Improving the nutritional status of malnourished children using soybean products in Rwanda

The prevalence of malnutrition is high in Rwanda especially in Ruhango District of Southern Province (23.5% in 2009). The contribution of soybean (Glycine max L), which is an important source of high quality and inexpensive protein and oil, to improvement of nutritional status of  malnourished children is unclear. Although a lot of research has been done on the production of soybean in Rwanda, research on soybean in the diet to improve the nutritional status of malnourished children has not been done. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of soybean flour and soybean milk on the nutritional status of malnourished children under the age of five. The objective was to determine the weight gain due to each treatment in comparison with the control group. This study was conducted in Ruhango District of Southern Province Rwanda. A survey was conducted where households growing and utilizing soybean were identified and  anthropometric measurements were taken on 294 children to select malnourished children. Thirty malnourished children participate in the intervention which lasted three months. One cup (250ml) of soybean milk was supplemented to ten children per day. An equal number was  supplemented with 25g of soybean flour in soup (250ml). The caregivers of the ten children in the control group received nutrition education together with the two treatment groups. Anthropometric measurements were taken every month and entered in WHO ANTHRO software. Data was analyzed by regression models using GenStat 14th edition and the magnitude of weight gain due to each of the treatments was predicted at 5% level of  significance. A linear mixed model was used to estimate and compareweight gain among children fed on soybean milk and soybean flour supplement in comparison with the control group. Soybean products were found to affect weight gain of children (P = 0.04). The mean weight gain was 0.9 (±0.5) kg within three months of intervention. The difference in weight gain between the two treatment groups was not significant. To improve the nutritional status of malnourished children under five years further intervention is needed in terms of education and training on soybean based diet formulation.Key words: soybean products, under five, Rwand

The effects of household food practices and diseases prevalence on nutritional status of under-five children in Ruhango District, Rwanda

Malnutrition in the Southern province of Rwanda is a significant public health concern. According to the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) 2010, chronic malnutrition in children under 5 years was widespread 44% children having stunting (insufficient height for age), 11 % underweight (weight for age) and 3% wasting (weight for height). Ruhango district (Southern Rwanda) had the highest malnutrition prevalence (23.5%) in 2009. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of malnutrition among Ruhango children in 2012 and to identify relationship between comorbidities occurrence, food intake and their nutrition status. A multistage sampling was done across four hierarchical levels: district, sector, cell and village, where households (N=294) with children under five years were purposively selected to form the sampling units in which the survey was conducted. The study showed that Ruhango has improved in prevention of malnutrition as compared to 2010 study. However, stunting was still a problem with those aged between 24 and 35 months being most affected. Wasting did not affect large population of the target group. Better educated household members had less malnourished kids (3%) than those who did not attend school (12%). Co-morbidities occurrence was significantly higher in malnourished children (P = 0.006). Acute Respiratory Tract Infection had the highest occurrence (52%). The children reported to have been sick had significantly lower weight than those who were normal (P<0.05). Food intake (mean dietary diversity of 25%) was not adequate for most households and only few people took protein of high quality like meat and milk. Household food practices were tested at 95% confidence interval and this affected the nutrition status of children (P = 0.02). In households with mean dietary diversity above four food groups, only 2.17 % of children were underweight as compared to 18.18% those from households with mean dietary diversity below three. Thus, interventions to eliminate malnutrition should focus on household food diversification and disease prevention.Key words: Prevalence, malnutrition, diseases, 24hr recall

Musa germplasm diversity status across a wide range of agro-ecological zones in Rwanda

Objectives: This study assessed the on-farm Musa germplasm diversity across different agro-ecologies of Rwanda and the socio-economic utilization options and selection practices that create/maintain this diversity on-farm.Methodology and results: A Musa germplasm diagnostic survey was carried out in 2007 in five Rwandan districts on a transect from Lake Kivu (West) to Kirehe district (East) bordering Tanzania. Across all sites, 118 farms, each having at least 50 mats were sampled for determining Musa diversity. Forty three Musa cultivars were recorded across the five districts. Higher diversity was observed in the east declining westwards to the Lake Kivu region as reflected by the number of cultivars and their relative abundance. Nearly half of the recorded cultivars had a low diversity index (Gini-Simpson 1-D < 0.2) and therefore prone to genetic erosion. Cooking cultivars only dominate in the district of Kirehe, while beer cultivars dominate the banana production landscape in the other districts. Taste/flavor, bunch size and market demand were the most important criteria for banana cultivar selection and thus greatly influenced cultivar conservation and distribution on-farm. Diseases such as Fusarium wilt and Xanthomonas wilt greatly contributed to genetic erosion.Conclusion and application of results: Musa cultivar diversity in Rwanda is under threat. Ex-situ conservation of the menaced cultivars is of crucial importance. Beer cultivars dominated the landscape. Cultivar diversity on-farm was influenced by the prevailing altitude; taste/flavor, bunch size, and market demand of the cultivars; and their susceptibility to diseases especially Fusarium and Xanthomonas wilt. Banana breeding or adaptation strategies therefore should take into account the farmer preferred traits. In addition, strategies for managing these diseases are critical for preventing the genetic erosion of the affected cultivars.Keywords: cultivar evenness, cultivar richness, diversity index, genetic erosio

