Acceptance and adoption of biofortified crops in low- and middle-income countries

Biofortification of staple crops through conventional plant breeding, genetic engineering or agronomic approaches, is a promising strategy for increasing dietary nutrient density to improve human health. Successful implementation depends, amongst others, on willingness of consumers and farmers to accept the newly bred crop varieties

Tecnologías poscosecha con cultivos biofortificados

La bioforti¬cación es una estrategia que utiliza el ¬tomejoramiento convencional de cultivos básicos para incrementar el contenido de nutrientes y mejorar sus características agronómicas. Es un complemento importante de otras intervenciones como la suplementación con micronutrientes y la forti¬cación de alimentos para mejorar la situación nutricional de la población. Una de las iniciativas para llegar con los cultivos bioforticados a las poblaciones más necesitadas es producir alimentos procesados industrialmente, que utilicen los cultivos bioforti¬cados como la materia prima, pero que sean elaborados con tecnologías de procesamiento que no eliminen sus ventajas de mayor densidad nutricional. En otras palabras, con el procesamiento de los cultivos bioforti¬cados se pueden obtener productos alimenticios de alto valor nutritivo, con los que sea más fácil lograr un consumo masivo y tener un mayor impacto con la estrategia de biofortificación

Retention of zinc in biofortified rice and maize during processing and cooking

Biofortification is considered a complementary strategy to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle -income countries. Rice and maize are two sta¬ble crops commonly consumed in Latin America where zinc deficiency is com¬mon and biofortified rice and maize could potentially assist in reducing these deficiencies. Improved biofortified varieties contain higher levels of zinc, but not much is known about the effect on zinc retention or on phytate reduction when using these crops in common recipes. Also the biofortified maize contains a bet¬ter protein profile with higher concentrations of tryptophan and lysine, which could be influenced during processing

Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon

Few longitudinal studies link agricultural biodiversity, land use and food access in rural landscapes. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that, in a context of economic change, cash crop expansion is associated with deforestation, reduced agrobiodiversity and changes in food access. For this purpose, we analysed data collected from the same 53 upland and floodplain mestizo households in Ucayali, Peru, in 2000 and 2015. We found an emerging transition towards less diversified food access coupled with loss of forest cover and reduced agricultural biodiversity. In 2015, diets appeared to rely on fewer food groups, fewer food items, and on products increasingly purchased in the market compared to 2000. Wild fruits and plants were mentioned, but rarely consumed. Agricultural production systems became more specialised with a shift towards commercial crops. Peak deforestation years in the 15-year period appeared linked with incentives for agricultural expansion. Our results suggest an overall trend from diversified productive and “extractive” systems and more diverse food access, towards specialized productive systems, with less diverse food access and stronger market orientation (both in production and consumption). The assumption in the food and agricultural sciences that increased income and market-orientation is linked to improved food security, is challenged by our integrated analyses of food access, agrobiodiversity, land use and forest cover. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal, multidimensional, systemic analyses, with major implications for land use, food and health policies. The potential risks of parallel homogenisation of diets and agricultural production systems require interdisciplinary research and policies that promote integrated landscape approaches for sustainable and inclusive food systems

Carotenoids in Cassava Roots

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a preventable tragedy that affects millions of people, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. A large proportion of these people rely on diets based on cassava as a source of calories. During the last two decades, significant efforts have been made to identify sources of germplasm with high pro-vitamin A carotenoids (pVAC) and then use them to develop cultivars with a nutritional goal of 15 μg g−1 of β-carotene (fresh weight basis) and good agronomic performance. The protocols for sampling roots and quantifying carotenoids have been improved. Recently, NIR predictions began to be used. Retention of carotenoids after different root processing methods has been measured. Bioavailability studies suggest high conversion rates. Genetic modification has also been achieved with mixed results. Carotenogenesis genes have been characterized and their activity in roots measured

Estado nutricional de adultos y niños menores a 5 años en dos zonas de Guatemala: Resultados del proyecto “Él y Ella, tiempo e ingreso: dinámicas intra-hogar e impacto sobre la nutrición de hogares agrícolas"

Proyecto IMMANAEn esta nota informativa, explicamos los cálculos del índice de masa corporal (IMC) para adultos en hogares agrícolas de Guatemala, así como también la implementación de indicadores para evaluar el estado nutricional de los niños menores a 5 años (talla por edad, peso por edad y peso por altura). Este trabajo es parte del proyecto “Él y Ella, tiempo e ingreso: dinámicas intra-hogar e impacto sobre la nutrición de hogares agrícolas”, liderado por el Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) y la Universidad de Florida1 con fondos de la iniciativa de investigación competitiva para desarrollar métodos y métricas innovadores para las acciones de agricultura y nutrición (IMMANA Grants)2 La prevalencia de desnutrición crónica en niños guatemaltecos menores a 5 años es de 46% según el Ministerio de Salud Pública de Guatemala (INE, 2015). Desnutrición crónica se refiere a la talla insuficiente respecto a la edad y es consecuencia de condiciones socioeconómicas inadecuadas que están asociadas con una deficiente nutrición y salud de la madre, las cuales se reflejan en el cuidado inadecuado de los niños. La desnutrición crónica impide que los niños desarrollen plenamente su potencial físico y cognitivo (WHO, 2018). Al mismo tiempo y paradójicamente, Guatemala también muestra una presencia significante de sobrepeso y obesidad entre su población. La prevalencia de sobrepeso en adultos es de 56% y de obesidad 21% (WHO, 2017)

