Dr. Kristian Moeller, the Managing Director of GLOBALG.A.P., recently spoke about the organization’s extensive work across 100+ countries in promoting the adoption of international certification standards.
Unfortunately, such policies have overlooked the importance of balanced and healthy diets for households and communities and ended up creating a malnutrition crisis, also known as hidden hunger, on the continent. Deficiencies of micronutrients – minerals and vitamins – are linked to conditions such as stunted growth, anaemia, obesity and underdeveloped cognitive ability.
It is estimated, for example, that 58 million children in Africa are stunted. On a positive, key policy makers and decision makers are beginning to pay attention to malnutrition as a growing challenge to development on the continent.
The African Union declared 2022, the African Year of Nutrition, while governments are investing in nutrition programmes.
To keep the conversation going, we have put together a special report focusing on how different countries are tackling malnutrition at different stages of their food systems and why there is an urgent need to scale up nutrition programmes.
Between March 28-30, Rootooba was privileged to jointly organise the second edition of the GLOBALG.A.P. Tourstop conference in Nairobi.GLOBALG.A.P. is an international standard certification brand that promotes good agricultural practices.
The Nairobi event brought together players in the fresh produce industry, including producers, retailers, exporters, processors and regulators, to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities in the market and the need to embrace quality and standards along the value chain.
In our Q&A section, GLOBALG.A.P. managing director Kristian Moeller, who was one of the key speakers at the Nairobi conference, discusses the organisation’s experience working in more than 100 countries to promote adoption of the international certification standard key to ensuring food safety and unlocking export markets. Moeller, who was the chief party at the event, is particularly upbeat about Africa’s agriculture, saying they consider the continent the next frontier of GLOBALG.A.P. standard adoptions after Europe.
But he isn’t the only prominent player in the agribusiness world with an optimistic outlook of Africa’s agriculture. Mahesh Patel — the founder and chairman of Export Trading Group (ETG), a thought leader and philanthropist — explains why the time to invest in Africa’s agriculture is now in an insightful article that also underlines his belief in the ‘Africa rising’ story. Read these plus stories on other agricultural issues on the continent.
