The research is funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). Its main objective is to create knowledge, political dialogue and collaboration, enhancing the link between agro-biodiversity conservation, nutrition and health in sub-Saharan Africa. The project involves a wide network of local partners in Tanzania and Kenya, including universities, research centers, public institutions and Slow Food.
SCIENTIFIC MANAGER: Paolo Corvo
OTHER UNISG RESEARCHERS INVOLVED: Andrea Pieroni, Rachele Ellena, Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco, Gabriele Volpato, Dauro Mattia Zocchi
PARTNERSHIP: European Centre for Development Policy Management – Maastricht (Netherland), University of Milan Bicocca (Italy), Catholic University of Sacred Heart – Milano (Italy), University of Pavia (Italy)
DURATION OF THE PROJECT: 43 months
FUNDING INSTRUMENT: Italian Ministry of University and Research – Special Supplementary Fund for Research 2016
MAIN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREA IN UNISG: Environment
SDGs:
Description
The project aims to sustain and promote the production, marketing and consumption of the so-called “neglected and underutilized species” (NUS), also known as ”orphan crops”. These are wild species, local varieties and ecotypes that are common in developing countries but are rarely found in other parts of the world. They have been limitedly studied and their economic potential has not been valorized.
Historically NUS have played a crucial role within traditional agricultural systems in guaranteeing food security and sovereignty, in preserving biodiversity and in generating income and employment sources for local communities.
Despite this, these species are not able to fully develop their potential due to the lack of awareness of their real value and the marketing constraints both at local and international level. The project aims at providing theoretical and methodological tools to overcome these difficulties adopting an interdisciplinary approach. The research will be carried out in Tanzania (Arusha and Iringa district) and Kenya (Nakuru district).
As part of the SASS project, the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo has carried out a careful anthropological and ethnobotanical analysis of the gastronomic landscapes of the sample areas. The research team has investigated the production and consumption practices of these areas, identifying and cataloging the NUS of vegetal, fungal and animal origin as well as the ways that are formally and informally exchanged.
Publications
Fontefrancesco, M.F.; Zocchi, D.M.; Pieroni, A. The Intersections between Food and Cultural Landscape: Insights from Three Mountain Case Studies. Land 2023, 12, 676. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12030676
Fontefrancesco M, Zocchi D 2023. Farming money in Nakuru County: small farmers and the meaning of the market in the western part of Kenya. Dada Rivista di Antropologia post-globale, speciale n. 1, 2023, Antropologia dell’agricoltura , 75-86.
Fontefrancesco, M.F., Zocchi, D.M., Pieroni, A. (2022). Scouting for Food Heritage for Achieving Sustainable Development: The Methodological Approach of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste. Heritage 2022, 5, 526-544. https://doi.org/10.3390/
Rampa, F., Labra, M., Borrelli, N., Cena, H., Chiappero Martinetti, E., Corvo, P., Frontefrancesco, M.F., Giongo, G., Magrin, F., Puglisi, E., Sassi, M., Vaggi, G., & Van Aken, M. (2021). SASS: Sustainable Food Systems. and Indigenous Vegetables. Final Report. Milan: Fondazione Feltrinelli.
Fontefrancesco, M. F., Zocchi, D. M., & Pieroni, A. (2022). Scouting for Food Heritage for Achieving Sustainable Development: The Methodological Approach of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste. Heritage , Vol. 5.
Fontefrancesco, M.F., Zocchi, D.M. (2021). The role of traditional and indigenous food in the restaurant sector of the Iringa region. In C. D’Alessandro & P. Bizzott Molina (a cura di), Sustainable food systems through diversification and indigenous vegetables. An analysis of the iringa and dodoma areas in Tanzania (pp. 57-69). ECDPM
Zocchi, D.M., Fontefrancesco, M.F. ( A cura di) (2021)“The Ark of Taste in Tanzania. Food, Knowledge, and Stories of the Gastronomic heritage”. Bra: slow Food Editore.
Zocchi, D.M., Volpato, G., Chalo, D., Mutiso, P., Fontefrancesco M.F. (2020). Expanding the reach: ethnobotanical knowledge and technological intensification in beekeeping among the Ogiek of the Mau Forest, Kenya. Journal of Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine 16, 57(2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/
Fontefrancesco, M.F., Zocchi, D.M. (2020). Indigenous Crops and cultural dynamics in the markets of Nakuru County, Kenya. International Journal of Gastronomic Food Science, 100269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Fontefrancesco, M.F., Zocchi, D.M. (2019). Narrazioni e prodotti nella patrimonializzazione della gastronomia locale: una nota metodologica. In Narrare i Gruppi, vol. 14, n° 2, dicembre 2019, pp. 273-285 – website: www.narrareigruppi.it
Bartow & Zocchi (a cura di), 2018. The ark of taste in Kenya, Bra, Slow Food Editore
Corvo & Fontefrancesco (a cura di), 2018, Sotto il cielo della Rift Valley. Sviluppo rurale e cibo tradizionale nella contea di Nakuru, Tortona, Vicolo del Pavone
Fontefrancesco & Lekanayia, 2018, Meanings and taboos in traditional gastronomy of Maasai communities in Kajiado County, Kenya, Antrocom Online Journal of Anthropology vol. 14. n. 1 (2018) 77-85 – ISSN 1973– 2880
Fontefrancesco M, Zocchi D, Corvo P , 2020, “Quanto la multiculturalità appiattisce l’offerta. Dinamiche culturali e sviluppo merceologico alimentare nei mercati della contea di Nakuru, Kenya”. Dada Rivista di Antropologia post-globale, speciale n. 1, 2020, Antropologia del cibo. Pp. 129-156. ISSN: 2240-0192
Zocchi, D.M., Fontefrancesco, M.F. (2020). Traditional Products and New Developments in the Restaurant Sector in East Africa. The Case Study of Nakuru County, Kenya. Frontier Sustainability Food System, 4:599138.
Zocchi, D.M., Piochi, M., Cabrino, G., Fontefrancesco, M.F., Torri, L. (2020). Linking producers’ and consumers’ perceptions in the valorisation of non-timber forest products: An analysis of Ogiek forest honey. Food Research International, Vol. 137, p.109417
Fontefrancesco M.F. (2019). Cibo e narrazioni di multiculturalità a scuola: un approccio autonarrativo alla conoscenza dell’altro. Narrare i gruppi, 14 (1), 23-46.
Fontefrancesco, M.F., Zocchi, D.M. (2019). Narrazioni e prodotti nella patrimonializzazione della gastronomia locale: una nota metodologica. Narrare i Gruppi, vol. 14, n° 2, pp. 273-285.
Fontefrancesco M.F. (2019) Food Commodity Market: History and Impact of Food Trading Toward SDG2. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A., Brandli L., Özuyar P., Wall T. (eds) Zero Hunger. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
Fontefrancesco M.F., Sidsaph H. (2019) Food Web and Food Network: Role of Food System Ecological Interconnectedness in Achieving the Zero Hunger Goal. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A., Brandli L., Özuyar P., Wall T. (eds) Zero Hunger. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
Fontefrancesco M.F., Corvo P. (2019) Slow Food: History and Activity of a Global Food Movement Toward SDG2. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A., Brandli L., Özuyar P., Wall T. (eds) Zero Hunger. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
