Céline Termote

Improving diets with wild and cultivated biodiversity from across the landscape

This paper examines the literature on how biodiversity contributes to improved and diversified diets in developing countries. We assess the current state of evidence on how wild and cultivated biodiversity in all forms is related to healthy diets and nutrition, and examine how economic factors, knowledge and social norms interact with availability of biodiversity to influence both production and consumption choices. The paper identifies areas where evidence is lacking and ways to build synergies between nutrition-sensitive approaches and efforts to ensure sustainability of food systems and the natural environment.

Eating from the wild: Turumbu, Mbole and Bali traditional knowledge on non-cultivated edible plants, District Tshopo, DRCongo

Wild Edible Plant (WEP) knowledge is very important for the survival of many African communities and may constitute a genetic resource pool for the development of novel food products. Only very limited and general information on WEPs of the Tshopo District, DRCongo, is available in international literature. Ethnobotanical research was carried out in 3 ethnic groups, Turumbu, Mbole and Bali, in 3 different territories of the Tshopo District. In 3 villages per ethnic group, WEPs were inventoried and their properties discussed in focus groups. Via ‘walks-in-the-woods’ with key informants all WEPs were collected to constitute a reference herbarium. Preferences in taste, commercial, nutritional and cultural value, were discussed during participatory ranking exercises. A total of 166 WEPs (165 species and 2 varieties) in 71 families, together with their uses, preparation methods, availability and commercialization possibilities were documented. Comparisons between the 3 ethnic groups showed that the use and knowledge of WEPs is clearly culturally defined with high diversity between ethnic groups. Therefore, we should make a difference between species with regional importance and ethnospecific species when it comes to priority setting for further study and participatory domestication. Based upon the preference ranking exercises, Anonidium mannii, Landolphia owariensis and Megaphrynium macrostachyum are some of the species with regional importance. Participatory domestication aims at ameliorating nutrition security and diversifying and increasing local farmers’ income whilst protecting the tropical rainforest from overexploitation.

A biodiverse rich environment does not contribute to a better diet: a case study from DR Congo.

The potential of biodiversity to increase and sustain nutrition security is increasingly recognized by the international research community. To date however, dietary assessment studies that have assessed how biodiversity actually contributes to human diets are virtually absent. This study measured the contribution of wild edible plants (WEP) to the dietary quality in the high biodiverse context of DR Congo. The habitual dietary intake was estimated from 2 multiple-pass 24 h dietary recalls for 363 urban and 129 rural women. All WEP were collected during previous ethnobotanical investigations and identified and deposited in the National Botanical Garden of Belgium (BR). Results showed that in a high biodiverse region with precarious food security, WEP are insufficiently consumed to increase nutrition security or dietary adequacy. The highest contribution came from Dacryodes edulis in the village sample contributing 4.8% of total energy intake. Considering the nutrient composition of the many WEP available in the region and known by the indigenous populations, the potential to increase nutrition security is vast. Additional research regarding the dietary contribution of agricultural biodiversity and the nutrient composition of WEP would allow to integrate them into appropriate dietary guidelines for the region and pave the way to domesticate the most interesting WEP.

Eating from the Wild: Turumbu Indigenous Knowledge on Noncultivated Edible Plants, Tshopo District, DRCongo

Documenting and revalorizing the rapidly disappearing indigenous knowledge on wild edible plants is essential to promote health and preserve diversity. Focus group discussions were organized within three Turumbu villages to document wild foods known, availability, preparation methods, and uses. Preferences in taste and commercial, nutritional, and cultural value were discussed during participatory ranking exercises. Results show 85 species within 70 genera and 44 families. Fruits of Anonidium manni and Landolphia owariensis, and (unfolded) leaves of Megaphrynium macrostachyum and Talinum triangulare are most appreciated. Inventories and preference rankings should be completed with nutritional analyses and market studies to set priorities for participatory domestication.

