Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

I have embarked on 2 projects that sought to utilise underutilized legumes locally available in the sub sahara. One of the projects involved the incorporation of cowpea flour in the production of chicken sausage. I had in mind the incidence of malnutrition of children due to lack of protein adequate for diet as recommended by WHO. Children often suffer from kwashiorkor amongst other malnutrition diseases thus development of such products is was Paramount to the provision of a balanced diet.

The 2nd project was on a low fat diet to cater for diseases such as hypertension,obesity patients. I used fish in the production of burger patties. Fish being lean meat is suitable for the health and protein availability needed by the body. Although highly perishable the product didnt do well in microbial quality.

English translation below

Pour ma part, je pense que l’élimination de la faim sous toutes ses formes d’ici à 2030 que porte l’ODD2, dépend principalement des dispositions qui seront prises pour réduire substantiellement les pertes et gaspillages alimentaires. C’est le phénomène principal qui handicape la plupart des pays pauvres aux plans alimentaire et nutritionnel. Or, cet aspect a été malheureusement occulté dans les 14 indicateurs définis pour l’ODD2. Surtout dans les pays comme le Bénin, en Afrique de l’Ouest, où l’agro-industrie est très peu développée, la réflexion doit aller beaucoup plus sur comment réduire - pour ne pas dire éliminer- les pertes et gaspillages alimentaires.

Au Bénin, apparemment, on ne fait pas grand-chose pour résoudre ce problème. En effet, les cultures vivrières de grande importance, qui se produisent en grande quantité chaque année, avec peu d’effort, du fait de leur grande adaptation aux zones agro-écologiques du pays, continuent d’être perdues et gaspillées comme par passé. Les quantités de ces produits qui sont perdues et gaspillées sont énormes. C’est le cas de la mangue, de la tomate et de l’orange au Bénin. Or, éliminer les pertes et gaspillages serait évidemment source de nourritures supplémentaires, de revenus pour les acteurs et même d’emploi.

Même le manioc est aussi gaspillé. Cette culture fait aujourd'hui l’objet d’un découragement de la part des producteurs et conduit de fait à des pertes, voire des abandons des champs qui la porte, du fait de l’inexistence d’un marché intéressant, capable de rentabiliser la production. Le prix du marché est tellement bas qu’il se retrouve dans certains cas en-dessous du coût de production quand le producteur met tous les soins nécessaires. A cette allure, il y a grand risque que la faim ne soit pas éliminée à l’horizon 2030 au Bénin par exemple, tel que c’est souhaité.

Personally, I think that the elimination of hunger in all its forms by 2030, as provided for in SDG2, depends mainly on the measures that will be taken to substantially reduce food losses and waste. This is the main phenomenon that hampers most poor countries in terms of food and nutrition. However, this aspect has sadly been overlooked in the 14 indicators defined for SDG2. Especially in countries such as Benin, in West Africa, where agro-industry is poorly developed, much more thought needs to be given to how to reduce - if not eliminate - food losses and waste.

In Benin, apparently, not much is being done to solve this problem. Indeed, major food crops, which are grown in large quantities each year, with little effort, because of their great adaptation to the country's agro-ecological zones, continue to be lost and wasted as in the past. Huge quantities of these products are lost and wasted. This is the case for mango, tomato and orange in Benin. However, the elimination of losses and waste would obviously be a source of additional food, income for the actors and even employment.

Even cassava is also wasted. This crop is now suffering from discouragement from producers and is leading to losses or even abandonment of the fields on which it is grown, because of the lack of an interesting market capable of making production profitable. The market price is so low that in some cases it is under the cost of production when the producer takes all the necessary care. At this pace, there is a great risk that hunger will not be eliminated by 2030 in Benin, for example, as desired.

Infographic - relevant to SDG2 and SDG1. https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/forest_landscape_restoration_pathways_to_achieving_the_sdgs.pdf

The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets, is ambitious and far-reaching in its scope. Importantly, environmental sustainability is recognized as underpinning any effort to achieve the SDGs. Recognizing close linkages between environmental sustainability and SDGs, Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is a nature based solution to halt degradation and deforestation while contributing to economic growth, poverty reduction, climate gains, food, water and energy security that are targets of many SDGs. FLR has been implemented around the world in places where challenges and opportunities call for simultaneously increasing food production, improving livelihoods, and protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Full achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is only possible through urgent, concerted and effective action to avoid and reduce land degradation and promote restoration, bringing positive impacts across all dimensions of development.

A healthy landscape is the foundation of economic growth, food security, energy, and human wellbeing. Reversing land degradation and halting deforestation through restoration is possible.

The SDGs envision the transformation needed to secure the rights and future of people across the world and emphasise that healthy, stable ecosystems are a critical part of this effort. As shown in the infographic, the landscape-scale restoration of degraded lands and forests is intrinsically interlinked with many SDGs.

FLR can be an innovative approach for countries to boost the impact of sustainable land and forest management as a pillar of their sustainable development agendas.

English translation below

El Foro de la Alimentacion, Nutricion y Salud (FANUS) de la Bolsa de Cereales de Buenos Aires Argentina realiza simposios, jornadas y seminarios tratando de establecer una comunicacion efectiva entre el sector de la produccion primaria y el sector de la salud y nutricion publica. Nuestras actividades pueden ser visualizadas en nuestra pagina www.fanus.com.ar. Proximamente editaremos una Revista digital  http://www.fanus.com.ar/rfanus. Cualquir difusion sobre nuestras actividades sera muy apreciada.

Cordialmente

Dra Pilar Teresa Garcia

Presidenta de FANUS 

The Food, Nutrition and Health Forum (known in Spanish as FANUS) of the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange in Argentina organizes symposiums, conferences and seminars aimed at facilitating effective communication between the primary production sector and the public health and nutrition sector. All our activities can be found in our website: www.fanus.com.ar.  We will soon publish a digital magazine at: http://www.fanus.com.ar/rfanus. We highly appreciate your help in spreading the word about our activities.

Kind regards

Pilar Teresa García

President of FANUS