Pepsi Co, INC. and USAID are collaborating in a 10 million US dollars effort to supply locally manufactured nutritional ready to use Supplementary food products (RUSF) to combat malnourishment in children in Ethiopia.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Agricultural Transformation Agency, Pepsi Co., the WFP and USAID was signed in early May.
The partnership named Enterprise EthioPea is targeted to aid 10,000 farmers in Ethiopia to increase chickpea yields to produce a local based product that can feed 40,000 children.
Pepsi Co. is expected to work closely with WFP to produce the RUSF which will be similar to Plumpy’nut made from peanuts according to a source. The company works closely with the MoA and the ATA to support the effective production of chickpeas. Pepsi Co. can also be a customer of the farmers to produce hummus related products.Enterprise EthioPea will be using chickpea because it is more adaptable and more abundantly found in Ethiopia said the source.
Hilina Enriched Food Products which produces Plumpy’ nut has been invited by the WFP to prepare sample RUSF products said Hilina Belete, Deputy General Manager of the Company.
The WFP has not disclosed how many companies it is in negotiations with because it is still in the development stage explained an official.
The USAID is contributing seven million US dollars to the Agricultural Growth Project, a 253 million US dollar program with multiple donors for the development of the agricultural sector. Pepsi Co. has also pledged 3.3 million US dollars to the World Food Program for the development of chickpea based nutritional products as part of its private-public partnership agreement with the USAID and the WFP.
Source: Addis Fortune
Note: this news article is corrected because we received this email:
"Dear Meron,
Could you please kindly correct information provided in your article on chick pea product to be developed and manufactured in Ethiopia with the support of PepsiCo and USAID?
Product under development is not ready to use THERAPEUTIC food (RUTF) but ready to use SUPPLEMENTARY food (RUSF). This is an important correction as there is already in place manufacturing capacity for RUTF in Ethiopia and UNICEF secure its needs for this product from Ethiopian supplier since 2006. RUTF is used to treat children with Severe acute malnutrition whereas RUSF is used for different population - children with Moderate malnutrition .
This new project will bring on the market a produt that is not available yet and Will male it possibile to address condition that was overlooked for the moment.
Best regards,
Jan Komrska
UNICEF supply Division
Copenhagen Denmark"
