Research, Development and Capacity Building for Food and Nutrition Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper focuses on research, development and capacity building in relation to food and nutrition security (FNS) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It looks at human capacity, education, teaching and learning, women empowerment, research, innovation and technology, research, indigenous knowledge (IK), institutional aspects, infrastructure, information and communication technologies (ICT), policies and finance. Professional bodies exist in many countries and the extent to which they engage in FNS awareness creation differs. Food and nutrition insecurity continues to affect people in Africa’s 54 nations where the population is expected to double by 2050 with the expected doubling of food production to keep pace with population growth. Within the continent there is a substantial number of human capacity professionals who are global leaders in food, nutrition and related professions. Some research organisations in the continent directly or indirectly benefit from grants administered by developed economies but a challenge exists with brain drain and ageing of qualified and experienced experts. Increasing educational need, coupled with the growing population necessitates attention to ensuring a sustained supply of highly trained, adequately equipped and qualified professionals in the relevant fields of food and nutrition sciences. Higher educational institutions exist in especially those that fall within the 500 in world universities ranking. Research activities take place in the continent along with the translation of research outputs into commercialisable products. Research towards transforming agriculture for improved livelihoods is taking place in different parts of the continent. Education, governance, gender and rural development are the key challenges. Income growth and the impacts of climate change on food production have contributed to food insecurity. ICTs can play an important role for FNS. Strengthening research, development, capacity building and industry cooperation are critical for FNS in Africa.

range of issues including chronic poverty, rapid population growth, declining per capita food output/ low food production, poor infrastructure, ecological constraints, limited arable land, inappropriate policies, parasites and diseases, poor water and sanitation, inadequate nutritional knowledge, civil war, and ethnic conflicts (Riely, Mock, Cogill, Bailey & Kenefick, 1999). Other factors militating against food security include: seasonal food shortages; high food prices; high unemployment; low level of nutrition education; and cultural factors and taboos that reduce access to food (Aworh & Egounlety, 2011). Of recent, income growth and the impacts of climate change on food production have contributed to food insecurity. This paper focuses on research, development and capacity issues in relation to food and nutrition security in Africa. Education, gender and rural development remain a key challenge to the development of Africa. Food security is defined as 'when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life' (Clay, 2003). With the epidemic of obesity in the developed world (Baum, 2014), nutrition refers to the process involved from the choice and consumption of food up to its effects on health and well-being of individuals (Kropff, Van Arendonk & Löffler, 2013). From these definitions, food and nutrition security in low-and middle-income countries still needs significant inputs in terms of higher education, research and community engagement activities to have the desired impact (NORHED, 2013). Food and nutrition insecurity continue to affect large numbers of people in Africa's 54 nations. FAO estimates indicate that 925 million people are undernourished, with 239 million from sub Saharan Africa (SSA) alone (FAO and WEP, 2010). Of the nine countries in the world having high population growth rates, five are from SSA (Table 1). Moreover, thirty-three countries in SSA (Figure 1) are among the forty-eight countries globally classified as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with characteristics of low income, weak human resources and high economic vulnerability (UN, 2012). Research, development and capacity building are key requisites needed by Africa to be able to tackle the important challenges facing the continent (Table 4). Recent research has revealed that the population in Africa is expected to double by 2050, and African nations will have to double their food production just to keep pace with population growth (Lartey, 2013). In the past, food production in Africa has lagged behind population growth, and the source of the problem has been low productivity on Africa's farms. Improving farm productivity requires, inter alia, a complex of policy and technological options, such as advocating for the adoption of good mixes of technologies in Africa; focusing on country-specific priorities, existing policies, availability of infrastructure for research and development; the role of diverse technologies that exist in Africa in ensuring adequate food security in the continent; nature and scope of indigenous technology options in Africa; examining the current food security situation in Africa; and the opportunities offered by different technologies in addressing the food security situation (Ozor & Urama, 2013). Diversifying into biotechnology practices in food production will help the continent's growing population in food and nutrition security. Possibilities exist for genetic modification involving animals, plants, and microorganisms, e.g. genetically modified (GM) foods, GM food ingredients such as flavours and gums, and GM enzymes such as chymosin which contain DNA of bacteria & yeasts. Some benefits of such Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) include: improved food quality including better processing qualities/functionality; dramatic increases in agricultural productivity, world food supply (e.g. maize, which is a major staple in many countries in Africa; protection of food (e.g. decreased crop losses due to insect herbivory); lowered production costs; grocery bill reduction to the consumer; and safer farm environment (through fewer/lower insecticide and herbicide use), and reduced exposure to pesticides (Jideani et al., 2013;Keats & Wiggins, 2014). Development and adaption of these technologies by Africa farmers requires considerable investment in research, education and capacity building. However, some countries are against the use of genetically modified crops.
IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281 As stated by Akinyele (2009) three strategic pillars of intervention include 1. support for national and regional centres of excellence; 2. support for infrastructure for higher education, science and technology; and 3. linking higher education, science and technology and the productive sector.
Such an approach will contribute significantly to the strengthening of African institutions of higher education (ADBG, 2008).

