Farm-Level Agricultural Biodiversity in the Peruvian Andes Is Associated with Greater Odds of Women Achieving a Minimally Diverse and Micronutrient Adequate Diet

Gathering, agriculture, and exchange: an ethnoecological approach to the study of food patterns and feedstuff sources in communities of the Central Andes, Peru

BACKGROUND

Historically, the Andean people have experienced uncertainty in terms of the availability of food resources because of climatic and ecological variations that are typical of mountainous environments. Risk management strategies, including the diversified and complementary use and management of species and ecosystems at different elevations, have faced such uncertainty. The current effects of climate change on food security motivate studies on subsistence adaptative strategies. TEK offers extraordinary experience and local biocultural memory to meet present and future needs. From an ethnoecological perspective, we aim to identify the variety of local foods in Andean communities, their cultural and nutritional value for local people, their use frequencies, and their forms to obtain them from different environments, productive systems, and interchanges. We expected to identify traditional Andean diversified subsistence patterns despite the pressure of modern food and interchange systems.

METHODS

This study was conducted in two communities in the highlands of the Department of Huánuco, Peru. We conducted 24 semistructured interviews with households sampled through the snowball method. We asked about their daily life food, plant and animal components of diet, frequencies and seasons in which they are consumed, and ways to obtain them. We complemented the information through ethnobotanical collection of wild, weedy, and ruderal edible plants and records on domestic and wild animals included in the diet.

RESULTS

We recorded 37 crop species, 13 domestic animals, 151 wild, weedy, and ruderal food plant species, the 3 most commonly consumed wild animals, and 52 processed products obtained from local stores and markets. The main crops are potato and maize, while the main domestic animals included in the diet are cattle, pigs, and sheep. Rice, pasta, and bread are the main raw and processed foods included in the diet. Crops represent nearly half of the food consumed and purchased (in kg/year), and tubers and cereals provide most of the kilocalories, carbohydrates and proteins. Wild, weedy, and ruderal plants are consumed in relatively low amounts and at relatively low frequencies per species, but overall, they constitute a significant proportion of the kg of annually consumed food (14.4% in Cani and 9.6% in Monte Azul). Knowledge and use of these resources play a key role in local cuisine and nutrition.

CONCLUSION

The current food patterns studied are based on diverse diets, including multiple feedstuffs, sources, and practices to obtain them, which reflects the traditional Andean subsistence pattern. The increasing adoption of processed food has influenced the declining consumption of local food, mainly among young people. Communication and policies to promote local food, emphasizing the role of wild plants and their adequate consumption, and provide information on their nutritional value are recommended to support efforts toward food sovereignty and conservation of Andean biocultural diversity.

A systematic review of dietary data collection methodologies for diet diversity indicators

The purpose of the current study was to critically assess the gaps in the existing methodologies of dietary data collection for diet diversity indicators. The study proposed the importance of smartphone application to overcome the drawbacks. The review paper identified and assessed the conventional methodologies used in diet diversity indicators including Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W), Minimum Dietary Diversity of Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices (IYCF-MDD), and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). The 80 research studies from 38 countries were critically assessed on the basis of their research aim, study design, target audience, dietary data collection methodology, sample size, dietary data type, dietary data collection frequency, and location point of dietary data collection. Results indicated that most studies employed interviewer-administered 24-h recall assessing the dietary diversity. The review paper concluded that smartphone application had potential to overcome the identified limitations of conventional methodologies including recall bias, social-desirability bias, interviewer training, and cost-time constraints.

Forty Years after Poverty Reduction in China: The Role of Women's Empowerment in Enhancing Food Security and Diet Diversity

This study analyzed the role of women's empowerment in diversifying the diet of households through their own production. Developed from empowerment and food security theories, this study constructed measures from the household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and Women's Empowerment Index (WEI). The study focused on poverty-stricken regions in China and conducted a thematic questionnaire-based household survey on gender and food consumption in 2021. Based on micro-level evidence from 1199 rural households, this research found a low score of women's empowerment and an average WEI of 0.689; the status of diet diversity, measured by the HDDS, varied by income and social class; and the average rate was low. Agricultural production diversity and women's empowerment are positively associated with diet diversity. There is strong evidence that women's employment mitigates the side effects of decreasing production diversity on households' diet security. As a result, women's empowerment can potentially mitigate the adverse consequences of low agricultural diversification in household diet quality in less developed areas. This study provides evidence for repurposing food and agricultural policies toward healthy diets and gender-responsive agrifood systems.

