Barilla awards two food research projects

The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (Bcfn) has held the fourth edition of its international competition for research into sustainable food, awarding prizes to the Analog Forestry project on the Amazon and Eco-Sustainable Gardens' which focuses on Cameroon.

The winners were given their prizes at an award ceremony in Parma on Tuesday, Bcfn said.

Analog Forestry looks at ways to develop farming and forests side-by-side, focusing on the Peruvian region of Madre de Dios.

"The system protects the layers of vegetation that host the oldest species and allows us to insert new fruit and medicinal plants for cultivation in the other layers," said co-author Francesca Recanati from the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Eco-sustainable Gardens focuses on the women of the Mbororo tribe in northern Cameroon.

"In the dry season the men leave with the livestock, so the women remain alone," said researchers Nadia Ndum Foy and Okon Archibong Ukeme from the University of Hohenheim.

"Without livestock they lack sustenance. Our idea is to teach them to cultivate their own land by creating vegetable gardens that suit their conditions," they said.

The winning projects were chosen from among 10 finalists. We received projects from all around the world," said foundation vice-president Luca Virginio.

"We are happy that the winning projects are by two female researchers," he said.

The young people who took part in the competition contributed to the Bcfn Youth Manifesto, a document that calls on world leaders to commit to tackling food sector challenges.