Human Capacity Building
Capacity is defined as 'the ability of people, organizations and society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully' (Bester, 2015). Capacity development is the process of unleashing, strengthening and maintaining of such capacity. Leadership matters in capacity development issues; as strong capacities with poor leadership can cause an organization/country to stumble. On the other hand, strong and positive leadership can bring about progress, even with low capacities (Pepping, 2010). Capacity building for food and nutrition security in Africa would require: 1. capacity development and infrastructure building, 2. government commitment, 3. private sector involvement -including industry, and 4. appropriate policies for reform.
It would also imply the promotion of national and regional innovation systems.
In human capacity, there are substantial number of professionals in food, nutrition and related professions in the continent. However, the growth in industries and demand from related international organisations like WHO, FAO, UNICEF, etc creates an apparent scarcity of professional experts in SSA countries. This calls for public-private partnerships (PPP) in SSA with inherent benefits like the supply of needed funds, exposure of local researchers to more skills, and the creation of an enabling environment for promoting research findings (SPORE, 2013). As stated by Hailu (2013) for the agricultural sector, and applicable to food and nutrition, forging innovative partnerships at different levels and building competencies of women and young people could bring about transformative changes in SSA. Research in Food and Nutrition in SSA is facing the challenge of brain drain and ageing of highly qualified and experienced experts who will retire before the end of next decade. As reported in SPORE (2013), the goal set by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) of investing certain amount of agricultural GDP of a country in research and entrusted to the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), could help research among national, sub-regional and international organisations.

Education, Teaching and Learning
The increasing educational need, coupled with the growing population in SSA, particularly the youth, necessitates attention to ensuring a sustained supply of highly trained, adequately equipped and qualified professionals in the relevant fields of food and nutrition sciences. A good number of higher educational institutions (HEI) -universities, colleges and training centres -exist in most counties of SSA, the key ones are listed in Table 5. These HEIs offer training in Food Science/Technology and in Nutrition at Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral levels.
The study of food and nutrition is a fastdeveloping discipline especially with the globalisation of the food industry; and is full of practical, technical and intellectual challenges. It draws knowledge from a range of disciplines including chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, geography, business and even art. A graduate of Food Science/Technology and Nutrition has the knowledge and skills to tackle real issues and problems on food faced by society and industry (Leeds, 2014).
IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281  The aim and objectives of most Food Science, Nutrition and related programmes in the education system are similar, in that they strive to: 3. build the capacity of individuals, institutions and the private sector to optimize food supply so that hunger is overcome, nutritionally-related diseases are prevented, and overall good health is promoted; 4. work with communities to deal with food and nutritionally-related diseases in ways that are culturally-sensitive, sustainable and effective; and 5. support sustainable food and nutrition policies based on sound science (Wahlqvist, 2006).
To achieve these objectives to their fullest extent, and to ensure that the study of food and nutrition sciences and cognate technologies have their impact on the human condition and on national economies, it is imperative that there is a greater flow of resources into the teaching and development of these sciences/technologies. Science/technology partnerships and mounting major internationally significant projects can help to provide part of the solution to these major challenges facing all African Universities, and training and research institutions. A snapshot survey of food science and related curricula in 17 universities across 11 African countries by Minnaar, Taylor, Haggblade, Kabasa and Ojijo (2017) revealed the following fundamental problems: 1. given the tight links between the growing prevalence of processed foods and declining health status, solutions to Africa's emerging public health problems will require crossdisciplinary work linking food technology, human nutrition and public health; 2. yet collaborative degree programmes are almost completely lacking at national, regional and international levels for most countries in SSA; 3. too little extension work and training (non-degree education); and (iv) very few universities present BSc Nutrition/ BSc Food Science/Technology and Nutrition programmes.
IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281 Research, development, and capacity for food in Africa 269 Minnaar et al. (2017) also highlighted the following challenges faced by Food Science and Technology educators: lack of modern food processing equipment; lack of "state-of-the-art" analytical equipment; lack of technical support within institutions; and insufficient numbers of academics to run programmes. The low student numbers and poor quality of students (many potential students perceive Food Science and Technology to be the less attractive compared to other programmes). In addition to the above problems, a good proportion of students are not aware of the differences between Food Science, Nutrition and allied professions (Jideani et al., 2013). Other compounding problems include the facts that:

