Infant foods from local resources as a pathway to a better food and nutrition security in Benin

In Benin, several infant foods are produced and commercialized on local and regional markets. Their major shortcomings are their low fulfilment of nutritional and safety requirements. This project aims at developing and certifying new infant foods based on local food resources (LFR). The project is an applied research to be implemented by a consortium of Benin and Dutch partners based on an interdisciplinary approach. It is expected that (i.) knowledge is improved on LFR nutritional properties; (ii.) new infant foods are developed, certified and adopted for production by the private practionner for urban consumers, (iii.) adapted food formulas are developed per agro-ecological zones for rural consumers, (iv.) capacity is built through five MSc students. An improved access to better nutrition could be reached among infants. Outputs will be disseminated through leaflets, publications and technical manuals in local languages. The overall cost of the project is 361.86 k€ for 36 months.