Assessing the Potential of Wild Foods to Reduce the Cost of a Nutritionally Adequate Diet: An Example from Eastern Baringo District, Kenya

Background Wild foods and their actual and potential contributions to nutrition security have rarely been studied or considered in nutrition and conservation programs. Objective To study the role of wild food biodiversity in achieving a cost reduction of a nutritionally adequate diet for women and young children in Kenya using linear programming. Methods An ethnobiological inventory of available food biodiversity was carried out by means of focus group discussions, and five wild foods were selected for further modeling. A market survey assessed available food prices by season. Diets were modeled to minimize cost and maximize nutrient adequacy using the Cost of Diet linear programming tool. Modeling was done without and with wild foods. Results The modeled diets without wild species were deficient in iron for all age groups during the dry season, deficient in vitamin B6 and calcium for infants aged 6 to 8 months during the dry season, and deficient in iron and zinc for infants aged 6 to 8 months over the whole year. Adding wild foods, especially Berchemia discolor, to the modeled diets resulted in a lower-cost diet, while meeting recommended iron intakes for women and children between 12 and 23 months of age. Even after integrating wild foods into the model, targeted approaches are needed to meet micronutrient requirements for infants from 6 to 8 and from 9 to 11 months of age. Conclusions An application of linear programming to screen available wild foods for meeting recommended nutrient intakes at a minimal cost was illustrated. This type of study helps to objectively assess the potential of biodiversity to contribute to diets and nutrition.

Dietary species richness as a measure of food biodiversity and nutritional quality of diets

Significance Current research linking biodiversity and human diets has used metrics without justification from a nutritional point of view. Diet species richness, or a count of the number of different species consumed per day, assesses both nutritional adequacy and food biodiversity of diets for women and children in rural areas. The positive association of food species richness with dietary quality was observed in both the wet and the dry season. Food biodiversity contributes to diet quality in vulnerable populations in areas with high biodiversity. Reporting the number of species consumed during dietary assessment provides a unique opportunity to cut across two critical dimensions of sustainable development—human and environmental health—and complements existing indicators for healthy and sustainable diets. Biodiversity is key for human and environmental health. Available dietary and ecological indicators are not designed to assess the intricate relationship between food biodiversity and diet quality. We applied biodiversity indicators to dietary intake data from and assessed associations with diet quality of women and young children. Data from 24-hour diet recalls (55% in the wet season) of n = 6,226 participants (34% women) in rural areas from seven low- and middle-income countries were analyzed. Mean adequacies of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, and zinc and diet diversity score (DDS) were used to assess diet quality. Associations of biodiversity indicators with nutrient adequacy were quantified using multilevel models, receiver operating characteristic curves, and test sensitivity and specificity. A total of 234 different species were consumed, of which <30% were consumed in more than one country. Nine species were consumed in all countries and provided, on average, 61% of total energy intake and a significant contribution of micronutrients in the wet season. Compared with Simpson’s index of diversity and functional diversity, species richness (SR) showed stronger associations and better diagnostic properties with micronutrient adequacy. For every additional species consumed, dietary nutrient adequacy increased by 0.03 (P < 0.001). Diets with higher nutrient adequacy were mostly obtained when both SR and DDS were maximal. Adding SR to the minimum cutoff for minimum diet diversity improved the ability to detect diets with higher micronutrient adequacy in women but not in children. Dietary SR is recommended as the most appropriate measure of food biodiversity in diets.

Understanding the Roles of Forests and Tree-based Systems in Food Provision

Forests and other tree-based systems such as agroforestry contribute to food and nutritional security in myriad ways. Directly, trees provide a variety of healthy foods including fruits, leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and edible oils that can diversify diets and address seasonal food and nutritional gaps. Forests are also sources of a wider range of edible plants and fungi, as well as bushmeat, fish and insects. Treebased systems also support the provision of fodder for meat and dairy animals, of “green fertiliser” to support crop production and of woodfuel, crucial in many communities for cooking food. Indirectly, forests and tree-based systems are a source of income to support communities to purchase foods and they also provide environmental services that support crop production. There are, however, complexities in quantifying the relative benefits and costs of tree-based systems in food provision. These complexities mean that the roles of tree-based systems are often not well understood. A greater understanding focuses on systematic methods for characterising effects across different landscapes and on key indicators, such as dietary diversity measures. This chapter provides a number of case studies to highlight the relevance of forests and tree-based systems for food security and nutrition, and indicates where there is a need to further quantify the roles of these systems, allowing proper integration of their contribution into national and international developmental policies.

