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Sida invests 60 million SEK in food security

Photo by  Marisol Grandon

Mother support group leader Gladys Nagilai and other mothers with their budding tomato crop in a greenhouse in Lodwar, northern Kenya. The crops were planted by a mother support group. There are 13 mothers in the group who meet once a month to learn from each other about infant and child nutrition. During their meetings, nutritionists also teach them about infant and
child feeding.

Photo by: Marisol Grandon

The programme Agriculture for Food Security Post 2015 (AgriFoSe) – translating science into policy and development has been developed by researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Lund University, Gothenburg University and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). It is a 60 million SEK programme funded by Sida over a four-year period.

The programme is directly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. It will be coordinated by SLU Global.

“It is a joy to see Sida invests in the area which is of such fundamental importance for the basic needs of people living in poverty. The world still has 800 million people who are hungry and twice as many who suffer from undernutrition,” says programme director Professor Ulf Magnusson at the Department of Clinical Sciences and SLU Global.

“The development of agriculture in low income countries is vital for food security of their poorest citizens. Agriculture is, at the same time, a means out of poverty. For these reasons we will evaluate and synthesize scientific knowledge together with colleagues from low-income countries so that it can be used as the basis for better policies and technological advances within agriculture,” continues Ulf Magnusson.

The programme is divided into four themes, two of which will be led by SLU. The one that deals with increased productivity in small farm cropping systems, will be led by Docent Håkan Marstorp. The one which addresses livestock in small scale farming for more nutritious diets will be led by Docent Sofia Boqvist. The work will be conducted in close association with researchers at universities and research institutes in Africa and Asia and it will not just transform and communicate science to its application in society, but it will also provide training in how to do so.

“The role of women and youth in agriculture, access to markets and value chains as well as sustainable intensification of agriculture are important questions within the programme’s four themes. The fact that this program is being implemented is of great significance and shows the importance of science-based knowledge within the Swedish development cooperation,” says Ulf Magnusson.

Contact information

Professor Ulf Magnusson, e-mail: ulf.magnusson@slu.se , tel: 018- 672324

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