Arla Foods Ingredients recently announced a partnership with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) over the next for years to develop a papaya-based affordable snack for low-income consumers in Ethiopia.
 
The project, led by GAIN, will bring together multiple public-private partners, with the objective of building a fruit processing value chain that will help reduce malnutrition, create jobs, and cut post-harvest papaya loss. The application team at Arla Foods Ingredients has already developed the first prototype recipes for a dried fruit protein bar based on papaya pulp, milk, and whey-based ingredients.
 
“One of the major tasks will be to adapt the recipe to local preferences based on consumer insights,” Charlotte Sørensen, Arla Foods Ingredients business development manager, said. “Another role is to work with local food producers to ensure they have the necessary technology and know how to produce it.”
 
As the fourth most popular fruit crop in Ethiopia, papayas are a source of income for more than 890,000 farmers. They are particularly rich in vitamins A, B, and C. Every year, around 30% of the harvest is lost due to spoilage. Sun drying represents a low-cost and sustainable opportunity to reduce post-harvest loss and make more of the nutritious fruit available for processing into affordable foods. Addis Ababa University is investigating how to ensure the best nutrient retention during the drying process.
 
“Farmers and food processors are very interested in this initiative to produce high quality, affordable products,” Meseret Worku, GAIN project leader in Ethiopia, said. “We will support them with nutritional and value chain expertise and with creating consumer demand. Through this, we can contribute to the Ethiopian government’s ambition to reduce malnutrition-related stunting to zero by 2030.”
 
Better use of the papaya harvest will secure an improved income for farmers, Arla Foods Ingredients said. In addition, the project will develop a toolkit for training food processing workers, and facilitate the creation of new jobs in Ethiopia’s food industry.