18 Journalists tour Nestlé R&D Centre in Abidjan
Eighteen Journalists from West and Central African countries have toured the Nestle Research and Development (R&D) centre in Abidjan to familiarise themselves with how the company harnessed its expertise in food science and technologies to add value to African traditional raw materials.
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The centre, which is the first in Africa, uses ‘plantlet propagation technology’, also known as embryogenesis somatic, for the multiplication of cocoa, coffee and cassava for farmers in the country.
The technology helps to address the problem of disease and ageing in cocoa and coffee that reduces their yield, thereby affecting the finances of farmers.
The visit, organised by Nestlé Central and West Africa Limited, brought together journalists from Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cameroun and Cote d'Ivoire and was to afford the journalists the opportunity to know at first hand how Nestle uses technology to address the nutritional needs of its consumers.
The Head of the Nestlé Abidjan R&D Centre, Professor Serigne Diop, said the embryogenesis somatic technology helped in the production of high yielding disease-resistant cocoa and coffee trees for the farmers.
The centre, he said, was aimed at improving the quality of locally sourced raw materials which included cocoa, coffee and cassava, as well as adapting these products to the nutritional needs and tastes of consumers in the sub-region.
The centre, he said, focused on meeting the needs and demands of African consumers through local raw material development and the development of nutritious ingredients by using modern technologies.
Expertise and science
The centre utilises its expertise in agricultural material development and bioscience to offer products with high nutritional value adapted to the local tastes of local consumers.
According to Prof. Diop, the high yielding disease-resistant plant materials had been distributed to farmers to improve the quality of cocoa and coffee to help increase incomes of farmers and also contribute to the sustainability of both cocoa and coffee farming in Cote d'Ivoire.
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