Women Empowerment for Food & Nutrition Security
Smallholder agriculture must have a central investment focus to support broad-based poverty reduction and food and nutrition security. Furthermore, gender issues must not be neglected, as African agriculture and food security are very much female-dominated in terms of the actual farm work (although not in terms of land ownership and financial benefits). Women make up more than 50% of the agricultural labour force in the LDCs (UN, 2012). Women therefore, can play an important part in helping to improve productivity, profitability and sustainability of smallholder farming. Experts agree that women are a critical part of expanding agricultural output, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. There is therefore a need to 1. develop training and skills programmes in Food Science and Nutrition and agriculture for African women; 2. make funding available for African women to engage in Food Science and Nutrition research and development, 3. establish appropriate mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of African women economically, culturally and socially, through provision of equal access of women and girls to education, basic services, health care, economic opportunities, and decision-making at all levels (UN, 2012).
The Global Food Security Index (GFSI) showed a 0.93 correlation with the Economist Intelligence Unit's Women's Economic Opportunity Index, a measure of the global environment for female economic participation (Unit, 2012). Similarly, an FAO (2011b) report states that as women make up 43% of the world's farmers, women empowerment would increase total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5% to 4% and reduce hunger globally by 12% to 17%.

Research, Innovation and Technology Development
The number of researchers in research & development per million population is globally comparable (Table 2). In the continent there exist scientists "who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs" (NRF/RISA, 2019). Hence, the funds made available to universities and research establishments for research and development have positive impact both in terms of excellent scientists, infrastructure and tangible products that are in the market. Numerous research activities are taking place in the continent. This brings to fore the need to translate research outputs into commercializable products and intellectual property. Hence, traditional ways of doing research in laboratories and experimental stations and publishing the papers in academic journals will not be enough (Hailu, 2013). As stated by Lartey (2013), priority research with the potential to address undernutrition in Africa must focus on how effective research interventions can be incorporated into country programmes and scaled up for maximum effect. Research and innovation are informed by development needs to make a good model. Most countries in Africa need national, regional and international partners, as well as the private sector to tackle food and nutrition needs and lead to development outcomes that can impact positively on the population. In-creased research in nutrigenomics, i.e. the application of high-throughput genomic tools in nutrition studies and research, is needed in the continent, e.g. to help tackle a non-communicable disease, such as obesity. Such research will provide methods and tools for disease prevention and health promoting foods that match lifestyles, cultures and genetics of people living in SSA. Genes and their variants have been evidenced to play a role in obesity-associated metabolic complications through genetic association studies, including candidate gene and genomewide association approaches in adults and children (Aguilera, Olza & Gil, 2013). A recent report by Baum (2014) states that the overweight population in developing countries has surpassed developed countries, with a higher number of overweight or obese adults in developing countries than in rich countries in 2008 (Stevens et al., 2012). As it is for agricultural technologies, a significant reduction of food prices and food insecurity in developing countries (IFRI, 2014) will be achieved by the application of different, effective processing innovations and preservation technologies (fermentation, canning, drying, etc) to plant and animal foods. This can most significantly reduce food prices and food insecurity in SSA. As "no single silver bullet exists" in food and nutrition technologies that would provide enough food for the world in 2050, adapting a range of these technologies could yield maximum benefit for the continent and improve food security. However, a positive outcome depends on IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281 Research, development, and capacity for food in Africa 271 SMEs gaining access to these technologies and learning how to use them in food processing operations. This underscores the need for improved food and nutrition education to ensure that processors can use the best available technologies for their region, location and resources.
3.1 Research at sub-regional and regional levels Many regional and sub-regional research towards transforming agriculture for improved livelihoods is taking place in different parts of the continent. 7. strengthening the value chains of fruits and vegetables for improved production, processing, marketing and nutrition security (ASARECA, 2014).
