Indigenous and neglected crops promotion for resilient food systems in Southern Africa (INCrease)

The goal of INCrease is to generate, systematize, and transfer knowledge around the production, marketing, and utilisation of indigenous neglected crops (INC). The project aims to raise awareness of their value, unlock their potential for sustainable and resilient food systems, and provide concrete economic, environmental, social, and health insights to strengthen INC value chains. It explores how shifts in local and national food governance can enhance INC uptake and, in turn, improve food and nutrition security as well as community well-being, particularly in disadvantaged areas. This work is carried out through transdisciplinary collaboration between five universities—Fort Hare (UFH), Hohenheim (UHOH), Mpumalanga (UMP), Western Cape (UWC), and Zululand (UniZulu)—together with smallholder cooperatives, value chain actors, and community stakeholders in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, with outreach extending across Southern Africa.


This project is supported by funds of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) based on a decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany via the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE).