstream, Nizam offered his help and participation across all of the project activities. These activities, involving initial data collection from complementary GAIN projects such as EatSafe with market infrastructure interventions and improvements by KFMW, develop guidance alongside and for market administrators, consumers, and vendors like Nizam, who are working together to keep the markets safe and ‘smart’ during this critical period.

After a series of pandemic lockdowns that depleted vendors’ incomes, rocked food prices, and created public confusion over whether and how to attend markets, news has spread quickly about the safety materials provided to vendors and consumers through the KFMW Programme efforts. Using GAIN’s adaptable COVID-19 safety communications toolkits, Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market is equipped with posters, leaflets, digital signboards, and audio aids such as PA system announcements and jingles. In addition to these public reminders, the market’s physical infrastructure is undergoing safety improvements.

Nizam says that, before starting with the KFMW project, he and the other vendors did not always have a clear idea about how best to keep the market clean and healthy through the proper transport and storage of their fish supplies, nor what to do to stay safe from COVID-19. After participating in project meetings and trainings, however, he acquired comprehensive information on how to protect himself, his consumers, and overall business from the impact of COVID-19 while improving sanitary and food safety practices.

Using GAIN’s adaptable COVID-19 safety communications toolkits, Islambagh City Corporation Wet Market is equipped with posters, leaflets, digital signboards, and audio aids such as PA system announcements and jingles. © GAIN

"Now I keep my shop clean and tidy, use a face mask regularly, and sanitize my hands frequently," Nizam said. "I urge the vendors, consumers, and family members to observe these things." While Nizam said that he and his family had often gotten sick in the past due to the sheer number of people a market fish vendor serves, lately they have been staying healthy with the help of the market’s new sanitary measures. He also sees improvement in the health of his business: "An increased number of consumers are coming into the market because of the use of face masks among the vendors."

Previously in the market, Nizam said, "water always got stuck [on the ground] due to an improper drainage system. As a result, a dirty and damp atmosphere prevailed in the market. Now our market environment has become very beautiful through the renovations initiated by GAIN Bangladesh."

"I am grateful to GAIN Bangladesh because they have made these changes in our market. Our request to GAIN is that they must continue this program to advance the overall development of the wet market."

Without the business sense, committee interest, and project participation of Nizam and vendors like him, this work toward "Keeping Food Markets Working" would not be possible. Through his presence in GAIN-organised programmes and trainings, Nizam has mutually aided GAIN’s ability to better understand the market’s infrastructure and needs. His trusted, integrated relationships among clients, fellow vendors, and market administrators is helping to ensure that this crucial work endures the length of the pandemic and enjoys results far beyond it.

Contact

Lewis Bett

Countries

Bangladesh

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Publication Date

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 12:00

Location

Dhaka

Individual

Farmers and workers

Short title