Dr. Nighisty Ghezae, Director

The 16^th of October marks the celebration of World Food Day 2018, on the occasion of the 63^rd anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. This year’s theme is Our actions are our future – A #ZeroHunger world by 2030 is possible.

Each year on World Food Day, the global development community renews its pledge to end hunger and malnutrition, as reflected throughout the year in the worldwide efforts at achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger. This requires determination and commitment from all national governments; regional bodies; international, national and local organizations of all sorts; and others. IFS is doing its part by supporting early-career researchers who create knowledge that helps to find local solutions to problems associated with hunger and malnutrition.

As an example, we are pleased to announce that some outcomes from our collaborative research approach have now been published in an article entitled “Phenolics, organic acids and minerals in the fruit juice of the indigenous African sourplum (Ximenia caffra, Olacaceae)”, co-authored by N.J. Goosen, D. Oosthuizen, M.A. Stander, A.I. Dabai, M.-M. Pedavoah and G.O. Usman (2018), and appearing in the South African Journal of Botany 119, 11-16. This is the second article published from the work done by Team Ximenia, comprised of Taiwo Aderinola (Nigeria), Aliyu Ibrahim Dabai (Nigeria), Neill Goosen (South Africa), Mary-Magdalene Pedavoah (Ghana) and Ojali Usman (Nigeria).

In the conclusion of their 2018 article, N.J. Goosen et al. write:

 … the current study has contributed toward a better understanding of the phytochemical and mineral contents, and the make-up of the organic acids within the fruit of X. caffra. The juice contains a number of potentially beneficial phytochemicals and minerals, and preliminary evaluation point toward a high antioxidant capacity of the fruit. As an indigenous African species that has a wide distributions range, the consumption of X. caffra fruits can therefore make an important contribution toward ensuring sufficient intake of phytochemicals and minerals that are required in a balanced diet, and consumption of this indigenous fruit should therefore be encouraged.