(June 16, 2017) Italy is at the forefront of food security in Africa. With the aim of promoting the development of sustainable food and agricultural systems in the African continent through scientific and socio-economic innovation strategies and through the collaboration with local institutions and governments, the SASS (Food Systems and Sustainable Development) project has just been launched by a Consortium led by the University of Milan-Bicocca, which includes the Cattolica University, the University of Pavia, the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo and the Maastricht European Center for Development Policy Management. The Ministry of Education, through the Special Investigative Fund for Research (FISR), funds the project for 3 million euros. SASS declines sustainability in three main directions: environmental, economic and social with specific goals in different areas. In the context of agricultural systems, the goal is to work from local biodiversity, or from marginal species which are still consumed in local diets because they are rich in nutrients. Work will be on the discovery of these Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUSs) and the definition of sustainable agricultural production systems capable of preserving soil and resources while at the same time producing food and wealth. An interdisciplinary team will deal not only with the agro biological but also with the social, economic, environmental and political aspects. The molecular characterization of local species / cultivars will allow NUS to be valued and to create a unique “biological passport”. This aspect is of particular importance for the promotion of biodiversity and bioprocessing, but also in order to prevent phenomena such as biopiracy, which many African states are potentially or in fact subject to. From the point of view of food system governance, food management models will be identified considering the differences and specifics of socio-economic contexts at different degrees of development. Strategies will be proposed to optimize the chains, create wealth and safeguard the locality and identity of the territory. At the macro scale level, the project intends to promote the strengthening of the African and EU-Africa processes, focusing on “CAADP”, the African Union’s process of coordinating investments, public policies and agricultural aid, also through cooperation with UN Agencies in Rome, the “Committee on World Food Security” and the Global Alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture. The consortium led by Milano-Bicocca will also take advantage of the key collaboration of Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli and the Milan Center for Food Policy and Law. Major institutions and stakeholders such as FAO, Bioversity International, and numerous local institutions in Kenya and Tanzania will be involved, including Naivasha Basin Sustainability Initiative, Oikos, Nelson Mandela University and local government structures. (Red)
