Wild edible plant use in Tshopo District, DR Congo

Poster presented at International Conference Nutrition and Food Production in the Congo Basin. Brussels (Belgium), 30 Sep-01 Oct 201

African botanical heritage for new crop development

The African continent is rather poor in plant biodiversity when compared to other continents on and around the equator. Nevertheless, lots of useful plant species have been domesticated from Sub-Sahara Africa material. Ethnobotanical research offers the possibility to collect information on use and utility of wild plant species from traditional people often living in or close to a challenging natural environment. This type of information then allows us to find new candidates for domestication and subsequent crop development for income generation and increased food security. The case of Gnetum africanum illustrates the practical implications of developing a lesser-known species, and highlights the institutional problems that go together with niche crop development. The latter are subsequently presented and discussed in extenso, and solutions proposed in a second part of this review text

Dietary contribution of wild edible plants to women's diets in the buffer zone around the Lama forest, Benin - an underutilized potential

Rural populations in developing countries face food insecurity and malnutrition despite being surrounded by extraordinary biodiversity. The international community increasingly recognizes the role of agro-biodiversity and Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) in their contributions to managing risk and building resilience and sustainable food systems. Studies on real contributions of WEPs to peoples’ diets, however, are uncommon. This study assessed the contribution of WEPs to diets of women living in the buffer zone of the Lama forest in southern Benin. During the long dry season, a cross-sectional survey was carried out on 120 women, covering their knowledge and attitudes towards WEPs and two non-consecutive 24-h recalls of their WEP consumption. Contribution of WEPs to total dietary intake was low due to infrequent use and small portion sizes. The highest nutrient contributions of WEPs measured were for copper (13.9 %) and iron (4.6 %) but the majority of the women had intake values below the Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) for these elements - copper 65 % and iron 91 % Women’s dietary diversity was significantly higher among WEP consumers than non-consumers, mainly due to higher consumption of dark green leafy vegetables. WEPs were less consumed as a replacement for other foods but rather as a complement to the diet. The study population generally appreciated WEPs, while some constraints were reported regarding preparation, conservation and commercialization. Before widely promoting WEP consumption in order to exploit their dietary potential, additional investigations are needed into their nutrient composition, cultural and market value, their sustainable harvest levels and possible integration into innovative farming systems

Community-based development of agricultural activities aiming to improve dietary diversity in Western Kenya [poster]

This research examines the suitability of community-based participatory workshops for developing agricultural activities in order to diversify diets. It represents the second part of a project that consists of a diagnostic phase documenting agricultural biodiversity and nutrition (phase I), participatory development of activities to improve nutrition (phase II) and participatory implementation of the activities (phase III). The study is part of the Agriculture for Nutrition and Health CGIAR Research Program

Community-based development of agricultural activities aiming to improve dietary diversity in Western Kenya

This research examines the suitability of community-based participatory workshops for developing agricultural activities in order to diversify diets. The study represents the second phase of a project consisting of a diagnostic phase covering agricultural biodiversity, diets and nutrition (phase I), participatory development of community activities (phase II) and a participatory implementation of the activities (phase III). The project is part of the nutrition cross-cutting cluster work within Humidtropics, a CGIAR research programme (CRP). A series of six participatory workshops was carried out in five sub-locations of Vihiga County in Western Kenya. The workshops aimed to raise awareness on nutrition, to discuss the results of the diagnostic phase (phase I) and to identify and plan community activities to improve nutrition. Per sub-location, 36 men and women were selected to participate in the workshops. In order to diversify diets in their communities, all sub-locations decided to plant ve- getables and legumes and to raise poultry. The participants developed community action plans specifying how these activities are going to be realised. In addition, they chose local funding mechanisms to finance the actions and developed a budget. The groups also suc- ceeded in organising an event to officially kick-off their activities and thereby reaching out to other community members. Except for one less successful sub-location, the workshop groups well developed agricul- tural activities for improved nutrition. Harmony within the group was a crucial factor for good performance. Sensitivity to group dynamics is thus very important for participatory development of community activities. It was observed that the continuous workshops built trust between researchers and participants and that ownership was developed among the groups. These findings are in line with similar studies on participatory intervention deve- lopment in Africa. Other related projects in low-income countries stress the importance of community-based approaches in improving nutrition and livelihood outcome

Dietary contribution of wild edible plants to women's diets in the buffer zone around the Lama forest, Benin : an underutilized potential

Rural populations in developing countries face food insecurity and malnutrition despite being surrounded by extraordinary biodiversity. The international community increasingly recognizes the role of agro-biodiversity and Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) in their contributions to managing risk and building resilience and sustainable food systems. Studies on real contributions of WEPs to peoples’ diets, however, are uncommon. This study assessed the contribution ofWEPs to diets of women living in the buffer zone of the Lama forest in southern Benin. During the long dry season, a cross-sectional survey was carried out on 120 women, covering their knowledge and attitudes towards WEPs and two non-consecutive 24-h recalls of their WEP consumption. Contribution ofWEPs to total dietary intake was low due to infrequent use and small portion sizes. The highest nutrient contributions of WEPs measured were for copper (13.9 %) and iron (4.6%) but the majority of the women had intake values below the Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) for these elements - copper 65 % and iron 91 % Women’s dietary diversity was significantly higher among WEP consumers than non-consumers, mainly due to higher consumption of dark green leafy vegetables. WEPs were less consumed as a replacement for other foods but rather as a complement to the diet. The study population generally appreciated WEPs, while some constraints were reported regarding preparation, conservation and commercialization. Before widely promoting WEP consumption in order to exploit their dietary potential, additional investigations are needed into their nutrient composition, cultural and market value, their sustainable harvest levels and possible integration into innovative farming systems

Participatory approach to improve dietary diversity in Vihiga County, Western Kenya

Abstract accepted for poster presented at 3rd International Congress Hidden Hunger: Post-2015 Agenda and Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG): Where are we now? Strategies to improve nutrition quality and combat hidden hunger, Stuttgart, Germany, March 20-22, 201