Determining the effect of heat treatment on iron fortified soybean gari blend and its potential bioavailability

Towards a sustainable food production: modelling the impacts of climate change on maize and soybean production in Ghana

The Ghanaian economy relies heavily on maize and soybean production. The entire maize and soybean production system is low-tech, making it extremely susceptible to environmental factors. As a result, climate change and variability have an influence on agricultural production, such as maize and soybean yields. Therefore, the study's ultimate purpose was to analyze the influence of CO2 emissions, precipitation, domestic credit, and fertilizer consumption on maize and soybean productivity in Ghana by utilizing the newly constructed dynamic simulated autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model for the period 1990 to 2020. The findings indicated that climate change enhances maize and soybean yields in Ghana in both the short run and long run. Also, the results from the frequency domain causality showed that climate change causes maize and soybean yield in the long-run. These outcomes were robust to the use of the ordinary least squares estimator and the impulse response technique. The findings show that crop and water management strategies, as well as information availability, should be considered in food production to improve resistance to climate change and adverse climatic circumstances.

Perspective: Soybeans Can Help Address the Caloric and Protein Needs of a Growing Global Population

Feeding a growing global population with projected rising socioeconomic status will require additional sources of calories and especially protein. These sources need to align with the Sustainable Development Goals established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The soybean is uniquely positioned to meet this challenge based on the following criteria: (1) Global soybean production exceeds by ~4 times the production of all pulses combined (2) Soybeans are higher in protein than other legumes and soy protein quality is similar to animal protein quality (3) Soybeans are an excellent source of healthy fat, including both essential fatty acids (4) Soybeans, like other legumes, symbiotically fix atmospheric nitrogen thereby reducing the need for fertilizer inputs (5) Greenhouse gas emissions per unit protein are lower than for nearly all other foods (6) Soybeans, like other legumes, are also recognized as an affordable food that can be incorporated into diverse diets regardless of economic standing and (7) The range of foods produced from soybeans constitutes an important position in historic and contemporary cuisines, cultures and emerging consumer trends for plant-based protein. Although most soybeans are currently used for animal feed, soybean use is dictated by consumer demand. Therefore, soybeans are well positioned to meet future global needs for energy and protein. Armed with this knowledge, health professionals can feel justified in encouraging greater consumption of soyfoods for both personal and planetary reasons.

Filling the Protein Gap in Ghana: The Role of Soy

The study assessed the nutrient value and desirability of eight improved soybean varieties, for use in soymilk, tofu and as an ingredient to enhance staple foods. The soymilk, tofu, and soybean residue (okara) yields were determined across all varieties. The okara was subsequently used in composite with cassava, as a recipe refinement of gari, a popular cassava-based ready-to-eat food. Multiple composite ratios were compared against a control of 100% cassava gari; 80% cassava: 20% okara, 70% cassava: 30% okara, and 50% cassava: 50% okara. The soymilk and tofu from the various varieties and okara enriched-gari were also evaluated for proximate and sensory qualities (n = 50) using standard protocols. No differences (p > 0.05) existed among soybean varieties in terms of soymilk (p = 0.55; 13.0–14.1 L), tofu (p = 0.05; 0.12–0.15 kg/L) or okara (p = 0.08; 3.17–3.97 kg) yields. The proximate parameters evaluated for soymilk did not vary significantly (p > 0.05) among varieties. However, for total solids (3.33–7.93°Brix; p < 0.01) there were significant differences. Generally, there was an increasing trend in the crude protein, moisture, crude fat and total ash contents for the okara-enriched gari as the okara inclusion increased from 20 to 50%. Thus, the crude protein content of the 50% okara-enriched gari, the formulation with the highest okara incorporation was almost 11-times higher than the 100% cassava gari. The swelling capacity of the okara-enriched gari ranged from 3.29–5.47 and for water holding capacity 439.7–482.1%. The okara-enriched gari was equally preferred by consumers, except for colour which consumers were mostly indifferent towards. The 50%-okara enriched gari composite was compared equally with 100% cassava gari control. The sensory data showed that the “Favour” soybean variety was desirable for soymilk production while Salintuya 1 was desirable for tofu production. Recipe refinements using the desired varieties and compositing okara with cassava may help fill the protein gap among the vulnerable group in Ghana by improving the protein quality of ready-to-eat foods such as gari.