Evaluation of mycotoxin content in soybean (Glycine max l.) grown in Rwanda

Soybean is a critical food and nutritional security crop in Rwanda. Promoted by the Rwandan National Agricultural Research System for both adults and as an infant weaning food, soybean is grown by approximately 40% of households. Soybean may be susceptible to the growth of mycotoxin-producing moulds; however, data has been contradictory. Mycotoxin contamination is a food and feed safety issue for grains and other field crops. This study aimed to determine the extent of mycotoxin contamination in soybean, and to assess people’s awareness on mycotoxins. A farm-level survey was conducted in 2015 within three agro-ecological zones of Rwanda suitable for soybean production. Soybean samples were collected from farmers (n=300) who also completed questionnaires about pre-and post-harvest farm practices, and aflatoxin awareness. The concentration of total aflatoxin in individual soybean samples was tested by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a commercially-available kit. Other mycotoxins were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS/ MS) on 10 selected sub samples. Only 7.3% of the respondents were aware of aflatoxin contamination in foods, but farmers observed good postharvest practices including harvesting the crop when the pods were dry. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), only one sample had a concentration (11 μg/kg) above the most stringent EU maximum permitted limit of 4 μg/kg. Multi-mycotoxins liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) results confirmed that soybeans had low or undetectable contamination; only one sample contained 13μg/kg of sterigmatocystine. The soybean samples from Rwanda obtained acceptably low mycotoxin levels. Taken together with other studies that showed that soybean is less contaminated by mycotoxins, these results demonstrate that soybean can be promoted as a nutritious and safe food. However, there is a general need for educating farmers on mycotoxin contamination in food and feed to ensure better standards are adhered to safeguard the health of the consumers regarding these fungal secondary metabolites.Key words: soybean, safety, mould, aflatoxin, mycotoxins, sterigmatocystine, ELISA, LC-MS/MS, Rwand

Banana market segmentation & value chain analysis for Rwanda: study report

A study was conducted in Rwanda to identify and characterize different banana market segments, with a focus on cooking and dessert bananas. The goal was to generate production and market-related information to inform the development of banana target product profiles (TPPs) for Rwanda, which can support crop development programs and other actors in meeting the needs of different end-users such as farmers, processors, and consumers. The study employed a mixed-methods approach consisting of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including a stakeholders' workshop, an experts' workshop, and semi-structured interviews with various actors along the banana value chains. The findings indicate that Banana’s importance as a food and cash crop continues to grow with time in Rwanda. With a fast-growing population, urbanization, and the influx of people from high banana eating countries in the recent past, consumption of cooking banana has widened both in quantity and variety of cooking ways (dishes). This presents both challenges and opportunities for value chain actors to meet the changing demands for new products e.g., varieties or traits. The production of cooking banana has been steadily increasing at the expense of beer banana, with both now occupying almost equal shares of planted areas. Meanwhile, the proportion of dessert banana has also seen growth over time. Nevertheless, the importance of beer banana remains strong due to better adaptability of beer cultivars in some locations, easy marketing in poorly connected regions, and its importance to the beer and wine industry in the country. Male and female farmers in Rwanda have similar preferences for cooking and dessert banana traits. However, brewing banana seems to be a male’s crop, most likely because it is mainly grown for cash rather than food for home consumption. Banana farmers tend to sell their surplus produce to multiple market options, preferring nearer markets to reduce transportation costs, which is one of the key challenges to marketing. Urban consumers' preferences for cooking and dessert banana are narrow in range and common across different groups. However, their choice of variety in the market is highly associated with prices, resulting in affluent and less affluent consumers eventually eating different varieties for both cooking and dessert banana. This leads to market segments being strongly determined by purchasing power and geographical differences. The study revealed that crop improvement has great potential to improve farmers' livelihoods by addressing production constraints and responding to changing consumer preferences. Diseases such as Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW), Fusarium Wilt, and Banana Bunchy Top Virus remain significant challenges to production. Many landrace cultivars with preferred traits are low yielding and susceptible to these diseases. Moreover, there are insufficient crop development capacities at RAB, which has resulted in no release of improved varieties for cooking banana for a long time. With little effort, Rwanda can benefit from breeding achievements that have been made in the region recently. However, this requires better regional collaboration, as well as financial and technical support for crop development work in Rwanda. This includes development of a strategy (including methodological framework) on how to prioritize, design, and involve different value chain actors in the introduction, testing, and evaluation of new germplasms

