Tropentag 2021, September 15 - 17, hybrid conference, Germany "Towards shifting paradigms in agriculture for a healthy and sustainable future"

Transformative Research Approaches for Sustainable Food Production and Consumption. Sharing Experiences from Research Projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Division 123, Research and Innovation, Coordination of Research Area, Germany

Abstract

The BMEL is committed to contribute to the design of sustainable and resilient food systems worldwide and the implementation of the human right to adequate food.
Contributing to the improvement of global food security, BMEL established the funding instrument “Research Cooperation for Global Food Security and Nutrition”. The focus of this instrument is on promoting practice oriented trans- and interdisciplinary research projects. The projects contribute to generating needs-oriented knowledge and the further development of capacities on the ground. Funded projects within this scheme thus strengthen the German contribution to sustainable food systems in partner countries through agricultural and nutritional research and by building long-term partnerships between agricultural and nutritional research institutions in Germany, Africa, South and Southeast Asia.
The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) acts as project executing agency.
The BMEL-Session aims to illustrate the contribution of its research projects towards a transformation of habitual ways of thinking, aiming at promoting more sustainable production, consumption, nutrition and lifestyle patterns.
The following three research projects will provide insights into their diverse contexts and approaches:

• “Application of new packaging solutions to reduce food losses in West Africa by extending the shelf life of perishable, local food (WALF-Pack)”,
  Dr. D Sylvain Dabade, University of Bonn
  


• “Decentralised processing of rarely used plant and animal raw materials into innovative products with high added value to improve the nutritional situation in West Africa (UPGRADE Plus)” and “Enhancing women’s agency in navigating changing food environments to improve child nutrition in African drylands (NaviNut)”,
  Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann, German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture
  


• “Strengthening the Resilience of Rural Food Environments in the Context of Disaster Risk and Climate Change in Mozambique (FEMOZ)”,
  Prof. Dr. Samuel Quive, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
  

Keywords: Food and nutrition security, global South, international research cooperation

Contact Address: Christine Hbirkou, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), International Cooperation and Global Food Security, Deichmanns Aue 29, Bonn, Germany, e-mail: christine.hbirkouble.de