Impact of an enhanced homestead food production program on household food production and dietary intake of women aged 15-49 years and children aged 6-59 months : a pragmatic delayed cluster randomized control trial protocol

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 article outlines a proposal for scaling up the enhanced homestead food production (EHFP) program which provides agricultural inputs along with nutrition, hygiene, and gender empowerment training. This research evaluates the impact of EHFP on dietary intake of women and children and household food production. Once project areas are identified for scaling up, Helen Keller International (HKI) staff will hold meetings with chiefs of selected villages to inform them about the project objectives, strategy, and selection criteria for households and village model farms (VMFs)—demonstration farms that function as microenterprises supplying inputs and providing technical support to households in each village

Food biofortification : reaping the benefits of science to overcome hidden hunger

Biofortification is a process of increasing the density of minerals and vitamins in a food crop through conventional plant breeding, genetic engineering, or agronomic practices (primarily use of fertilizers and foliar sprays). Biofortified staple food crops, when substituted consistently for non-biofortified staple food crops, can generate measurable improvements in human nutrition and health. This monograph describes the progress made in developing, testing, and disseminating biofortified staple food crops, primarily through the use of conventional plant breeding, summarizing the activities of two consortiums of inter-disciplinary collaborating institutions led the HarvestPlus program and the International Potato Center (CIP). We focus on laying out the evidence base proving the effectiveness and impact to date of biofortified crops. Results of a large number of nutritional bioavailability and efficacy trials are summarized (Chapter 2), crop development techniques and activities are presented and variety releases documented for a dozen staple food crops in low and middle income countries (LMICs) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (Chapter 3), and strategies for promoting the uptake of specific biofortified crops are discussed, concurrent with policy advocacy to encourage key institutions to mainstream the promotion, and use of biofortified crops in their core activities (Chapters 4 and 5). Statistics will be presented on numbers of farm households adopting biofortified crops (Chapters 3 and 4), now available to farmers in 40 low and middle income countries (LMICs). Each section will outline the way forward on additional future activities required to enhance the development and impact the biofortification through conventional plant breeding. No biofortified staple food crop developed through transgenic techniques has been fully de-regulated for release to farmers in LMICs. Yet transgenic techniques hold the potential for a several-fold increase in the impact/benefits of biofortified crops. This potential is described in Chapter 6 which discusses developmental research already completed, including achieving higher densities of single nutrients than is possible with conventional breeding, combining multiple nutrient traits in single events, slowing down/reducing the level of degradation of vitamins after harvesting, and combining superior agronomic traits with nutrient traits in single events. A final chapter summarizes and discusses key questions and issues that will influence the ultimate mainstreaming of biofortified crops in food systems in LMICs and will allow maximization of the benefits of biofortification

Assessing the impacts of home fortification with micronutrient powders on anemia, growth, and diarrhoea in children aged 6 - 24 months living in rural Rwanda

Rwanda is a country with a high burden of childhood undernutrition with >40% of children 0.05). A sub-group analysis of only children who were anemic at baseline revealed greater Hb concentration in the MNP Group at 6– (mean diff: 0.27 g/dL, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.47, P=0.010) and 12– mo (mean diff: 0.24 g/dL, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.44, P=0.018). Similarly, children in the Comparison Group had higher risk of being anemic at 6– (OR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.08; P<0.05) and 12– mo (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.92, 1.89; P=0.075). At 12–mo, there were no differences in stunting prevalence between groups (P=0.750). Children receiving MNP had lower risk of cough at 6–mo (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.88), and fever at 12– mo (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.93). These findings suggest that MNP are effective at improving Hb concentration in anemic children living in Rwanda, with no effect on stunting observed. Future research should focus on determining the actual proportion of anemia attributable to micronutrient deficiencies and/or non-nutritional causes of anemia in Rwanda.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofGraduat

CIFSRF final technical report : scale up of homestead food production for improved household food security and nutrition in Cambodia - fish on farms Phase 2 : family farms for the future (CIFSRF Phase 2)

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 final report is the culmination of two Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) projects carried out in Cambodia spanning six years, aiming “to improve household food security and nutrition outcomes, livelihoods, and women’s empowerment through an enhanced homestead food production (EHFP) model using an environmentally sustainable approach.” Both phases of the project yielded a wealth of data with implications for Cambodia’s food and nutrition security strategy and for the global community. The paper reviews challenges, outcomes and recommendations. Project outputs such as policy briefs and training materials have been produced and disseminated using a wide array of media

Median Urinary Iodine Concentrations Are Indicative of Adequate Iodine Status among Women of Reproductive Age in Prey Veng, Cambodia

