Strengthening local supply chains is critical to ensuring food security and economic resilience, and sourcing materials and services locally not only reduces supply chain disruptions but also boosts local economic development, highlights process solutions provider Bühler Southern Africa.

The company notes that resilient food systems are vital for ensuring access to nutritious and affordable food, while building local manufacturing hubs reduces the reliance on imports, shortens supply chains and creates job opportunities.

With Africa’s food and beverage market growing rapidly – driven by population expansion and urbanisation – Bühler regards the continent as a key growth region and is dedicated to helping local businesses build resilient and competitive food-processing capabilities to meet rising demand.

The company has “ambitious” sustainability goals focused on reducing energy, water, and food waste across all operations. It, therefore, offers solutions that use less power and water while maximising raw material use.

Bühler also invests in carbon-neutral technologies and innovations that promote plant-based and alternative proteins and its collaborations with industry partners and research institutions further its efforts to help make food production more environmentally responsible.

The company explains that, in the food processing and agribusiness sectors, local supply chains and the increase in multistakeholder participation help stabilise costs, create jobs and promote knowledge transfer.

“At Bühler, we believe that collaboration is key to solving Africa’s food security and sustainability challenges and invite stakeholders across the food and beverage industry, government and civil society to join us in building resilient food systems for the future,” the company avers.

Design Innovation and Challenges

Efficiency and sustainability are “at the core” of Bühler’s equipment design, and the company considers factors such as energy consumption, waste reduction, food safety and production scalability.

The company says food processing equipment must be versatile to accommodate different raw materials and fluctuating production demands. Training and after-sales support are also essential to ensuring that Bühler equipment runs at peak efficiency in diverse operational environments.

Key challenges to production efficiency and sustainable solutions delivery in Africa include the rising cost of energy and raw materials, which impacts on the affordability of food production; outdated infrastructure; and supply chain disruptions, which, in turn, hinder efficiency.

To address these challenges, Bühler integrates energy efficient and digital technologies into its solutions; its products help businesses improve output while keeping costs and environmental impacts low by leveraging automation, predictive maintenance and waste reduction processes.

Bühler remains committed to fostering partnerships across South Africa to enhance local procurement, build capacity and drive innovation.

“Bühler supports various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives aimed at reducing hunger and malnutrition, improving agricultural productivity and promoting food education. These include partnerships with local organisations to provide training, access to resources and education for smallholder farmers.”

CSR plays a significant role in fostering innovation, creating market access for small producers, and raising awareness about nutrition and sustainable practices across the food value chain, the company concludes.