800 million people are starving; 2 billion people do not get enough minerals and vitamins. Those are the global numbers underlining the need for better nutrition.

Through a partnership focused on creating sustainable, affordable and nutritious food, the P4G partnership Sustainable Food Platform is working across nine corporations and organisations to tackle this global food challenge particularly in Sub Saharan Africa. One of the partners with a thorough insight in aid in Sub Saharan Africa is the Danish organisation DanChurchAid.

“With the World Food Summit taking place in Copenhagen, our partnership's solution is ever more relevant. We are showcasing not just a sustainable solution to malnutrition but also a method of collaboration across sectors by drawing on each of our core competencies,” says Gitte Dyrhagen Husager, Head of Private Sector Engagement at DanChurchAid.

This year, the World Food Summit is focused on the concrete solutions to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In relation to this theme, the Sustainable Food Platform hosted an official side event at the summit together with P4G concentrating on partnerships as the method for sustainable food solutions.

“We have had a growing interest from corporations, authorities and organisations on the Sustainable Food Platform’s success in coordinating between the many partners’ interests and competencies to form a viable business model with a clear social impact. It is becoming ever clearer that this method of partnering between sectors is the future for sustainable development and business,” says Gitte Dyrhagen Husager.

Climate change destroying harvests

A changing climate has made harvests all the more unpredictable. Along with a growing population in Africa – reaching its predicted peak at 2.4 billion people in 2050 – a UN report has estimated that yields from agricultural production in Sub Saharan Africa will fall.

The partnership is currently rolling out production of biscuits in Ethiopia. However, the goal is far larger. Focusing on Ethiopia and Kenya to begin with, the Sustainable Food Platform is working across all nine partners to develop sustainable, affordable and nutritious food alternatives.

“One of our key considerations to develop solutions is to use local producers and local, resistant crops with a high nutritional value. A core example of this is the use of quinoa in our biscuits; a crop which is drought resistant and able to be produced locally in Ethiopia,” says Gitte Dyrhagen Husager.

Background

The Sustainable Food Platform is one of the partnerships that has received start-up funding from P4G – Partnerships for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030. P4G is a global initiative with the ambition of becoming the world’s leading forum for the development of public-private partnerships delivering on the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. P4G brings companies, governments and civil society organizations together in innovative partnerships to promote solutions that help address the key needs of five key areas: food and agriculture, water, energy, smart cities and circular economy.