Complementary feeding practices among children under two years old in West Africa: A review

The burden of child malnutrition is still high in West African countries with 19.2 million stunted children and increases rapidly during the weaning period. This has been attributed to inappropriate complementary feeding practices. To our knowledge, few studies have tried to review the state of complementary feeding in the sub-region. This review aimed to provide an overview of current complementary feeding practices in West Africa in order to identify issues that should be targeted for ensuring optimal infant and young child nutrition. Articles and reports published from 2006 to 2016 were selected and reviewed. All documents were accessed through PubMed, Google scholar, and FreeFullPDF databases. Relevant and current documents focused on infant and young child (IYC) feeding from World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) were identified by using electronic searches via the Google platform. Complementary feeding practices are suboptimal in West Africa compared to the Northern Africa. Porridges and family dishes are the two main categories of complementary foods given to children and there are nutritionally inadequate. Enriched flours have been developed by using local diversity of food resources and improved food process like dehulling, fermentation, germination, malting, but their use remains low. Socio-economic, cultural and geographical factors were the determinants influencing IYC feeding practices at mother and household levels. Besides food availability, social, cultural, economic and geographic determinants were interrelated in a complex way to affect child feeding practices. This paper contributes to a much-needed evidence-based focus on the state of complementary feeding practices. As a key component to child survival, the improvement of complementary feeding has been shown to be the most effective in enhancing child growth and reducing stunting. Stakeholders such as policy and decision-makers, development partners, the private sector, and Non-Governmental Organizations should develop strategies for making enriched flours and nutritionally dense foods more accessible and affordable. Nutritional interventions should emphasize the promotion of adequate complementary feeding practices including feeding frequency, quality and quantity of diet and food safety in order to reduce malnutrition. Ongoing national plans and strategies for optimal IYC feeding should be encouraged to reduce child malnutrition. Keywords: complementary feeding, practices, determinants, nutrition plans, West Africa

Complementary feeding practices of children aged 6-23 months in rural area, Southern-Benin: challenges and opportunities

Aims: This study aims to provide in-depth knowledge of current infant feeding practices in order to create an evidence base and develop well-targeted strategies to reduce the prevalence of child malnutrition. Study Design: This study is designed by using a descriptive cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in two rural districts, Bopa and Original Research Article Mitchodigni et al.; IJTDH, 24(2): 1-12, 2017; Article no.IJTDH.33877 2 Houeyogbe, in Southern Benin from October to December 2013. Methodology: A total of 1225 mother-infant pairs, aged 6-23 months were randomly selected in seventeen villages through exhaustive sampling. Socio-demographic data of participants were obtained through semi-structured interviews. Complementary feeding practices were assessed using recommended Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) indicators. Statistical analysis were performed with SPSS version 20. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Results: Overall, 20% had timely initiation of complementary feeding, whereas 61% and 17% had early and delayed initiation of complementary feeding, respectively. The mean age of introducing solid foods was 4.9 ± 2.3 months. Prevalence of MDD, MMF and MAD was 60%, 71% and 46% respectively. There is no specific complementary foods (CFs) for Benin children. Cereal porridges and extracts from family diets were two categories of complementary foods identified. Complementary food (CF) is characterized by unenriched porridges, mashed family diets and low consumption of fruits and eggs. Most of the children (70%) were fed vegetables consumed individually or mixed with other leaves. The most popular vegetables consumed by the children were Corchorus olitorius (48%), Hibiscus esculentus (22%), Solanum macrocarpon (18%). Conclusion: Untimely initiation of complementary feeding was predominant. Complementary feeding practices in this area of Benin were suboptimal. The valorization of local biodiversity and traditional recipes was an opportunity to improve quality of child’s diet. Reinforcing the capacity building of stakeholders focused on child feeding may be a crucial step for child well-being.

Complementary feeding practices: determinants of dietary diversity and meal frequency among children aged 6–23 months in Southern Benin

Poor complementary feeding practices have detrimental effects on child growth, development and survival. This cross-sectional study in rural areas of southern Benin examined some determinants of complementary feeding practices using socioeconomic and dietary data collected among 1225 primary caregivers. Determinants of complementary feeding practices in the study areas are multidimensional and include many interacting factors such as socio-economic aspects, farming practices, household demographics, cultural practices and geography. Child age, diversity of food groups produced, income allocated to feeding, commune of residence, ethnicity, caregivers’ occupation, marital status and household size were identified as the main factors affecting complementary feeding practices. Food group diversification in farm-systems and overall social behavior and support as well as women’s empowerment are necessary to improve children’s diets. Reducing women’s workload through improved working conditions appears crucial to decrease time burdens and allow more time for child care. Multisectoral interventions should be embraced to improve complementary feeding practices in Benin.