**2. Fortification of indegenous meals with soybean for effective food security in changing climates. Introduction**

According to FAO(2001) across the African continent , protein energy malnutrition affect 40% of children under three years. This situation may not be unconnected with the weaning culture. A semisolid cereal starch reconstituted to a gruel is the major weaning food. The fermented cereal starch is stored for a few days by leaving in fresh water that must be changed every other day. The high moisture content(78-80%) of the extracted starch paste predisposes it to quick microbial and other physico-chemical degradation resulting in low shelf-life. Due to low shelf life and low nutrient density there is great imperative in complementation of cereal weaning foods with legumes in developing nations in the complementation of available weaning foods in developing nations.

While Development of drought resistant soybean varieties is imperative in view of the challenges of changing climate, however the greatest challenge to soybean utilization remained the significant changes in the colour taste and texture of foods complemented with soybean flour. Flours from tuber crops like cassava yam etc and pulp fruits such as plantain and banana flours loss of firmness and moudability of reconstituted dumplings remained a major challenge in the utilization of soybeans and its products. According to Anuonye (2001) development of weaning foods of cereal /soybean blends is greatly impeded by the instability of soybean products at ambient temperatures, thus posing serious storage problems. This is made worse by unstable electric power supply, ruling out refrigeration and other cold preservation considerations at the house hold and small scale industrial levels. Complementing cereal flours with roasted soybean flours would have been an alternative but the coarseness of the end product and inherent raw soybean after taste(beany flavor) limits the acceptability of the end products.

Fortification of weaning foods of cereal origin with soybean and development of new weaning foods with soybean incorporation and having extended shelf life would be one sure way of combating the weaning food crisis in several developing nations. This section presents the process technologies for producing multi purpose soybean flour and cereal starch flours by ambient drying to give a whiter flour end product with reduced changes in colour perception. It also presents the process technologies of fortifying tubers and fruits with the multi purpose soybean flour for enhanced nutrition. The functional, nutritional, pasting and other organoleptic properties of such fortified products are also reported.
