Baoquality
Quality improvement and more efficient utilization of products derived from the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) to enhance food security and nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa (BAOQUALITY)
Work package: Value chains, post-harvest losses and producer associations
Project Brief:
The baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is one of the most important indigenous fruit trees in Africa, with various parts of the tree used to supplement rural diets and to generate cash income. However, markets are thin for baobab products and value chains are not well developed. Value chains transmit information on quality parameters as defined by consumer preferences and requirements of the processing industry. Governance structures vary along the chain and between chains. Practices and knowledge of baobab collectors have an important impact on the quality of baobab fruit pulp. The knowledge base and resources of the value chain actors as well as value chain governance structures shape fruit collection, post-harvest handling and commercialization of baobab.
The work package analyses: a) The role of collective action among baobab collectors and processors in Malawi; b) Market institutions and value chain upgrading in Malawi; c) Retailer’s business models in Kenya: d) value chains, trade and intrahousehold decision making in Sudan.
Project Duration: 01.01.2020 - 28.02.2023
Partner: Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), and the University of Khartoum (UKHART)
Funding: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)
Funding program/call: Innovative approaches to process local food in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, which contribute to improved nutrition, as well as qualitative and quantitative reduction of losses
Grant number: 2816PROC20
Contact: Prof. Dr. Dagmar Mithöfer, Dennis Etemesi Olumeh
