Gates Foundation awards $7.6 million to boost African food processing
Partners in Food Solutions (PFS), a Minnesota-based nonprofit consortium, has announced a five-year, $7.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of food processing and nutrient fortification efforts in Africa.
The funding will enable PFS—in collaboration with volunteer employees from global food companies, including General Mills, Cargill, dsm-firmenich, Bühler, the Hershey Company, Ardent Mills, and the J.M. Smucker Company—to expand the technical and business support it provides to African food processing companies. Services include solving business and food chain challenges, improving food safety and quality across the continent, and helping high-potential companies gain access to cheaper capital and international quality and safety certifications.
Funded operations in Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone will focus on the rice value chain, helping bolster the capacity of local millers to close the import gap on rice by promoting local growth and processing. In Nigeria, PFS will pilot a two-year project to develop technical capacity and fortify rice with essential micronutrients. As part of a study to assess alignment of government priorities, donor investment, markets growth and competitiveness, and other criteria, PFS will provide support services to processors of avocadoes (in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania); onions (in Tanzania and Uganda); and Irish potatoes (in Kenya).
“Unlocking the true potential of local food processing in Africa will not only help feed a growing population, it will also sow the seeds of sustainable development by creating jobs, lessening reliance on imports and improving food security,” said PFS co-founder and CEO Jeff Dykstra.
(Photo credit: Getty Images/Ava-Leigh)
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