Reducing child undernutrition through dietary diversification, reduced aflatoxin exposure, and improved hygiene practices: the immediate impacts in central Tanzania

Open Access Article; Published online: 28 Nov 2019The study aimed to quantify the immediate effects of dietary diversification, food safety, and hygiene interventions on child undernutrition in four rural villages in Kongwa district of central Tanzania. One hundred mothers with their children of less than 24 months old were recruited for this study. The difference-in-difference (DID) method was used to assess the effects of intensive intervention through a learning-by-doing process on the topic of aflatoxin free diversified food utilization and improved hygiene practices. Periodic anthropometric measurements were conducted on the 0th, 7th, 14th, and 21st days, and DID estimator showed the significant and positive average marginal effects of the intervention on Z-Scores being 0.459, 0.252, and 0.493 for wasting, stunting, and underweight, respectively. Notably, at the end of the study, the mean aflatoxin M1 level in urine samples decreased by 64% in the intervention group, while it decreased by 11% in the control group. The study provides quantitative evidence on intensive 21-day training for mothers incorporating integrated technologies yielded positive impacts on their children’s nutritional outcomes

How to Reduce Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnuts and Maize A Guide for Extension Workers

Many agricultural commodities are susceptible to several diseases caused by fungi, viruses and insect pests. These diseases may also contaminate the crops with deadly toxins. Fungi are of particular concern. Many fungi are free-living organisms capable of surviving in the environment (soil, air and water) and can easily find their way into crop products especially when the weather conditions are suitable. Many of these fungi are free-living organisms and can survive in the environment even without the crops we grow. The toxins produced by fungi are called mycotoxins (Myco=fungus; toxin=poison)..

Genotype-by-environment interactions for grain yield of Valencia groundnut genotypes in East and Southern Africa

Grain yield is a quantitatively inherited trait in groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) and subject to genotype by environment interactions. Groundnut varieties show wide variation in grain yield across different agro-ecologies. The objectives of this study were to evaluate Valencia groundnut genotypes for yield stability and classify environments to devise appropriate breeding strategies. Seventeen multi-location trials were conducted in six countries, viz., Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia, from 2013 to 2016. The experiments were laid out following a resolvable incomplete block design, with two replications at each location (hereafter referred to as ‘environments’) using 14 test lines and two standard checks. The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis was conducted. Variation attributable to environments, genotypes and genotype × environment interaction for grain yield was highly significant (P<0.001). Genotype, environment and genotype × environment interactions accounted for 7%, 53 % and 40% of the total sum of squares respectively. Superior-performing genotypes possessing high to moderate adaptability and stability levels included ICGV-SM 0154, ICGV-SM 07539, ICGV-SM 07536, ICGV-SM 7501, ICGV-SM 99568 and ICGV SM 07520. Nachingwea 2013 in Tanzania, Nakabango 2014 in Uganda and Chitedze 2015 in Malawi were the most representative and discriminative environments. Considering the implications of interactions for Valencia groundnut breeding in East and Southern Africa we propose that different varieties should be targeted for production in different environments and at the same time used for breeding in specific environments

Reducing Child Undernutrition through Dietary Diversification, Reduced Aflatoxin Exposure, and Improved Hygiene Practices: The Immediate Impacts in Central Tanzania

The study aimed to quantify the immediate effects of dietary diversification, food safety, and hygiene interventions on child undernutrition in four rural villages in Kongwa district of central Tanzania. One hundred mothers with their children of less than 24 months old were recruited for this study. The difference-in-difference (DID) method was used to assess the effects of intensive intervention through a learning-by-doing process on the topic of aflatoxin free diversified food utilization and improved hygiene practices. Periodic anthropometric measurements were conducted on the 0th, 7th, 14th, and 21st days, and DID estimator showed the significant and positive average marginal effects of the intervention on Z-Scores being 0.459, 0.252, and 0.493 for wasting, stunting, and underweight, respectively. Notably, at the end of the study, the mean aflatoxin M1 level in urine samples decreased by 64% in the intervention group, while it decreased by 11% in the control group. The study provides quantitative evidence on intensive 21-day training for mothers incorporating integrated technologies yielded positive impacts on their children’s nutritional outcomes

Phenotypic correlation, path coefficient and multivariate analysis for yield and yield-associated traits in groundnut accessions

