Olam International, a leading global agri-business, has collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Solve (MIT Solve) to design a challenge aimed at addressing Nigeria’s issues around sustainable food systems.
Olam International and MIT Solve co-hosted a challenge design workshop which held recently in Lagos in an attempt to proffer solutions to issues around food systems using technology.
The workshop was designed to engage cross-sector stakeholders in Nigeria, to deliberate on issues affecting the country’s agri-business ecosystem and aid MIT in designing Solve’s 2020 Global Challenges.
“Olam started as a single man, single product operation in Nigeria and we have managed to achieve massive growth over a 30-year period.
However, we still face problems and we cannot fix these challenges alone,” Mukul Mathur, country head, Olam Nigeria said in a statement.
“We realize the value of having an ecosystem that can help in proffering solutions, especially around sustainable food systems in Nigeria,” Mathur said.
“It is important to have such an ecosystem of likeminded people. I know that together, we can fix these problems,” he added.
Sharon Bort, officer- sustainability community, MIT Solve, described the programme as an initiative of MIT aimed at solving identified global challenges.
According to her, the MIT Solve cycle which starts in February yearly initiates competitions in the areas of economic prosperity, health, learning, and sustainability.
Bort added that MIT Solve decided to focus on challenges associated with food in an attempt to find solutions to issues around sustainable food systems.
Also speaking, Julie Greene, vice president -corporate responsibility and sustainability, Olam International, said the rise in the world’s population presents an opportunity for players in the agricultural value chain.
“For the most part of history, people lived near their food sources, they grew their own food. Today over 50percent of the population lives in the cities,” she said.
“This has huge implications because of the channels through which these food products are transported and stored. The bigger challenge is that it inhibits people from having a healthy diet,” she added.
Green pointed out that agriculture also has its negative impacts, despite its positive effects.
“Agriculture and other land uses are responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizers, deforestation, and transportation. Agriculture is responsible for 70percent of freshwater withdrawals,” she further said.
“While these are critical to productivity, they also have polluting effects on the environment. We only grow enough food to feed the population, but the problem is that 1/3 of that food never actually reaches our plates due to food loss and waste,” she added.
She noted that as a result, the food system needs innovation to address these agricultural, social and environmental issues.
Reji George, vice president, farming initiatives – Olam Nigeria identified food loss and wastage amongst some of the challenges encountered in agribusiness.
“One-third of global food production is wasted, and this is estimated to be around 1.3 billion tons of food. If food losses can be improved upon, global food security, systems, and nutrition will also improve,” he said.
He, however, added that Olam has commissioned surveys in some selected states in Nigeria, while also working with farmers to know the extent of losses incurred during harvest and find ways of reducing such losses.
