Born and raised in Morocco, Farah Varisco has a deep interest in unlocking Africa’s potential. Motivated by her desire to help others and use her skills for good, Farah, an analyst at The J.M. Smucker Co., signed up to support a risk assessment project with PFS client Seba Foods in Zambia. “In my day job as an analyst at Smucker, I can get really focused on my challenge at hand and forget about everything else that is going on around me,” said Farah. “Even being from modernized Africa, it can be a challenge to get the basics to people so I am glad I have this opportunity to help others and hopefully make their lives better.”

Seba Foods is an agro-food processing company specializing in the processing of maize and soya beans for more than 25 years. Seba works with its own network of registered smallholder farmers who supply the raw materials and supplement the crop requirements to produce a range of products including soya pieces, breakfast porridge, and corn soya blend (CSB).

“Zambia has its own unique challenges when it comes to threats and vulnerabilities so we’re in the process of gathering as much data as we can on their food safety and quality systems,” said Farah. “I typically do the analysis of our systems at Smucker and make sure we’re financially secure and sound. I’ve gone through quite a bit of a learning curve on this project since the country and products are completely new to me, but risk is risk and I am excited to be contributing toward improving food safety in Zambia.”

Although this project is not yet finished, the Seba Foods team has already learned a lot. “I’ve developed some good foundational knowledge around the creation and implementation of a risk assessment that we initially lacked,” said Teza Chika, quality assurance manager at Seba Foods. “A lot of information about how to go about it has been shared, to which some has already been implemented, but we are still developing the system to make it effective.”

The Seba Foods team said they’re grateful to have this opportunity to collaborate with PFS volunteers like Farah. “[The volunteers] serve as extra resources that infuse our work with the necessary experience, skill, and expertise that our institution may lack from time to time,” said Teza. “They bring about new ideas from their experiences that help our systems evolve to be more effective and we look forward to meeting with them every other week to learn more.”

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at Smucker.
I am a process engineer in R&D. In my role, I help prepare and run plant trials at our facilities. I am interested in making foods that are environmentally friendly and helping businesses improve food security.

What was your primary motivation for volunteering with Partners in Food Solutions?
I got involved with Partners in Food Solutions because I wanted to use my skills to benefit others and support a company that was committed to making food responsibly.

What was your first project like?
I worked with a client called Java Foods in Zambia that is committed to providing nutritious and affordable goods. I helped them review their equipment needs to make sure they were getting what they needed to expand their product portfolio to make cornflakes. I am familiar with the equipment, but it was fun to learn more about alternate applications for those machines which gave me valuable engineering experience.

Did you learn anything new?
I’ve been learning a lot since day one. I am learning new applications and how to work with people internationally. I feel better equipped to take on projects with international stakeholders after volunteering with PFS.

What would you say to a colleague who is thinking about volunteering with PFS but is hesitant to start?
I would highly recommend giving it a shot. The time commitment is about one hour a week and PFS does a good job at organizing the volunteers so you can focus on sharing information on your area of expertise. It’s set up so everyone can be successful!

Located in Ruiru, Kenya, Interfield Food Testing Laboratories (IFTL) is a commercial testing, training, and consultancy company that is committed to offering quality assurance and quality control services. It is the only laboratory that offers specialized testing of all food commodities and their derivatives across the food supply value chain. Since its inception, IFTL has been executing sales, marketing, and business development operations with no marketing strategy that guides the team towards a focused business approach. IFTL looked to PFS and its expert volunteer network to help with the development of a marketing strategy for immediate, short, and long-term execution of their goals.

Working with IFTL to create this marketing strategy were two marketers from The J.M. Smucker Co., Ali Brown and Lee Lust. “At Smucker, our culture is what truly sets us apart and we talk about our commitment to each other and everything around us,” said Director of Marketing Lee Lust. “PFS provided the opportunity to put this culture into action by kickstarting the ripple effect of helping others with the knowledge and skills to continue to grow IFTL’s business.” Ali and Lee worked with IFTL to refine their marketing strategy to focus on key growth opportunities and how to capture them. They provided a strategic framework for the team and worked with them to build out both the strategy and key execution tactics. “I’m a mom of two young kids with a passion for growth and development for myself and others,” said Ali. “My favorite part about this project was the opportunity to meet the talented team at IFTL, learn about the business dynamics in Kenya, and apply my skills to a new field.”

Since the project closed earlier this year, the changes Ali and Lee recommended are gradually falling into place. “We are certain that the changes will be realized by the end of 2022,” said Nancy Kariuki, a technical sales and marketing executive for IFTL. “Ali and Lee epitomize flexibility, adaptability, understanding, and cooperation, giving IFTL an opportunity to customize a marketing strategy that is suitable for our company’s needs. It was a great learning experience for us and I would love to work with this volunteer team again in the future!”

With almost half of its population unable to meet minimum caloric requirements, Zambia has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Many of the people affected are women and children. Omega Foods, a Zambian women-owned grains company, noticed that there was an opportunity to provide nutritious and safe grains, and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the area. Established in 2015, Omega Foods now produces several nutritious staple products including millet, maize and sorghum, and focuses on nourishing women and children in the community.

Supporting Omega Foods in their journey to produce more affordable, safe and healthy food is Hershey Senior Analyst - Growth & Strategy Lauren Hall. Lauren joined Omega Foods as their volunteer Client Lead in May 2021 and has helped oversee several projects since she began. “Lauren has been instrumental in making sure our projects are successful,” said Omega Foods founder and managing director Justina Opit. “I am so grateful to have her as our Client Lead!”

To date, Lauren has overseen the completion of a plant design review project and is currently managing a good manufacturing practices project that will improve Omega’s food safety and quality processes. “Our partnerships with PFS volunteers, TechnoServe, and USAID, play a valuable role in our success,” said Justina. “The support offered to me and my staff as we focus on improving our business is key to our growth. We look forward to continuing our partnership!”

In West Africa, where approximately two million smallholder farms are responsible for producing 70 percent of the world’s cocoa supply, cocoa farming is essential to community livelihoods. Since 2017, The Hershey Company has been working closely with PFS client Tafissa, a woman-owned company located in San Pedro, Côte d’Ivoire, which is the sole wholly Ivorian-owned processor of cocoa in the country. “Hershey has been a great partner to work with,” said PFS Côte d’Ivoire Program Manager Caroline Bamba. “From food safety and quality to marketing and business strategy, Hershey volunteers have played an integral role in addressing some of Tafissa’s challenges.”

Last year, Hershey volunteers Marc Rinaldi and Rosaline Schilling started working on a cocoa bean processing and quality management system project with Tafissa. Both of these projects play a vital role in ensuring that Tafissa remains competitive in the cocoa industry and can produce high-quality and safe products. “Having Marc and Rosaline on these project teams is very helpful,” said Caroline. “Their input is making a huge difference in understanding operational issues and fixing them.” In 2022, Hershey Director of Cocoa Partnerships Tim McCoy had the opportunity to visit the Tafissa factory. “My visit was really insightful and inspiring,” said Tim. “To see firsthand the impact that we’ve been able to have as a company on Tafissa’s operations and to see the improvements in business is very rewarding!”

In addition to providing volunteer expertise, The Hershey Company is an important buyer of Tafissa’s cocoa butter. Since the first contract began in 2018, Hershey has purchased over 350 tons of cocoa butter. “We’re proud to work with great companies like Tafissa,” said Tim. “We’ve had a great partnership over the years and look forward to seeing Tafissa continue to grow in the future and achieve even more success.”