Status of Food Science and Technology in West Africa

O. Charles Aworh and Aristides M. Egounlety

Introduction

There is no doubt that food science and technology has made and continues to make tremendous positive impacts on the quality of life in the industrialised countries of Europe, North America and Oceania that account for less than a third of the world’s population. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, home to more than 3 billion people, with annual population growth rates exceeding 2 % per annum and that have the greatest food demand but the least supply (Aworh 2005). The critical role that food science and technology plays in national development cannot be overemphasised in West Africa where high postharvest food losses, arising largely from limited food preservation capacity, is a major factor constraining food and nutrition security. Seasonal food shortages and nutritional deficiency diseases are still a major concern. Protein-energy malnutrition and the various micronutrient deficiency disorders including vitamin A deficiency, nutritional anemias due to deficiencies of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12, and iodine deficiency disorders remain important public health problems. Agriculture is the mainstay of the West African economy and even in Nigeria, where crude oil accounts for over 90 % of government’s earnings, over 70 % of the population derive their livelihood from agriculture. Regrettably, it is estimated that about 50 % of perishable food commodities including fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers and about 30 % of grains including maize, sorghum, millet, rice and cowpeas are lost after harvest in West Africa. Inefficient or inappropriate food processing technologies, inefficient postharvest handling practices and inadequate or complete lack of storage facilities, packinghouses and market infrastructures are some of the factors responsible for high postharvest food losses in West Africa.

Food and Nutrition Security

Food security implies access, at all times, to adequate, safe, nutritious and healthy food that meets dietary needs, including the various micronutrient requirements, and food preferences of every segment of the population. Indicators of national or regional food insecurity include:

• Very low levels of average food consumption: In West Africa, food consumption falls below the FAO recommendations for developing countries of an intake of 2718 calories per capita per day made up of 2290 calories from plant products and 428 calories from livestock products. Animal protein intake is very low, less than 10 g per capita per day, in most countries of West Africa.
• Large fluctuations of food consumption: High postharvest food losses contribute to fluctuations in food supply and food insecurity in West Africa.
• Large population of absolute poor: The increasing level of poverty in West African countries remains a source of great concern.

Other factors militating against food security in West Africa include:

• low food production
• seasonal food shortages
• high food prices
• high unemployment
• poor health facilities
• low level of nutrition education
• cultural factors and taboos that reduce access to food, and
• policy failures.

The Food Industry

The food industry in West Africa consists of the large foreign-backed companies, the government owned or sponsored companies and the medium-scale, the small-scale and the very small scale (as small as one person) enterprises owned by indigenous operators (Ladipo et al., 1986). One of the first truly indigenous food companies in the sub-region is Lisabi Mills (Nigeria) Limited established in 1938. It pioneered mechanised processing of local agricultural raw materials into indigenous foods such as yam flour, dried milled capsicums (pepper) and egusi (Colocynthis citrullus).

The large-scale food industries in West Africa are located predominantly in urban areas where their impact is greatest. They are involved mainly in brewing and beverage production, flour milling, production of complementary foods, sugar refining and production of sugar confectionery, milk and dairy products processing, vegetable oil refining, and production of biscuits and other bakery products, condiments and flavorings. Some of the large foreign-backed food companies operating in Nigeria that produce a wide array of processed food products and beverages marketed in the West African sub-region include Nestle Nigeria Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Bottling Company, Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria Plc and West African Milk Company. There is no doubt that in West Africa large-scale food industries financed through joint ventures with equity and loans from national and international financial institutions (the multinationals), have a unique role to play in promoting industrial development through employment generation, value-added processing and training of skilled manpower. Large-scale food industries have considerable export potentials through value added processing. Unfortunately, they are yet to realise their full potentials and there is the need to increase their contributions to overall value-added in West Africa. The major problems faced by large-scale food industries in West Africa relate to power supply, low capacity utilisation, supply of raw materials, access to foreign exchange, maintenance of machinery and equipment, low local technology input and over-reliance on imported technology, as well as the need to improve the overall efficiency of their operations so as to reduce the unit costs of their products (Aworh 1999).

The small-scale food industries in West Africa include those involved in root and tuber processing, especially cassava and yam processing, cereal and legume processing, baking, fruit and vegetable processing, brewing and beverage production, flour milling, vegetable oil milling, cheese-making, fish and meat smoking and drying, and production of condiments. Rural development and agro-industrialisation are closely linked with the promotion of small-scale food industries that involve lower capital investment and that rely on locally produced raw materials and traditional technology (Ngoddy 1988, Igene 1992, Aworh 1994). By generating employment opportunities in the rural areas, small-scale food industries reduce rural-urban migration and the associated social problems. They are vital to solving the problem of imbalance between the rural and urban areas and are crucial to reducing postharvest food losses and increasing food availability. Unfortunately, rapid growth and development of small-scale food industries in West Africa is hampered by the adoption of inefficient or inappropriate technologies, poor management, inadequate working capital, and limited access to banks and other financial institutions, high interest rates and low profit margins (Aworh 2005). In addition, small-scale food industries rely on locally fabricated equipment and non-standardisation of equipment and lack of spare parts for equipment maintenance and repair are major problems constraining their growth (Taiwo et al. 2002).

