The School of Food Science and Nutrition, in collaboration with Agro Park Development Company Limited (Nigeria) and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Nigeria), has secured an African Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnership (AAKTP) funded by Innovate UK.
The project's goals
The 15-month project aims to develop novel, edible and ecologically friendly biopolymer coatings as a sustainable replacement to chemical preservatives for fresh produce. The technology will extend the shelf-life of agricultural products, reduce postharvest losses, and enhance food security in Nigeria, with an additional focus on capacity building of women’s participation in the agricultural value chain.
The project is set to transform how agricultural produce is preserved, aiming to reduce postharvest losses (which can account for between 30-45 per cent) and improve shelf-life using sustainable methods.
Agro Park Development Company Limited operates across the entire agricultural value chain, from farming to processing and selling perishable goods, including spices, aromatics, tea, maize, and sweet potatoes for local and export markets.
As legislation in Nigeria has shifted towards abolishing the use of certain chemical preservatives, and lack of wholesale refrigeration facilities the company has faced significant losses due to spoilage of their produce. This project will create a sustainable solution, crucial for Agro Park's ongoing commercial success and the wider agricultural sector’s food security in Nigeria.
Bringing together academic expertise
Leading the University of Leeds academic team of experts is Dr Idolo Ifie, Lecturer in Food Processing and Dr Chikere Nkwonta, Teaching Fellow both from the School of Food Science and Nutrition.
Dr Islamiyat Bolarinwa, Associate Professor of Food Science at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, leads the project in Nigeria alongside Mr Michael Anibi, Agro Park’s Operations.
Together, the team provides support and guidance to Abdulhakeem Olasupo, the African Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate, who has the vital role of delivering the project by acquiring new knowledge, testing, applying and embedding it into the company while driving an innovation culture as the conduit between academia and business.
Their combined expertise not only ensures a sustainable solution for Agro Park but also ignites industry-informed research, generating impactful insights that lead to the formulation of new foundational research directly informed by and addressing real-world needs, alongside fostering international collaboration between academia and industry in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5, 12 and 17).
The project has already seen vital knowledge exchange through reciprocal visits between the academic teams and bespoke training and support for Abdulhakeem.
More information
Principal investigator: Dr Idolo Ifie (School of Food Science and Nutrition) - Knowledge Transfer Partnership Academic Lead.
Co-investigators: Dr Chikere Nkwonta (School of Food Science and Nutrition) - Knowledge Transfer Partnership Academic Supervisor.
Project support
The African Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnership is fully funded by Innovate UK.
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership team (KTP@Leeds) provides full-circle project development and project management support.