Brief review on emerging trends in global polyphenol research

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Polyphenols are the most prevalent antioxidant phytochemicals with many health benefits ascribed to their use. An expansion of the global polyphenol economy is also due to the demand and application of polyphenols as food additives (e.g., in baked products, noodles, and pasta). This report combines available scientific knowledge on factors that dictate polyphenol synthesis in plants, their extraction methods, and utilization. The report also provides information on global polyphenol research and project funding history, which could serve as a critical reference for researchers world wide. Screening of traditional edible plants that have the potential of high yield of polyphenols should continue

Final report of agronomic trial and water management of fertilizer micro-dosing technology on traditional leafy vegetables

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)This trial tested and fine-tuned fertilizer micro-dosing and application (using different rates and time intervals), on the yield and quality of Indigenous vegetables. Results show that fertilizer micro-dosing can be used to sustainably produce these vegetables when combined with organic manure at the rate of 5 tons per ha. Soils of both forest and savanna ecosystems were able to sustain high vegetable yield under fertilizer micro-dose rate at 40 kg/ha over the three years of study when compared with the farmers' recommended rates. Capillary irrigation can reduce both the volume of required irrigation water, and women’s workloads

Influence of nitrogen fertilizer micro-dosing on phenolic content, antioxidant, and anticholinesterase properties of aqueous extracts of three tropical leafy vegetables

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Substituting synthetic antioxidant food additives with naturally occurring plant antioxidants could promote the production of safer food systems. The combined use of organic manure with urea fertilizer led to enhanced antioxidant and anti-AChE activities of the leaf polyphenolic extracts. This detailed paper demonstrates how vegetable leaf polyphenolic compounds show free radical scavenging and other antioxidant properties that are comparable to those of butylated hydroxytoluene, a synthetic antioxidant agent. Results indicate that the vegetable leaf extracts are potential agents that can be used both as effective food preservatives and bioactive agents against neurodegenerative diseases

Nigerian women reap benefits from indigenous vegetables

Despite their potential, research has failed to prioritize indigenous vegetable species for improving food security, nutrition and income. The project worked with 1,200 farmers (50% women) who have formed 22 vegetable cooperative groups. Radio programs on popular FM stations in south-western Nigeria created awareness on production, utilization, and nutritional and health benefits of underutilized vegetables, reaching over 3 million listeners. There has been rapid expansion of the project sites, with more farmers joining the training. Given the successes recorded in the field in south-western Nigeria, the introduction of this system is adaptable to other areas of Africa

Advanced tools for food security research: web-based GIS mapping and synchrotron-based analysis for scaling up the MicroVeg agronomic innovations

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)The new WebGIS platform allows visualization of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data compiled from online sources as well project research. Part of the larger project “Synergizing fertilizer micro-dosing and indigenous vegetable production to enhance food and economic security of West African farmers (CIFSRF Phase 2)” it contains climate, topographical, infrastructure, soil data and all of MicroVeg agronomic data, adjusted into two seasons (wet vs. dry) three ecozones (rainforest, savannah, and sudano savannah) for the four vegetable crops of the project. This allows estimates of vegetable yields, water requirements, and microdose fertilizer rates anywhere in Benin Republic or Nigeria. See: http://webgis.usask.ca/microveg

Synergizing fertilizer micro-dosing and indigenous vegetable production to enhance food and economic security of West African farmers : final report

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)This annex answers questions that arose from baseline reports regarding: educational level of farmers; land acquisition; land area under vegetable cultivation; current use of fertilizers by farmers and use of irrigation; ease of water supply and access; costs associated with accessing water; household consumption of vegetables; and disputes in relation to the use of irrigation water, with emphasis on gender distribution. This is a detailed report on surveys, with data tables included. The Nigeria-Canada Indigenous Vegetables Project (NiCanVeg) successfully developed new technologies that improved farming practices, post-harvest handling and value addition for Indigenous vegetables

Marketing of Under-utilised Indigenous Vegetables (IV) in South Western Nigeria : A Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis

This is part of an IDRC sponsored study - CIFSRF project on Indigenous Vegetables in South West NigeriaMainstream research systems have not given Indigenous vegetables (IV) priority in crop development. Most of the rural dwellers who gather them for food and nutrient supplies are women, and many of these crops are gathered with great difficulty. The presentation refers to findings of a study which assessed the socio-economic features, marketing channels, and gender characteristics of the marketers of IVs in southwestern Nigeria. Photos of the vegetables are also presented

VegNews : a quarterly newsletter of Ni-Can-Veg Project, issue no. 1, December 2011

Ibis edition contains the news of inception workshop of Ni-Can-Veg project 106511 jointly funded by IDRC and CIDA under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), inauguration of enumerators, some -preliminary field experiences and the photoscope section entertains

VegNews : a quarterly newsletter of Ni-Can-Veg Project, issue no. 4, September 2012

Building internal capacity for strengthening field performance is vital to the operation of Ni-Can Veg Project. This edition offers insight into the team’s efforts towards developing a gender framework for the project. It also covers some aspect of on-station experimental and field activities

VegNews : a quarterly newsletter of Ni-Can-Veg Project, issue no. 2, March 2012

This Edition of VegNews is specially produced to present some interesting field experiences during the baseline study and commencement of field work on Project 106511. The purpose of baseline study phase is to compile baseline information that will be used for gender analyses and provide input into other phases of the study. In addition, the baseline information will form the basis against which we can compare information gathered at the end of the study to assess the impacts of the study