Untitled Flashcards Set

Chapter 16

Diversified Food Production and Consumption

16.1. Importance of Diversified Food Production

Agriculture is an indispensable sector for food and nutrition security. Agricultural food diversification is the act of introducing or producing a variety of food from agricultural activities. It is important to produce and consume different types of food. Different food types provide different nutrients that people need to be healthy. Children need a variety of food to grow well and develop properly. Adults need a variety of food to have energy and be productive. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding need different foods for the baby and for themselves to be healthy and strong.

Diversification of foods grown by a household can improve dietary diversity and nutrition outcomes. Different foods and food groups are good sources for various macro and micronutrients. This means a diverse diet is the best way of ensuring people have all the nutrients they need. Agricultural diversification or integrated farming systems involve several subsystems including crops, animals and fish. These synergistic interactions have a greater total effect than the sum of the individual effects on nutrition. It is recommended that an individual consume at least four food groups in each meal. A diverse diet most likely meets both known, and as yet, unknown needs for human health. Improved nutritional and health status can increase individual productivity which leads to improved household production andincome.

16.2. Dietary Diversification Strategies

Dietary diversity is defined as the number of different individual food items or food groups consumed over a given period of time. Low dietary diversity is a particular problem in Ethiopia where the diet is frequently based on starchy staples such as teff, maize, sorghum, enset, and wheat. The diet often lacks animal source foods, (meat, fish, eggs and dairy products) and fruits and vegetables. Since the different food groups provide different benefits, consumption of diversified foods is important for the health of adults and proper growth and development of children.

Strategies for food and dietary diversification at the community and household levels can maximize the availability of adequate amounts and greater variety of nutritious foods. Such activities include:

 promotion of mixed cropping and integrated farming systems

 introduction of new crops with high nutritional/health importance

such as soybean

 encouraging the use of underexploited traditional foods and home gardens

 fostering urban farming of crops with high nutritional value, i.e., deep colored fruits and green leafy vegetables

 encouragingthekeepingofsmallanimals(goat ,sheep and poultry) and fish farming

 advancing improved preservation and storage of fruits and vegetables to reduce wastage, post-harvest losses and effects of seasonality

 strengthening small-scale agro-processing and food industries

 encouraging income generation at individual or household level

 promotion of nutrition education such as complementary feeding (food in addition to breast milk for children between 6 and 23 months of age), food quality and safety, hygiene and sanitation issues, etc

16.3. Nutrient Enrichment Strategies

Dietary modifications are changes made to increase the bioavailability of micronutrients in food at the commercial or household level. Changes may occur during food preparation, processing, and consumption. Most modifications aim to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. One example of dietary modification is the simultaneous consumption of iron-rich foods with ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

Reasons for diet modification

The normal diet may be modified to:

 provide a change in the constituents of the diet  maintain, restore or correct nutritional status

 include all nutrients in the diet

 increase or decrease the energy value of the diet  provide foods bland in flavor

 modify the intervals of feeding

There are several types of nutrient enrichment/modification strategies. The

four techniques of nutrient enrichment are described below.

16.3.1. Fortification

Food fortification is the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, i.e., vitamins, minerals, and trace elements in a food. It aims to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health. It reduces the number of people with dietary deficiencies within a population. Diets that lack variety can be deficient in certain nutrients. Sometimes the staple foods of a region can lack particular nutrients. Addition of micronutrients to staples and condiments can prevent large scale deficiencies.

The FAO outlined that most common fortified foods are cereals and cereal- based products, milk/milk products, fats and oils, tea and other beverages and infant formulas. Food fortification is a sound public health strategy because it is cost effective, can reach large segments of at-risk populations through existing food delivery systems without requiring major changes in existing consumption patterns.

16.3.2. Germination

Germination of pulses and cereals is one of the traditional methods of food processing. It is extensively used in the preparation of foods for weaning babies and for elderly people. Germination is a process in which a pulse or cereal will sprout small shoots when kept with small amountof water. The grains and pulses to be sprouted need to be soaked in just enough water so that all of it is absorbed. If the extra water in which they are soaked is thrown away, a lot of nutrients are lost.

Grains like wheat, barley, sorghum, etc. can be sprouted. These grains can then be dried in shade and roasted lightly. They can be ground and used in many dishes. Pulses are also sprouted first and then steamed and consumed. The time and water which each grain or pulse needs for soaking and sprouting is different. Normally, 8 to16 hours are needed for soaking and 12 to 24 hours for sprouting. The cloth in which the soaked grain or pulse is tied should be kept moist all the time. When sprouting is followed by fermentation, the vitamin content becomes much more improved.

Germination helps to increase the digestibility of foods. Some carbohydrates

and proteins are broken down into smaller and easily digestible forms.

Grains and pulses become soft after sprouting, so they take less time for

cooking and are easy to digest. This means germination increases the

nutritive value of food with no additional cost. Some vitamins and minerals

also increase when grains or pulses are germinated. For example, vitamin

B becomes almost double in quantity while vitamin C increases almost 10 times.

16.3.3. Fermentation

Fermentation is a process in which some micro-organisms are added to the food. There are different micro-organisms used, for example, yeast for bread and bacteria for yoghurt. The process involves the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms, typically involving effervescence and the giving off of heat. The micro- organisms change nutrients already present in the foods into simpler and more easily digested forms and also make other new nutrients. Fermentation is what makes dough rise and become almost double in quantity. During fermentation the micro-organisms use up some of the nutrients present in the dough and change them into other better quality nutrients. They also make some new nutrients. Milk curd, bread and Injera are examples of fermented foods in Ethiopia.

Fermentation has several advantages. Fermentation improves the digestibility of foods. The micro-organisms break the proteins and carbohydrates into smaller parts, which are easier to digest. During fermentation of cereals and foods (such as peas, chickpeas, beans, etc.), calcium, phosphorus, and iron are changed into better quality. These are then easily absorbed by the body. Fermented foods become spongy and soft. They are liked by children and adults.

16.3.4. Roasting

Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air envelops the food. Roasting can enhance flavor of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat as in an oven. This is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. In roasting, the heat seals the outside part of the food and the juice inside the food cooks the food. Roasting is mainly used when cooking fleshy food like fish, meat or chicken. When heat is applied to the outer covering of the food, it seals it up thereby trapping all the juices inside the food.

16.4. Indigenous Knowledge in Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture

In Ethiopia, farmers are engaged in mixed crop/livestock farming systems. They produce both plant- and animal-based foods for household consumption and for market. Organic vegetable and fruit production is becoming a common practice in most parts of the country. There are also area-specific traditional foods. For example, Chuko is common food in most parts of Oromia regional state. It is made from barley flour mixed with concentrated butter. It is a very rich source of essential nutrients. Enset is utilized in its many forms (e.g., Kocho) mainly in Southern part of Ethiopia. Such nutrient-rich traditional foods are luxurious and often used to complement staple foods or during ceremonies.

There are also different wild plants with the potential to contribute to diversified food consumption, as well as both food and nutritional security. For example, wild plants like shoot of bamboo (Oxytenantheraabyssinica L.), stinging nettle (Urticasimensis L.) and some wild mushroom species have been found to be rich in valuable minerals. These wild plants are dominantly found in north-western Ethiopia, central highlands and south-western Ethiopia. Moreover, these plants are consumed as food by local communities in the areas they are found. Domestication of these edible wild plants in appropriate agroecologies and their promotion for consumption can contribute towards improving food diversification of diet and nutritional security.