Unravelling adolescent girls’ aspirations in Nepal:Status and associations with individual-, household-, and community-level characteristics

Background Adolescents’ aspirations have potential to influence their present and future well-being. Limited knowledge exists on adolescent girls’ aspirations and their determinants, particularly in low-income contexts. Methods and findings Using cross-sectional data, collected in 2018 in Nepal, within the Suaahara II Adolescent Panel Survey, (n = 840), adolescent girls’ aspirations in several domains—education, occupation, marriage, fertility, health, and nutrition–were described. Regression models were estimated to explore associations between individual, household and community characteristics and these aspirations for all adolescents and separately for younger (10–14 years) and older (15–19 years) girls. Age, school attendance, and self-efficacy, as well as household wealth, caste/ethnicity, size, and agro-ecological zone of residence were significantly associated with aspirations, although effect sizes and significance varied by aspiration domain and age group. Conclusions Findings underscore the curtailing effect of poverty on aspirations and the dynamic nature of aspirations. Initiatives to foster girls’ aspirations must address both individual and contextual factors

Nutritional status of adults and children under 5 years of age in two areas of Guatemala Project results for “His and Hers, time and income: how intra-household dynamics impact nutrition in agricultural households”.

Proyecto IMMANAIn this info-note, we explain the body mass index calculations (BMI) for adults in agricultural Guatemalan households, as well as the implementation of indicators to assess the nutritional status of children under 5 years (height for age, weight for age and weight for height). This work is part of the project “His and Hers, time and income: How intra-household dynamics impact nutrition in agricultural households,” led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the University de Florida 1 with funding from the program Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA).2 The prevalence of stunting in Guatemalan children under 5 years is 46 percent, according to Guatemala’s Ministry of Public Health (INE, 2015). Stunting refers to insufficient height with respect to age. It is a consequence of inadequate socioeconomic conditions that are often associated with insufficient nutrition and health of the mother, which is in turn reflected in inadequate care of the infant. Stunting prevents children from fully developing their physical and cognitive potential (WHO, 2018). Simultaneously and paradoxically, Guatemala also shows a significant presence of overweight and obesity rates among its population. The prevalence of overweight in adults is 56% and of obesity is 21% (WHO, 2017)

Retención de β-caroteno en preparación de Fariña y Casabe

Con el apoyo del programa de bioforti¬cación de HarvestPlus, el Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) trabaja actualmente en la generación de nuevas variedades de yuca amarilla con altos contenidos de β -caroteno con el objetivo de combatir la defi¬ciencia de vitamina A en el mundo. Las variedades de yuca antes de ser liberadas para su consumo deben presentar además de altos contenidos de carotenos, un buen comportamiento agronómico y bajo contenido de cianuros. El objetivo de este trabajo es incentivar el consumo de yuca amarilla bioforti¬cada por medio de su uso en recetas de la región de centro y Suramérica (casabe y fariña), mejorando la calidad nutricional de los productos. En este trabajo se evaluó la retención aparente usando 2 recetas originarias del Amazonas para fariña y casabe, utilizando yuca amarilla bioforticada

Gender equity considerations in food environments of low and middle income countries: A scoping review

This study presents the results of a scoping literature review of gender equity in food environments of low- and middle-income countries. We start by examining the concept of food environments; and find that dividing the concept into two parts, one related to the food supply chain, and the other related to consumer behavior is useful for categorizing literature. One key finding is that although we specifically concentrated our search on articles related to gender in the food environment, the articles found focus more on the food supply chain and/or consumer behavior rather than specifically on the food environment. Most of the articles related to the food supply chain are based on studies conducted in Africa while most of the consumer behavior articles are from studies done in Asia. While gender equity is a topic of interest and is often said to be a priority for international development, relatively few articles were found about how gender equity impacts and/or is impacted by food environments. Those that do exist suggest that a food systems approach to healthier diets consider gender roles and responsibilities (i.e. gender division of labor and time use concerns), gendered access to and control over resources, and gender in decision-making processes. Gender norms related to these issues can present barriers to achieving the desired outcomes of food system interventions; on the other hand, they may also offer opportunities or clues about how to better move forward to achieve both food and nutrition security, and gender equity and equality goals