Species of the genus Helicotylenchus Steiner, 1945 from an indigenous forest in Rwanda, with description of Helicotylenchus wilmae sp. n. (Nemata: Hoplolaimidae)

Five species, one new and four known, belonging to the genus Helicotylenchus were found in samples taken in an indigenous tropical forest at the foot of Mount Sabyinyo, Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda: H californicus Sher, 1966, H. dihystera (Cobb, 1893) Sher, 1961, H. nitens Siddiqi, 1995 and H. variocaudatus (Luc, 1960) Fortuner, 1984 and H. wilmae sp. n. The new species is characterised by its body 500-675 μm long in females and 520 μm in males, stylet 25-29 μm long in females, lip region with 10 or 11 annuli, presence of fasciculi, V = 57-61, presence of males, gubernaculum with an incurved proximal end, and tail symmetrical with annulated projection. H. californicus and H. nitens are new records for Rwanda and this is the fi rst report of H. nitens outside its type locality in Cameroon

Storage of nutriments in black anthropogenic soils from the East-African Great Lakes Region

In the East-African Great Lakes Region, low crop yields due to widespread soil infertility involve difficulties to cope with demographic pressure. Banana cropping systems are widespread and crucial for people livelihood. Improving their sustainability requires a better understanding of nutrient dynamics and soil fertility. We studied highly weathered soils in four sites from Rwanda and Burundi. The soils differed in parent rock: granite, shale, and other pelitic rocks. In four homesteads at each site, soils were sampled as a function of depth and distance to farmer’s house. We determined soil physico-chemical properties and total elemental contents, as well as soil mineralogical constitution.Typical black anthropogenic soils similar to the Amazonian Dark Earths (Terra Preta) occurred where banana cropping was ancient and soils benefited from frequent supply of organic manure and ash cooking residues. Close to home buildings, the thickness of dark Ah horizons could be above 160 cm. Soil management practices and accumulation of organic matter significantly increased soil porosity and root exploration allowing enhanced uptake of water and nutrients, thereby increasing biomass of banana plants. PCA-analysis (Matlab Student Version R2007a)involving eight soil properties yielded to 78% of total variance born by the two first principal components (PC). PC1 (53%) was positively correlated to CEC and total contents of C, Ca, P, and Mg. PC2 (25%) was defined by a strong negative correlation between total Fe content and total contents of Si and K. Our data thus show that two major types of soil properties discriminated the soil samples: (1) organic matter content and major plant nutrients (Ca, Mg, P), both linked to past and current soil management practices, (2) nature of parent rock, linked to the abundance of iron and the occurrence of muscovite as residual mineral

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the East African Highland banana cropping systems as related to edapho-climatic conditions and management practices : case study of Rwanda

Root colonization, soil population density and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi were assessed in 188 banana fields in contrasting soil types across five eco-regions in Rwanda (Butare–Gitarama, Gashonga, Bugarama, Kibungo, Ruhengeri). Root colonization was observed in all banana plants, whatever the soil type, field site and farm. The population density was higher on the wetter (1 300–1 500 mm yr?1) volcanic soils (Gashonga 59.8 and Ruhengeri 48.5 propagules 100 g?1 soil, respectively) as compared to the dryer (900–1?200 mm yr?1) soils derived from schist and granite (Butare–Gitarama 2.0, Kibungo 8.5, Bugarama 14.7 propagules 100 g?1 soil). The diversity was highest in Kibungo and lowest in Butare–Gitarama (10 and 2 spore morphotypes, respectively). These results suggested that AM fungi were widespread in banana cropping systems in Rwanda, but that root colonization, population density and diversity varied considerably depending on edapho-climatic conditions (i.e. rainfall, soil texture and P content) and soil management practices (tillage)