Nutrition and food security impacts of quality seeds of biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato: Quasi-experimental evidence from Tanzania

Promoting insect farming and household consumption through agricultural training and nutrition education in Africa: A study protocol for a multisite cluster-randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Edible insects are a sustainable source of high-quality animal protein. Insect farming is gaining interest globally, particularly in low-income countries, where it may provide substantial nutritional and economic benefits. To enhance insect farming practices in Africa, new farming systems are being developed. However, knowledge on how to best promote uptake of these systems is lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the effectiveness of educational interventions in promoting insect farming for household consumption in Africa.

METHOD

The study is designed as a multi-site randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of agricultural training alone or in combination with nutrition education on the adoption of insect farming in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. In each of the three countries, ninety-nine villages are randomly assigned to one of three arms: two intervention arms and a control arm with no interventions. Focusing on production (P), the first intervention arm covers agricultural training on insect farming combined with provision of insect production starter kits. Focusing on both production and consumption (PC), the second intervention arm involves the same intervention components as treatment P plus additional nutrition education. The impacts of the interventions are measured by comparing baseline and endline data collected one year apart. Primary outcomes are adoption of insect farming and consumption of the farmed insects.

DISCUSSION

Understanding the drivers and impacts of novel agricultural practices is crucial for transitioning to sustainable food systems. The current project is the first to investigate how educational interventions promote insect farming for household consumption in low-income countries. The results will contribute evidence-based knowledge to support sustainable development through insect farming in Africa.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The protocol is registered in the American Economic Association registry for randomized control trials with registration number AEARCTR-0009996. Initial registration date: 02 September 2022, last updated 17 May 2023.

Sweet Potato as a Key Crop for Food Security under the Conditions of Global Climate Change: A Review

Sweet potato is one of the most economically important crops for addressing global food security and climate change issues, especially under conditions of extensive agriculture, such as those found in developing countries. However, osmotic stress negatively impacts the agronomic and economic productivity of sweet potato cultivation by inducing several morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. Plants employ many signaling pathways to respond to water stress by modifying their growth patterns, activating antioxidants, accumulating suitable solutes and chaperones, and making stress proteins. These physiological, metabolic, and genetic modifications can be employed as the best indicators for choosing drought-tolerant genotypes. The main objective of sweet potato breeding in many regions of the world, especially those affected by drought, is to obtain varieties that combine drought tolerance with high yields. In this regard, the study of the physiological and biochemical features of certain varieties is important for the implementation of drought resistance measures. Adapted genotypes can be selected and improved for particular growing conditions by using suitable tools and drought tolerance-related selection criteria. By regulating genetics in this way, the creation of drought-resistant varieties may become cost-effective for smallholder farmers. This review focuses on the drought tolerance mechanisms of sweet potato, the effects of drought stress on its productivity, its crop management strategies for drought mitigation, traditional and molecular sweet potato breeding methods for drought tolerance, and the use of biotechnological methods to increase the tolerance of sweet potato to drought.

Using preschoolers to improve caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practices relating to biofortified crops: Evidence from a randomized nutrition education trial in Kenya

This 2018 randomized controlled trial examined the role behavioral nudges can play in improving caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) relating to biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). The experiment involved 431 preschooler-caregiver pairs in 15 villages. The preschoolers were enrolled in public-run Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centers in the respective villages. Caregivers were first exposed to the routine OFSP promotion activities in the area - invited to cooking demonstration workshops and issued with free OFSP vines to plant. A baseline survey followed. Next, the 15 villages were randomized into four study groups (a control and three treatments). The interventions were deployed for 30 days as follows: Treatment 1 - preschoolers issued OFSP-branded exercise books, class posters, and poems; Treatment 2 - caregivers received phone-mediated text messages; and Treatment 3 - received the full suite of interventions. This study analyzed the endline and baseline data and finds that, in general, changes in KAP scores were negatively associated with control group (p = .005) and positively associated with Treatment 3 (p = .02). Specifically, Treatment 3 significantly increased caregivers' knowledge of OFSP production, consumption, and vitamin A. Treatment 2 significantly improved their attitude too. It concludes that an integrated complementary nutrition education approach targeting preschooler-caregiver pairs is more effective in increasing knowledge of cultivation and consumption of OFSP. It discusses the implications for the design of more effective nutrition programs targeting households with preschoolers to accelerate the fight against vitamin A deficiency (VAD).

