Author Description

Agriculture plays a significant role in the economy of most African countries. Yet malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies occur regularly. Concomitantly, many carbohydrate rich staple foods and meat products are dumped on the African market and compet strongly with local products. The present thesis studied the potential of indigenous resources and locally developed practices to supply culturally acceptable and nutritious foods to African resource-poor people, using cowpea as model crop. This research is implemented using an interdisciplinary approach, which comprised plant breeding, food science and technology, human nutrition and social sciences. This thesis reports the findings of the research on food science and technology.