Deadline: 1 December 2016
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has announced a call for proposals on “Innovative approaches to process local food in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia” under the framework of the funding instrument “International Research Cooperation for Global Food Security”.
The objective is to support joint research projects between German research institutions and those in countries and regions that are worst affected by hunger and malnutrition. The programme will fund the development of needs-based solutions and the creation of scientific networks which should also contribute to the development of local capacity.
This call is based on the “Directive on the funding of international research cooperation for global food security”.
Focus Projects
Research contributing to the following objectives will be funded:
- retain nutritional value, shelf-life and food safety end products should be healthy, nutritious food products;
- reduce seasonality of food insecurity and food and nutrient losses;
- More efficient and particularly time-saving preparation of healthy meals.
Priority Areas
Applications should pursue a holistic (system) approach to find joined-up solutions that can be implemented in the existing environment and should address following aspects:
- Solve complex economic, ecological and social challenges to improve local nutrition in a sustainable way using comprehensive system-oriented approaches;
- Research on local and culturally determined dietary habits as well as on the local acceptance of innovations regarding food processing and packaging;
- Analyse technologically relevant aspects such as the influence of various processing technologies on the content and bioavailability of micro- and macronutrients in food;
- Investigate or develop functioning organisational structures or producer associations;
- Study and improve the exchange of information and work processes in existing organisational structures along the value chain, e.g. use of new IT and communication technologies to enhance production, processing and marketing (capacity development and transfer of knowledge);
- Develop non-perishable and healthy food in the context of regional value chains in rural and (peri-) urban areas with good sales potential on local markets;
- Explore a more efficient use of by-products along the entire value chain, respectively analyse networking opportunities of value chains for further processing;
- Improve the processing and packaging of local products.
Eligibility Criteria
- The BMEL funds research cooperation projects conducted by German agri-food research institutions and their counterparts in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
- The African or Asian partners must be from research institutions in the target region or country in which the research is to be carried out.
How to Apply
Applicants must submit proposals online via given website.
Eligible Countries
Germany, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (DRC-Kinshasa), Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
For more information, please visit BMEL.