by Alec Mlambo and Mcebisi Maphosa
Original Research
Wild Miombo woodlands mushrooms are a largely ignored nutrition-boosting food and source of income among rural communities of Southern Africa. A survey was conducted in the Gweru, Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Mvuma districts of Zimbabwe to establish the importance of this natural resource in household poverty reduction.Gathered quantities and sales realized were recorded through structured personal interviews targeting two thirds of gatherers with equal numbers of male and female respondents and one key informant in each site. Results showed that of 14 gathered mushroom species (ordersCantharellales, Amanitales and Termitomycetes) across all sites, five species were of varying commercial value. Amanita loosii was the most traded and the only one with available data on sales. Ranked according to their gathered volumes by percent respondents per gathering occasion were A. loosii (97.48%), Termitomyces le-testui (72.94%) (non-mycorrhizal),Cantharellus heinemannianus (62.96%), Lactarius kabansus (46.72%) and C. miomboensis (37.04%). Average selling prices for A. loosii ranged from US$0.10 to US$1.00 per litre (about 600 grammes) across all sites. Average sales per site for a gathering occasion ranged between 20 and 400 litres per vendor across the sites, although up to 800 litres was recorded at Blinkwater for three gatherers. Principal Components Analysis biplots showed Blinkwater and Sebakwe sites had strong associations with high sales volumes and high sales value of A. loosii. It was concluded that, A. loosii, in particular, contributed to an important food and income source in the studied sites, with some communities having a large potential to raise these incomes beyond their current levels provided gathering and marketing methods were improved.
Journal of Food Security. 2017, 5(2), 51-57. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-5-2-5
Pub. Date: May 16, 2017
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by Adeniyi Paulina O., Obatolu Veronica A., Bakare A.D., Lawal S.B., Bolaji A.T. and Banjo O.A.
Original Research
The economic meltdown or recession in many parts of the world has subjected many people to food insecurity, hence, there is need to establish effective measures by which food security can be attained, especially among the low income group, even amidst global economic crisis. Soybean being a cheap source of valuable nutrients and phytochemicals has been established to be a functional food. This study was therefore designed to evaluate the nutritional and sensory properties of two commonly consumed carbohydrate-rich foods (Spaghetti and Tapioca pearls) fortified with soybean flour and compare these with that of unfortified samples as well as estimate the nutritional and economic significance. The possibility of incorporating cassava flour in the production of spaghetti was also explored. Cassava four was incorporated in the spaghetti production towards the implementation of cassava flour inclusion policy. Spaghetti was prepared with different blends of wheat flour WF, soybean flour (SF) and cassava flour (CF) and designated thus: Spag 0 (100% WF- control); Spag 1 (90%WF, 5%SF and 5%CF); Spag 2 (80%WF, 10%SF and 10%CF); Spag 3 70%WF, 15%SF and 15%CF) and Spag 4 (60%WF, 20%F and 20%CF). In the same vein Tapioca pearls were prepared using the following cassava starch (CS) and soybean flour(SF) blends; Tap 0 (100%CS); Tap 1 (90%CS and 10%SF); Tap 2 (80%CS and 20%SF); Tap 3 (70%CS and 30%SF) and Tap 4 (60%CS and 40%SF). These were subjected to proximate, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin analyses using standard methods. Sensory properties (colour, appearance, flavour, texture, taste, aroma, overall acceptability) were evaluated with twenty trained taste panellists using a 9 point hedonic scale with 1 denoting ‘dislike extremely’ and 9 denoting ‘like extremely’. Mean data were compared using Least Significant Difference at p<0.05. Fortification of spaghetti ad tapioca with soybean flour significantly increased the nutritional and sensory quality appreciably and the inclusion of cassava flour in spaghetti did not adversely affect the quality of the product. Consumption of either of these fortified foods as one of the three square meals a day would make an individual to meet his or her Recommended Dietary Allowance for the nutrients analysed at a relatively lesser cost. Household and commercial production and consumption of soy-spaghetti and soy-tapioca is hereby recommended. However, soybean flour must be processed appropriately in order to exert desirable and favourable expected effect.
Journal of Food Security. 2017, 5(2), 43-50. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-5-2-4
Pub. Date: May 15, 2017
11789 Views3143 Downloads
by Jonathan Crush, Bruce Frayne and Cameron McCordic
Original Research
Lesotho is facing continued and widespread food insecurity. In spite of a rapidly growing urban population, food security interventions and paradigms have primarily focused on bolstering food production within the country. This paper assesses the extent to which household engagement in urban agriculture in Maseru is associated with improved food security. Using household survey data, the paper argues that there is no consistent and statistically-significant relationship between urban agriculture practice and food security among Maseru households. Furthermore, some urban agriculture practices were only associated with significantly greater odds of food security for middle-income households in the sample. Given the that the observed benefits of urban agriculture appear to be conditional upon household income, this study suggests that a generalized production-centred approach to food insecurity may not be the most effective means of addressing household food security in Maseru.
Journal of Food Security. 2017, 5(2), 33-42. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-5-2-3
Pub. Date: April 01, 2017
22063 Views3276 Downloads1 Likes