BOZEMAN — As a graduate student at Montana State University, Chidimma Ifeh has helped smallholder women farmers in Senegal develop Indigenous fermented beverages. She also previously collaborated with rural West African farmers to address post-harvest crop losses through actions such as developing biscuits made with high-quality cassava flour.

This summer, Ifeh continued to build on her efforts related to food product development and economic stability through a grant-funded project to research how Indigenous cocoa farmers in her home country of Nigeria have passed down wisdom from one generation to another. She is using the results of her interviews with farmers to create educational resources to share with the global food science community.

With the help of a $14,500 Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Research Grant, Ifeh traveled to Nigeria in June to interview cocoa farmers and chocolatiers. The award from the American Heritage Chocolate Society hosted by Mars Wrigley supports innovation in the areas of chocolate history research, cocoa science, scholarship and education. 

As part of her work, Ifeh interviewed four cocoa farmers in southwestern Nigeria’s Ondo State to learn about so-called “bean-to-bar” practices and innovations that have made the process of turning cocoa beans into chocolate more efficient. She also interviewed two chocolatiers in southwestern Nigeria and two in Montana to learn more about chocolate production, including where the chocolatiers source their cocoa beans.

Ifeh said one of her main goals was to learn how Indigenous wisdom might have interacted with modern science to shape the evolution of the cocoa industry in Nigeria, and she was especially interested in innovations that have made the industry more sustainable.

“I’m enjoying this work,” she said. “It’s bringing chocolate to life.”

With her field research concluded, Ifeh is now working with a team to write three instructional case studies about cocoa bean-to-bar practices.The online resource will be shared with food science faculty through a USDA-funded Higher Education Challenge grant, for which MSU is one of the collaborating awardees under the leadership of Wan-Yuan Kuo. Ifeh is also creating a short video about cocoa farming and the chocolate industry in Nigeria, and she will share her results at the Heritage Chocolate Society annual meeting and submit a poster for inclusion in an upcoming Institute of Food Technologists’ conference.

“The Indigenous storytelling in this project, to share how (corporations) and farmers can work synergistically to care for the land, will inspire food professionals to pursue a healthier value chain and foster trust between Indigenous communities, corporate and consumers for reciprocal sustainable development,” Ifeh wrote in her grant application.   

Ifeh also noted in her application that the work is important because Indigenous people make up a disproportionate percentage of the world’s extreme poor, yet their lands retain a majority of the world’s remaining biodiversity.

“Such disproportionality underlines the urgent need to include Indigenous voices in the agricultural value chain, so decisions are made not just for consumers but for the greater society and ecosystems,” Ifeh wrote.

Ifeh has a bachelor’s degree in food science and technology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria. She came to MSU in the fall of 2022 as a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in sustainable food systems in the College of Education, Health and Human Development. She said she was drawn to the university for its high regard as a research institution and to the work of Kuo, associate professor in the Department of Food Systems, Nutrition and Kinesiology, who is Ifeh’s adviser. Kuo directs the MSU Food Product Development Lab, of which Ifeh is a member.

Last fall, Ifeh decided to pursue a doctorate at MSU through its individual interdisciplinary Ph.D. program, which will allow her to combine the study of sustainable food systems, statistics and computer science.

As an MSU student, Ifeh has received recognition for her work in food product development and for communicating about her research in an engaging way.

She led a team that placed third in the Institute of Food Technologists' Developing Solutions for Developing Countries Competition with a presentation about “Frutta-Sorgho: An Instantly Nutritious Blend of Indigenous Knowledge and Western Technology Co-Developed with Senegal Women Farmers.” She also placed first earlier this year in both the College of Education, Health and Human Development’s and the university-wide 3-Minute Thesis competition, where graduate students distill their highly technical thesis projects into engaging, 180-second presentations as a way to promote effective research communication.

Also this year, Ifeh co-founded a team that was named a semifinalist in MSU’s $75K Venture Competition for its venture, “Agri-Productive Farmers Foundation.” Hosted by the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the MSU Blackstone LaunchPad, the competition enables students, faculty, staff and alumni of MSU and the University of Montana to pitch their business ventures to a panel of judges that provides feedback and distributes $75,000 among the winners.

In addition, last summer Ifeh completed an internship funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and offered through the Montana Pollution Prevention program, which partners with the Food Product Development Lab to match MSU students with Montana businesses to develop industry-tailored solutions that reduce energy and water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The 11-week internship includes one week of training with the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center. Ifeh was paired with Bozeman-based Front Porch Chocolate.

Ifeh credits her adviser and other faculty and staff at MSU with helping her to identify opportunities and feel empowered to go after them.

“Lots of grad students think grant writing is for professors,” she said. “I would like students to know that they can – with good mentorship – write grants and get awarded, too.”

Ifeh said her own mentors, such as Kuo, helped push her out of her comfort zone to pursue opportunities that have broadened her outlook. She said her other mentors include Mary Miles, associate dean of research in the College of Education, Health and Human Development; Elizabeth Bird, project development and grants specialist in the College of Education, Health and Human Development; Jim Kamman, consultant to the food and consumer products industries; Alison Harmon, vice president for research and economic development; Nika Stoop, assistant director of the Center for Faculty Excellence; Gilbert Kalonde, program leader in curriculum and instruction; and Tricia Seifert, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Development.

“A lot of these competitions I never would have done without their support,” Ifeh said.

For her part, Kuo described Ifeh as a go-getter.

“She is always up for new challenges and wants to learn but also sticks with her committed tasks with persistence and exemplary work ethic,” Kuo said. “With her remarkable initiative and public speaking talent, she is also very humble and mature.”

In the future, Ifeh hopes to continue to look for ways that technology can help the food industry.

“It’s not just about food production or food product development, but it’s leveraging the modern (artificial intelligence) technology to unlock the nutritional potential of indigenous foods, to support food security,” Ifeh said.

Kuo noted that Ifeh has the potential to make great impacts with her work.

“What she studies can be a game changer, bridging modern technology with Indigenous wisdom and sharing the outcomes with students globally, especially from Indigenous cultures,” Kuo said.

Ifeh said that a long-term career goal would be to work as a researcher in food product development, ideally in a position that finds ways for researchers and industry members to collaborate.