Training in Food Science and Technology

There has been a phenomenal increase in the number of institutions offering training in food science and technology in West Africa since the 1970s when training in the field was first provided at the University of Ife, Nigeria (now Obafemi Awolowo University), University of Ghana, Legon, University of Ibadan, Nigeria and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Table 1). The typical BSc Food Science and Technology degree program offered by these universities is multidisciplinary integrating principles and concepts in the physical, biological and engineering sciences and applying them to the processing and preservation of foods. The curriculum involves primarily courses in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, agriculture, nutrition, engineering, computer science, environmental science, food chemistry, food microbiology, food engineering, food quality assurance, food biotechnology, food law, food packaging and postharvest and storage technology. The philosophy of the typical program is to provide broad-based training in food science and technology and produce graduates that are well grounded in the art, science and technology of food preservation to achieve national goals and objectives of industrialisation and self reliance in the food and beverage industries, reduce postharvest food losses and promote national food security. Apart from the universities, training in food science and technology is also provided by several polytechnics and colleges of education.

Table 1. Universities Offering Training in Food Science and Technology in West Africa

Regrettably, the increase in the number of institutions offering training in food science and technology and in student enrolment has not been matched by a commensurate increase in funding and in teaching and research facilities. Funding is provided predominantly by government, and industry-academia linkages are very weak. There is little interaction between the food industry and institutions offering training in food science and technology with adverse consequences for food science and technology education and food research and development. The Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology established in 1976 and the West African Association of Food Science and Technology that was recently inaugurated at Abuja, Nigeria in 2007, provide a platform for promoting industry-academia linkages.

Future Outlook

It would appear that there are already in place policies, programs and institutions including government ministries and other agencies, financial institutions, universities and research institutes that could transform agriculture and reduce food insecurity from its present level of about 60 % to 30 % in some West African countries by the year 2020. Under the Nigerian Agricultural Policy, agriculture is essentially a private-sector business with the role of government being only supportive and facilitatory. Market forces are to play a leading role in the agricultural economy that should be as free as possible from government administrative controls. The National Food and Nutrition Policy is aimed at improving household and national food security. The essential features include promoting nutrition education, health care and environment, and adequate infant and child nutrition including breast feeding. Other features are improving food preparation and food quality, and protecting the consumer through improved food quality and safety (Anon. 1997). What is lacking is the political will to tackle the problem of food and nutrition insecurity through adequate funding of institutions involved in food research and development, increase in the funding of education, science and technology, promotion of small-scale food industries and rural development, genuine efforts at reducing poverty and improving health care delivery and, perhaps most importantly, proper management of resources and a genuine and sustained fight against corruption and its devastating effects on growth and development in the West African sub-region.

References

Anon. (1997) Federal Republic of Nigeria National Position Paper, The World Food Summit. In: Integrated Agricultural Production in Nigeria: Strategies and Mechanisms for Food Security (Shaib, B., Adedipe, N. O., Aliyu, A. and Jir, M. M., eds.). National Agricultural Research Project, Monograph 5, pp 11-74.

Aworh, O. C. (1994) Exploration and exploitation of indigenous technology for the growth of the food and beverage industries: an overview. Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Ilorin, pp 20-37.

Aworh, O. C. (1999) Food security and the survival of food and agro-allied industries in the next millennium. Nigerian Agric. 3 (1): 8-11.

Aworh, O. C. (2005) After the harvest. In: University of Ibadan Inaugural Lectures, Vol. 1 (1992-1997). Ibadan University Press: Ibadan, Nigeria; 333-348.

Igene, J. O. (1992) Food Technology, national food self-sufficiency and food-agro-industrialisation: the Nigerian experience. University of Maiduguri Inaugural Lecture Series No. 52, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Ladipo, J. K., Ossai, G. E. A. and Olunloyo, O. A. (1986) Food science and technology in national development: entrepreneurship in the food industry. Nigerian Food J. 4: 3-11.

Ngoddy, P. O. (1988) Technological issues and strategies in the development of Nigeria’s food industries. Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Maiduguri, 14-26.

Taiwo, K. A., Oladepo, O. W., Ilori, M. O. and Akanbi, C. T. (2002) A study on the Nigerian food industry and the impact of technological changes on the small-scale food enterprises. Food Rev. Int. 18 (4): 243-261.

O. Charles Aworh is a Professor and former Head, Department of Food Technology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, E-mail: ocawo51@yahoo.co.uk , and Aristides M. Egounlety is an Associate Professor of Food Technology, Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, National University of Benin, Abomey Calavi, Benin, and President of the West African Association of Food Science and Technology (WAAFoST), E-mail: emoutairou@yahoo.fr or egounmout@gmail.com.