GAINing a new partner
Public-private partnerships can help ensure healthy, nutritious food is on every plate.
On 28 February 2014, a group from the Agriculture and Nutrition division of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) visited AVRDC Eastern and Southern Africa. Headquartered in Switzerland, GAIN is an alliance that supports public-private partnerships to increase access to the missing nutrients in human diets. The delegation was headed by Bonnie McClafferty, Director for Agriculture and Nutrition. AVRDC Vegetable Breeder Fekadu Dinssa and Postharvest Specialist Ngoni Nenguwo guided the GAIN visitors through the seed repository, the postharvest training center, the demonstration plots from private companies, and AVRDC’s demonstration plot.
Several areas of collaboration were identified during the discussion. AVRDC’s seed kits and best-bet technologies may be used during GAIN’s “Vegetables for All” project, a large consortium of private sector businesses operated from the Netherlands. AVRDC could also provide technical backstopping for the Marketplace, GAIN’s competitive scheme that funds local private-sector ideas. The link between agriculture and nutrition is important, and with GAIN, AVRDC has a new partner to strengthen the connection.
The GAIN team discussing AVRDC’s seed drying beds. From left to right: Enock Musinguzi, Program Manager; Bonnie McClafferty, Director; Thoric Cederström, Senior Manager; and John Barbour, Junior Associate.
