Collaborative efforts to relieve malnutrition
Partnerships for developing and sharing new models for sustainable food supply chains are the core of our work with affordable nutrition. In this, we collaborate with NGOs, government organisations, knowledge institutions and other companies.
The unwavering focus of these public-private projects is to facilitate commercially viable, local production of affordable food products in developing countries. At the heart of each project lies one overarching mission: to relieve the burden of malnutrition and its consequences for children and young mothers in particular.
Read more about our commitment to the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge here.
A thorough understanding of local contexts and needs is the essential starting point for every project. Equally important, we must constantly evaluate our own conduct as a business and the risks of causing unintentional harm.
In 2021, we took a step back and shaped a new framework for responsible business conduct (RBC), basing it on three pillars: the mitigation of negative impacts and risks; the creation of positive impact and the integration of RBC in all operations.
Today, there is a growing interest in affordable nutrition partnerships, which means we are regularly invited to talk about our experiences of best practice. This experience is also the backbone of our RBC framework.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and DanChurchAid have been particularly close partners from the outset of our project involvement. The documented business models we have co-developed are accessible via the Scaling Up Business (SUN) Network.
Knowledge transfer to Tanzania and Pakistan
The GAIN Access to Better Dairy project in Ethiopia was our first as a member of the GAIN Nordic Partnership. Towards the end of 2021, the Danish International Development Agency agreed to fund the project for a further two years. Project partners are now investigating more possibilities to improve milk utilisation, reduce food waste and develop a greener business model for the production of affordable dairy products.
Still in collaboration with GAIN, we are now transferring our knowledge from Ethiopia to new projects in Tanzania and Pakistan.
In Tanzania, we are helping a dairy make the best possible use of available milk. The aim is to make dairy nutrients accessible to more consumers by developing an affordable yoghurt. Small pilot trials are currently underway to fine-tune the texture. We expect to support a commercial-scale production trial at the dairy in 2023.
The Pakistan project focuses on turning the whey side streams from cheese production into a new business model for affordable nutrition. Here, we are working with four dairies to develop an acidified whey drink as an alternative to a conventional soft drink.
Climate-resilient chickpea biscuit
Bakery specialists from Arla Foods Ingredients and Novozymes visited Ethiopia in February to optimise the recipe for an affordable, protein-enriched biscuit and train the team who will produce it at Moya Foods Complex in Addis Ababa.
The biscuit is the outcome of a two-year project to build a climate-resilient food supply chain, based on nutritious chickpeas grown by local smallholder farmers.
Funding was provided by P4G – a global forum that sup- ports public-private partnerships aimed at accelerating sustainable development. At the close of the project, we joined DanChurchAid, Bopinc and other partners at a P4G virtual roundtable event to share learnings and discuss solutions for tackling the global food crisis.
Value chain for papaya waste
Major fruit crops such as papaya and mango succumb easily to spoilage. As a result, large volumes of these vitamin-rich fruits are lost each year.
In Ethiopia, we are working with GAIN to turn waste papaya fruit into a nutritious and affordable snack bar for low-income households. The goal is to establish a fruit processing value chain to reduce malnutrition, create jobs and cut post-harvest papaya loss.
During November, we invited GAIN and Theday Agro Industry to a recipe fine-tuning and training session at our application centre in Denmark. Theday will produce the bar at their plant in Addis Ababa, using a final recipe that combines papaya pulp with milk and whey-based ingredients to raise the protein content.
Several other Ethiopian companies are involved in the project, including an agricultural engineering enterprise. The Confederation of Danish Industry and Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce are also working with Ethiopian business associations to establish the enabling environ- ment for the business model.
Funding from the Danida Market Development Partner- ships programme is supporting the project.
From dairy waste to circular business
Kenyan dairies process 634 million litres of milk a year, but much of that is lost in production side streams. The VALORISE project is examining how circular bioeconomy principles can be applied to reduce this waste and help dairies diversify their business.
As a partner in this collaborative research project, we will be mapping the side streams and identifying potential product development opportunities.
VALORISE is a multi-stakeholder project led by Roskilde University and supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
