CTI project to enhance child nutrition in Malawi and Tanzania

Sep 18 2009

Malnutrition is widespread in Malawi and Tanzania, particularly among children under five whose diet is deficient in protein, oils and micronutrients. The need is urgent to develop and harvest improved, nutritious foods using locally available crops such as groundnuts (commonly called peanuts). Increased groundnut production can significantly improve individual nutrition as well as economic security.

A McKnight Foundation grant recently awarded to Compatible Technology International (CTI), Tanzania's Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) will address these needs. The organizations are combining their expertise for a four-year $673,000 research and development grant project, which will focus on enhancing child nutrition and the livelihoods of rural households in Malawi and Tanzania.

"We feel very privileged to be chosen for this McKnight Foundation grant," said CTI's executive director, Roger Salway. "This project is essential to addressing the issues and needs of families in Malawi and Tanzania and the McKnight Foundation grant makes it all possible."

"This project is essentially about collaborating with these farm families about the crops growing naturally in their environments," said CTI's vice president of operations, Bert Rivers. "This collaboration is important, not only to provide additional nutrition to their families, but to also provide increased revenue for their households to improve their livelihood. We are also being educated by the farmers about the realities of their living conditions and farming systems."

Project Objectives Include:

• Reduce losses of food during handling, processing and storage.
• Improve the nutrition of rural households, particularly children.
• Raise household revenues through sale and distribution of groundnut-based food products for local markets.
• Improve productivity, and reduce the intense daily labor typically endured by women.
• Empower farm families in ways that enable them to strengthen their links to markets and manage their farms as enterprises.
• Strengthen local presence by transferring technical and manufacturing expertise to African organizations.