Affordable, Sustainable, and Accessible Proteins (ASAP)

Projected protein demand is expected to increase 2-3 fold in Africa by 2050 due to population growth and changing consumer demand. If protein consumption in Africa matches global patterns this could increase global food system greenhouse gas emissions by 50%. Innovation in protein production, shelf-life extension, processing and formulation will be essential to meet this demand sustainably. We propose a science-driven, community-based approach to unlocking food processing innovation in new legume-based healthy foods with a dual focus: addressing nutrition in school feeding programs and creating profitable product pathways for the retail and e-commerce markets. This involves close collaboration across the value chain, from crop development to consumer distribution. The project supports local processing infrastructure and helps Kenya reduce dependence on imported protein ingredients. We are developing a proposal to the “Green Transition Food Processing Africa” call, and looking for additional partners to join our consortium.

The ASAP project partners have been working together since late 2023, through monthly steering group meetings. The majority of the partners (UoN, CSIRO, UoAlberta, Bioeconomy Science Institute, HKI, ICRISAT) were involved in the conception workshops in May 2024 (Calgary, Canada) and through HKI and ICRISAT additional partners were engaged in Kenya in the buildup to the co-design workshops in March 2025.

We have conducted stakeholder engagement in Kenya and we are now looking to build a programme of funding to create new value chain innovation.