ABSTRACT
The project established a multi-disciplinary multi-stakeholder platform to identify traditional and indigenous famine foods. It developed technological innovations to broaden and improve access and help communities adapt to climate change. The project identified and enhanced the production, collection, and processing of traditional famine foods. It improved the quality, nutritive value, and safety of the famine foods by working with producers, consumers, and stakeholders along the value chain. It investigated the optimization of the storage conditions and packaging systems at the village level to lengthen the shelf-life of indigenous fermented foods. The project also identified and explored new famine foods that are available but not well-known or widely utilized. Indigenous knowledge of the traditional famine food was collected and analyzed. Ten famine foods either had their nutritive value improved through additives, their packaging and marketing developed, or their shelf-life prolonged. Training workshops raised the capacity of stakeholders including women food vendors. The linkages and partnerships developed, facilitated the process to identify, improve and promote a variety of nutritious, safe, and long-term storable famine-food products. Twelve MSc students were closely supervised and mentored and gained practical experience. The project raised awareness of the benefits of these famine foods which had often been undervalued.