Review of the Impact Pathways of Biofortified Foods and Food Products

Biofortification is the process of increasing the concentrations and/or bioavailability of micronutrients in staple crops and has the potential to mitigate micronutrient deficiencies globally. Efficacy trials have demonstrated benefits of consuming biofortified crops (BFCs); and in this paper, we report on the results of a systematic review of biofortified crops effectiveness in real-world settings. We synthesized the evidence on biofortified crops consumption through four Impact Pathways: (1) purchased directly; (2) in informal settings; (3) in formal settings; or (4) in farmer households, from their own production. Twenty-five studies, covering Impact Pathway 1 (five studies), Impact Pathway 2 (three), Impact Pathway 3 (three), Impact Pathway 4 (21) were included. The review found evidence of an improvement in micronutrient status via Impact Pathway 4 (mainly in terms of vitamin A from orange sweet potato) in controlled interventions that involved the creation of demand, the extension of agriculture and promotion of marketing. In summary, evidence supports that biofortified crops can be part of food systems interventions to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in farmer households; ongoing and future research will help fully inform their potential along the other three Impact Pathways for scaling up.

"Breaking through the 40% adoption ceiling: Mind the seed system gaps." A perspective on seed systems research for development in One CGIAR

Seed systems research is central to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Improved varieties with promise for ending hunger, improving nutrition, and increasing livelihood security may be released, but how do they reach and benefit different types of farmers? Without widespread adoption the genetic gains achieved with improved crop varieties can never be actualized. Progress has been made toward demand responsive breeding, however the draft CGIAR 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy fails to recognize the complexity of seed systems and thus presents a narrow vision for the future of seed systems research. This points to the lack of evidence-based dialogue between seed systems researchers and breeders. This perspective paper presents findings from an interdisciplinary group of more than 50 CGIAR scientists who used a suite of seed systems tools to identify four knowledge gaps and associated insights from work on the seed systems for vegetatively propagated crops (VPCs), focusing on bananas (especially cooking bananas and plantains), cassava, potato, sweetpotato, and yam. We discuss the implications for thinking about and intervening in seed systems using a combined biophysical and socioeconomic perspective and how this can contribute to increased varietal adoption and benefits to farmers. The tools merit wider use, not only for the seed systems of VPCs, but for the seed of crops facing similar adoption challenges. We argue for deeper collaboration between seed systems researchers, breeders and national seed system stakeholders to address these and other knowledge gaps and generate the evidence and innovations needed to break through the 40% adoption ceiling for modern varieties, and ensure good quality seed once the new varieties have been adopted. Without this, the achievements of breeders may remain stuck in the seed delivery pipeline.

Do Market-oriented Engendered Agriculture-health Interventions Affect Household Nutrition Outcomes: Evidence from an Orange-fleshed Sweetpotato Project in Rwanda

The number of agricultural interventions promoting biofortified crops as a strategy to combat micronutrient malnutrition have increased significantly during the past decade. These interventions aim to improve the intake of key nutrients and sometimes other nutrition outcomes. In this study, we assess the impact of a market-oriented gender-sensitive agriculture-health project on household food consumption and food security. We use gender-disaggregated data from 842 sweetpotato farmers and a series of econometric techniques to assess the project's impact on food consumption household food security. The study finds unambiguous and strong impact of the project on both household food consumption and food security. Moreover, female-headed participant households benefitted much more from participation than did male-headed households. We further find that nonparticipant households would also have benefitted had they participated. The findings imply the importance of designing market-focused projects with a gender lens. They also imply that market-oriented agriculture-sensitive interventions do not necessarily harm the nutritional status of farm households.