Iodine deficiency disorders are estimated to affect over 1.9 million people worldwide. Iodine deficiency is especially serious for women during pregnancy and lactation because of the negative consequences for both mother and infant. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) as a population-level indicator of iodine status among rural women farmers of reproductive age (18–45 years) in the province of Prey Veng, Cambodia. A total of 450 women provided a spot morning urine sample in 2012. Of those women, 93% (n = 420) were non-pregnant and 7% (n = 30) were pregnant at the time of collection. UIC was quantified using the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction with modifications. The median UIC of non-pregnant (139 μg/L) and pregnant women (157 μg/L) were indicative of adequate iodine status using the WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD epidemiological criteria for both groups (median UIC between 100–199 and 150–249 μg/L, respectively). We conclude that non-pregnant and pregnant women in rural Prey Veng, Cambodia had adequate iodine status based on single spot morning urine samples collected in 2012. More research is warranted to investigate iodine status among larger and more representative populations of women in Cambodia, especially in light of recent policy changes to the national program for universal salt iodization.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacult

Anemia and Micronutrient Status of Women of Childbearing Age and Children 6–59 Months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Little is known about the micronutrient status of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is critical for the design of effective nutrition interventions. We recruited 744 mother-child pairs from South Kivu (SK) and Kongo Central (KC). We determined hemoglobin (Hb), serum zinc, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), retinol binding protein (RBP), C-reactive protein, and α-1 acid glycoprotein concentrations. Anemia prevalence was determined using Hb adjusted for altitude alone and Hb adjusted for both altitude and ethnicity. Anemia prevalence was lower after Hb adjustment for altitude and ethnicity, compared to only altitude, among women (6% vs. 17% in SK; 10% vs. 32% in KC), children 6–23 months (26% vs. 59% in SK; 25% vs. 42% in KC), and children 24–59 months (14% vs. 35% in SK; 23% vs. 44% in KC), respectively. Iron deficiency was seemingly higher with sTfR as compared to inflammation-adjusted ferritin among women (18% vs. 4% in SK; 21% vs. 5% in KC), children 6–23 months (51% vs. 14% in SK; 74% vs. 10% in KC), and children 24–59 months (23% vs. 4% in SK; 58% vs. 1% in KC). Regardless of indicator, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) never exceeded 3% in women. In children, IDA reached almost 20% when sTfR was used but was only 10% with ferritin. Folate, B12, and vitamin A (RBP) deficiencies were all very low (Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofPharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacult

Micronutrient intake and prevalence of micronutrient inadequacy among women (15-49 y) and children (6-59 mo) in South Kivu and Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Iron biofortified beans and carotenoid enriched cassava are proposed as a solution to combat iron and vitamin A deficiencies, respectively, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To inform the need for biofortified foods, we conducted a survey in 2014 in two provinces of the DRC, South Kivu and Kongo Central. Unexpectedly, women of reproductive age (WRA; 15-49 y) and their children (6-59 m) had a low prevalence of biochemical iron and vitamin A deficiency, based on ferritin and retinol binding protein, respectively. To better understand the lack of biochemical deficiency of these nutrients, we examined the prevalence of inadequate intake for these and other select nutrients. Dietary intake was assessed using 24-hour recalls among 744 mother-child dyads. Repeat recalls on a non-consecutive day were conducted with a subsample of the study population to account for intra-individual variation and estimate usual intake. In WRA, the prevalence of inadequate iron intakes were 33% and 29% in South Kivu and Kongo Central, respecitvely. The prevalence of inadequate vitamin A intakes among WRA was low in South Kivu (18%) and negligible in Kongo Central (1%). Iron inadequacy was highest in infants (6-11 m) at 82% and 64% in South Kivu and Kongo Central, respectively. Among older children (12-59 m) in both provinces, the prevalence of iron inadequacy was similar at ~20%. There was a high prevalence of inadequate zinc intake in women and children (i.e. 79-86% among WRA and 56-91% among children 6-59 m) consistent with our findings of a high prevalence of low serum zinc in the same sample. Dietary data here corroborate the low prevalence of biochemical vitamin A deficiency but not iron. However, any change to the supply of red palm oil (primary source of vitamin A) would dramatically reduce population vitamin A intakes, thus a carotenoid enriched cassava program may be beneficial as a safety net measure. Crops biofortified with zinc also appear warranted. We caution that our findings cannot be extrapolated to the entire Congo where diverse agro-ecological landscape exist or when political and environmental shocks occur which challenge food production.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe