Role of wild, neglected and underutilized foods in reducing the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet in the eastern region of Baringo District, Kenya

The role of wild, neglected and underutilized species in achieving a cost reduction of a nutritionally adequate diet in the dry and wet season was investigated in the eastern region of Baringo District in Kenya. Baringo District is situated in the arid and semi-arid ecological zones of Kenya and local populations in the study region mainly include (agro-)pastoralists relying on supplementing their diet with food collected from neighboring forests and fields

Role of wild, neglected and underutilized foods in reducing the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet in the eastern region of Baringo District, Kenya (presentation)

The role of wild, neglected and underutilized species (NUS) in achieving a cost reduction of a nutritionally adequate diet in the dry and wet season was investigated in the eastern region of Baringo District in Kenya. Baringo District is situated in the arid and semi-arid ecological zones of Kenya and local populations in the study region mainly include (agro-)pastoralists relying on supplementing their diet with food collected from neighboring forests and fields. Ethnobiological surveys identified 5 wild fruit and vegetable species based on nutrient content and local population’s preferences from a total of 340 species of edible plants and animals inventoried in both the dry (February/March) and wet (July/August) season in 2012. The 5 wild plant species (Solanum nigrum L., Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile, Ximenia americana L., Berchemia discolor (Klotzsch) Hemsl. and Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.) were included in Save the Children’s Cost of Diet tool (CoD). This linear programming tool estimated the lowest cost diet that meets the energy requirements and recommended nutrient intakes for mothers and children aged 6 to 24 months, taking into account the price and availability of local foods during dry and wet seasons as well as constraints on the ‘locally accepted’ amount of each food that can be included in the diet. This is called a locally appropriate, cost-optimized, nutritious diet (LACON) diet. The program was run with and without the selected wild species. The LACON diets without the 5 wild species could not meet the recommended nutrient intakes for several essential micronutrients. During the dry season, the diet of an infant aged 6 to 8 months did not meet the recommended nutrient intakes for iron, zinc, vitamin B6 and calcium; and iron was limited for all age groups (women and children). The wet season was better for meeting recommended micronutrient, but iron was limited for women and infants aged 6 to 11 months and zinc was limited for infants aged 6 to 11 months

Role of wild, neglected and underutilized foods in reducing the cost of a diet in the eastern region of Baringo District, Kenya

Poster presented at Grand Challenges Explorations Agriculture & Nutrition Awardee Convening. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Seattle (USA) 13-15 Mar 201