Yield is a complex quantitative trait largely influenced by the environment. Direct selection for grain yield is less efficient in improving groundnut productivity. The selection efficiency can be enhanced by exploiting the relationship between yield and its related traits. Moreover, the use of genetically diverse parents is essential to generate genetic variation for successful selection of genotypes in a breeding program. Therefore, the study aimed at analysing the relationship between grain yield and its related traits and determining the morphological diversity among selected groundnut genotypes under natural rosette disease (GRD) infestation. The genotypes were evaluated in a 7 × 4 alpha lattice design with three replications. Data were collected on yield and yield-related traits. Correlation, path coefficient and multivariate analyses were done. The results revealed that yield was directly associated with plant height, number of pods per plant, hundred seed weight, GRD incidence and number of secondary branches. Therefore, these traits should be considered in selection when improving groundnut for yield. Cluster analysis revealed existence of diversity among the evaluated groundnut genotypes with no influence of geographical origin to the clustering pattern. The Principal Components Analysis (PCA) biplot was effective in showing the genetic distance among the genotypes and the results were comparable with those of the cluster analysis. Moreover, Shannon-Weaver diversity indices revealed existence of high diversity among the genotypes, an implication that groundnut improvement for yield is possible through selection in breeding

Assessment of genetic variability among groundnut accessions under natural rosette disease infestation in Malawi

Groundnut production in East and South African region is low due to several constraints. Success in development of resilient varieties rides on genetic diversity in available germplasm for key traits in question. This study was undertaken to dissect the magnitude of variability among groundnut accessions. The experimental design was an alpha lattice design replicated thrice. Significant differences in yield traits were observed among the accessions. There was high phenotypic (PCV) and genotypic (GCV) coefficient of variation in most of the traits except for the number of primary branches and shelling percentage. A combination of high heritability and genetic advance was recorded for the number of secondary branches, height, seed yield and rosette incidence. This indicates that it is possible to carry out phenotypic selection based on the mean for successful improvement of yield and resistance to rosette disease

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Malawian Farmers on Pre- and Post-Harvest Crop Management to Mitigate Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnut, Maize and Sorghum—Implication for Behavioral Change

A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study was conducted in three districts of Malawi to test whether the training had resulted in increased knowledge and adoption of recommended pre- and post-harvest crop management practices, and their contribution to reducing aflatoxin contamination in groundnut, maize and sorghum. The study was conducted with 900 farmers at the baseline and 624 farmers at the end-line, while 726 and 696 harvested crop samples were collected for aflatoxin testing at the baseline and end-line, respectively. Results show that the knowledge and practice of pre- and post-harvest crop management for mitigating aflatoxin were inadequate among the farmers at the baseline but somewhat improved after the training as shown at the end-line. As a result, despite unfavorable weather, the mean aflatoxin contamination level in their grain samples decreased from 83.6 to 55.8 ppb (p < 0.001). However, it was also noted that increased knowledge did not significantly change farmers’ attitude toward not consuming grade-outs because of economic incentive incompatibility, leaving potential for improving the practices further. This existing gap in the adoption of aflatoxin mitigation practices calls for approaches that take into account farmers needs and incentives to attain sustainable behavioral change

How immediate and significant is the outcome of training on diversified diets, hygiene and food safety? An effort to mitigate child undernutrition in rural Malawi

Objective The present study examined the impacts of training on nutrition, hygiene and food safety designed by the Nutrition Working Group, Child Survival Collaborations and Resources Group (CORE). Design Adapted from the 21d Positive Deviance/Hearth model, mothers were trained on the subjects of appropriate complementary feeding, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices, and aflatoxin contamination in food. To assess the impacts on child undernutrition, a randomised controlled trial was implemented on a sample of 179 mothers and their children (<2 years old) in two districts of Malawi, namely Mzimba and Balaka. Settings A 21d intensive learning-by-doing process using the positive deviance approach. Subjects Malawian children and mothers. Results Difference-in-difference panel regression analysis revealed that the impacts of the comprehensive training were positive and statistically significant on the Z-scores for wasting and underweight, where the effects increased constantly over time within the 21d time frame. As for stunting, the coefficients were not statistically significant during the 21d programme, although the level of significance started increasing in 2 weeks, indicating that stunting should also be alleviated in a slightly longer time horizon. Conclusions The study clearly suggests that comprehensive training immediately guides mothers into improved dietary and hygiene practices, and that improved practices take immediate and progressive effects in ameliorating children’s undernutrition