Cassava which is mostly grown by poor farmers is vital for both food security and for income generation. Through a joint CIAT/ International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) project, efforts on Cassava Genetic Resources & Breeding, diversity for cassava germplasm have been centralized at regional research centers like the IITA in Nigeria. In 1996, IFAD and FAO initiated work to develop a global strategy for development of cassava considering its diverse utilisation (Table 3). The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), which is located at Makerere University, is a consortium of 42 universities in an increasing number of countries. It tackles the oversee of graduate training and networks of specialization in the countries and universities by fostering innovative and responsive research; high performing and proactive graduates; a dynamic platform for university networking; advocacy for agricultural higher education; and university transformation for relevance. It aims to becoming an essential tool for anyone interested in agricultural research and training in Africa.

Indigenous and traditional knowledge
Most countries in Africa have a rich heritage of indigenous knowledge that is being exploited in food and nutrition interventions. One of such countries among others, is Kenya where the Indigenous Food Plants Programme, using locally available edible species to enhance community health, provides income and conserve biodiversity thereby ensuring for and nutrition security (Cousins & Witkowski, 2015). One of the aims is to compile a database of the indigenous food plants of Kenya through research in the IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281  CIAT (2004) field and at the East African Herbarium as well as the promotion of cultivation, consumption and marketing of these foods through field demonstrations, educational materials and the media. The programme has three components: research, extension and education. It was necessary as 1. people (e.g. younger generation) who took pride in their modern food consumption pattern) were despising their traditional foods in favour of exotic foods, 2. poverty, famine, and malnutrition were common in rural areas even though local foods were readily available, and 3. much local knowledge regarding the nutritional value and cultivation of local edible plants was being lost.

Institutional Aspects
Most countries have national professional bodies, and the extent to which they engage in food and nutrition security awareness creation differs (FAO, 2011b). Some of these organisations are listed in Table 5. They, along with others such as The African Union of Nutritional Sciences, help to create awareness of food and nutrition security through seminars, conferences and workshops. They also have linkages with similar organisations at the global level, namely the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), and the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST). Regional nutrition leadership and institutional capacity building activities is increasingly gathering momentum, for instance the partnership between IUNS and the IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281 Research, development, and capacity for food in Africa 273

Infrastructure, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Infrastructure, tools and equipment remains an area of challenge in most institutions of higher learning in SSA. However, some institutions exist that are as well equipped for food and nutrition research as in developed countries, especially those that fall within the top 500 in the World Universities Ranking (WUR, 2014); while others are a little less well equipped, such as some of those that fall within the top 50 in the Ranking Web (RW, 2014) of universities in Africa. The development of renewable energy supply systems has considerable potential in many Africa countries. However, this requires major financial investment and technical know-how. This is another area where capacity building at all levels is critical (UN, 2012). Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play an important role for Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) in Africa. While the potential benefits of ICT in FNS are immense, ICT has not penetrated sufficiently in the various aspects of FNS. So far, ICT has remained at the level of mobile phones in practically every African village, however the other applications for FNS have remained largely untapped. Possibilities include improved and timely accessing and dissemination of information for supplementing the food value chain better and integrated production planning, monitoring and follow-up, access to the latest results of research, information on the latest agricultural production technology, markets, pest and disease control improvement of standards of food professionals, etc, all of which can contribute to enhancing productivity and reducing food insecurity in Africa and to meeting the challenges of modernized agroprocessing technologies (FAO, 2011a). A major hindrance to the development of ICT is the inadequacy of a regular energy supply. In fact, 92% of rural households in African LDCs have no electricity.

Policies and Programmes
There have been several initiatives by SSA countries aimed at providing the necessary policy environment for addressing malnutrition in line with the MDG. The various policies articulate the fact that food and nutrition are an integral part of the overall national objective of improving nutritional status and socioeconomic well-IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281 3. lack of nutritional guidelines to help consumers and chefs.
Indicators of food insecurity in SSA include very low levels of average food consumption, large fluctuations of food consumption and the large population of absolute poor (Aworh & Egounlety, 2011).

Financial and other resources
The impact of the world economic and financial crisis, combined with food and fuel crises, has undermined the development and progress of many developing economies. Lack of financial resources is one of the biggest constraints to both LDCs and other countries in achieving sustainable development and progress (UN, 2012). Increased access to financial services especially for SMEs, increased government spending on productive capacity-building, and support development to science and technology by all stakeholders will increase agricultural output and impact positively on food and nutrition security. Most countries in SSA have put in place financial resource mechanisms contributing to objectives such as: Research organisations in African countries directly or indirectly benefit from financial support administered by developed economies like the EU-Horizon 2020 (n. d.), which is the European Union's biggest (2014-2020) ever research and innovation framework programme. However, few countries in the continent were among the top participants in the EU-Framework Programme 7 (2007 -2014) grant as shown in Figure 2. The strategic programme (focus areas) of most developed economies include: Personalising health and care for quality of life, sustainable food security, and water innovation (Hogan, 2013). In addition to bilateral and multilateral financing instruments, Africa has put in place several domestic financing mechanisms. A good example is the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The internationalisation of research is an intrinsic part of funding instruments, built into research grants awarded through programmes such as Competitive Funding for Rated Researchers, the South African Research Chairs Initiatives (SARChI), and the Centres of Excellence (CoE) Programme (NRF, 2014). The number of Horizon 2020 applications from the 10 most active third countries, 2014-2016 is shown in Figure 3) (European Commission, 2018).

Conclusion
Strengthening research, development and capacity building is critical for food and nutrition insecurity in Africa. This will require among others actions, the 1. acceptance of the application of biotechnology in food production by all countries, 2. effective collaboration within and outside sub-Saharan Africa, 3. provision, by the government of each country in the continent, of enhanced financial and technical support to research and innovation, science and technology, including strengthening national and regional institutions, 4. ensuring that science and technology are mainstreamed into national development and sectoral policies as this will ensure better information dissemination typical of digitalisation age, 5. broadening access to secondary, tertiary and vocational education and skill development training, 6. eliminating gender disparities in education and training, 7. increasing the quality of education and training at all levels, 8. helping African countries go beyond MDG education targets, especially in increased enrolment and decreased drop-out rates, 9. strengthen the sharing of knowledge, applied research and extension as well as transfer of technology under mutually agreed terms to African countries and support them in strengthening their capacity to manage their natural resources, and 10. good governance for greater efficiency and better delivery of goods and services.
IJFS October 2020 Volume 9 pages 264-281 Good governance and rule of law are essential for sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger (UN, 2012). Also, attention is needed in reducing food losses as it has immediate and significant impact on livelihoods and wellness, tackling poor infrastructure (access to farm gate, processing facilities/consumer), developing irrigation, water harvesting systems, use of renewable energy, effective use of resource wealth -land resources for food crops, and nutrition education and communication -helping people to improve their diet through discussion, demonstration and practice (FAO, 2011a;FAO and WEP, 2010).