Contribution of the biodiversity of edible plants to the diet and nutritional status of women in a Zapotec communities of the Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, Mexico

We explored the relationship between the diversity of edible plants and the nutritional status of housewives from a Zapotec municipality in Oaxaca, Mexico, during the dry and rainy seasons, and analyzed how sociodemographic variables influences this relationship. Edible plant availability, women's dietary diversity score (WDDS), nutrient intake, and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. WDDS, intakes of energy and nutrients were mainly influenced by seasonality. Older housewives with less schooling had a higher consumption of edible plants, and better nutritional status.

Does Crop Diversity Influence Household Food Security and Women's Individual Dietary Diversity? A Cross-Sectional Study of Malawian Farmers in a Participatory Agroecology and Nutrition Project

BACKGROUND

Agroecological methods have the potential to impact nutrition and food security, however, to date there is limited research evaluating this approach.

OBJECTIVE

A 5-year participatory research project with farming households in north and central Malawi was designed to train farmers on agroecological practices, alongside raising awareness on nutrition and gender equity. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationships between crop diversity, food security at the household level, and individual diversity for women, within the context of an agroecology, nutrition education, and farmer mentoring program.

METHODS

Participating farmers were trained in and experimented with different farming methods. These farmers subsequently trained other farmers on these short-term agroecological practices and provided mentorship using community-based educational methods designed to address both household food security and nutrition. In year 4 of the intervention, a cross-sectional survey assessed farm practices, food security, and individual dietary diversity of 851 participating households.

RESULTS

Households with lower crop diversity were significantly less likely to be food secure (odds ratios [OR] = 0.829, P < .001). Women in households with higher crop diversity were more likely to have higher individual dietary diversity (OR = 1.120, P < .01), eat vitamin A rich foods (OR = 1.176, P < .01), and legumes, nuts, and seeds (OR = 1.141, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that within a participatory agroecological training combined with community-based nutrition education with a focus on social equity, crop diversity is associated with less household food insecurity and poorer diet quality for rural farming households. Crop diversity may improve dietary diversity by making nutritious foods more available.

Nutrition as a driver and outcome of agroecology

The principles of agroecology do not explicitly state a link with nutrition. Yet, we argue that among them, input reduction, biodiversity, economic diversification, social values and diets, fairness, connectivity and participation are directly linked to nutrition. Nutrition can serve as a critical outcome and driver of agroecological practices and can drive transformative change across the food system.

Agro-ecological urban agriculture and food resilience: The Case of Quito, Ecuador

The rural and urban divide, promoted by capitalism first and global neoliberalism later, has characterized the countryside as synonymous with “backwardness” and established the city as a model for “progress. ” In recent years, promoting agriculture in cities seemed counterintuitive. Nevertheless, during the last decades, agricultural practices in the urban realm have been encouraged, and with great effort, by a group of cities worldwide. Quito is one of them. The Participatory Urban Agriculture Project (AGRUPAR) has promoted and supported urban agriculture in Quito for almost 20 years. However, aware that the food situation of its population requires stronger efforts, the city has decided to go beyond urban agricultural production. Led by AGRUPAR, and together with other municipal actors, such as the Metropolitan Directorate of Resilience, and the Secretariat of Productive Development, the Municipality of the Metropolitan District of Quito (MDMQ) is implementing public food policies that have outlined, as one of their central objectives, the need to strengthen the city's food security and food resilience. This text presents a brief history of urban agriculture in Quito and reviews some of the achievements of AGRUPAR. Based on this experience, the authors hypothesize that cities that have gone from promoting urban orchards to establishing urban agricultural programs are in a better position to implement food policies as a contribution to resilience and sustainable urban development. This article displays the importance of clearly understanding the food value chain and the set of strategic dimensions that currently shape the agri-food system. The aim is to better connect the production, processing and transformation, distribution, sale and storage, commercialization, consumption, and post-consumption with the right to food, the right to the city, and a healthy environment to achieve food security. Although the results achieved thus far are valuable, if the benefits of urban agriculture are to contribute to improving Quito's food security and resilience, additional progress is necessary. Therefore, it is imperative that a proposal be presented which includes urban agriculture as part of a city-scale urban policy.

Seasonal variability of women's dietary diversity and food supply: a cohort study in rural Burkina Faso

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the seasonal variations of women's dietary diversity (WDD) (items consumed and food supply) and its linkages with agriculture, market and wild resources.

DESIGN

A cohort of 300 women was followed-up over a year to investigate WDD and food sources (production, purchase or foraging). Monthly qualitative 24 h recalls allowed computing WDD Scores from a standard 10-food groups (FG) classification (WDDS-10). Associations between farm/women's characteristics and WDDS-10 were investigated using multivariate mixed models including interaction terms factor*months.

SETTING

Tuy province, Burkina Faso.

PARTICIPANTS

300 women of reproductive age.

RESULTS

Both dietary diversity and food sources were seasonal. The mean WDDS-10 was relatively stable from August to January (ranging from 3·1 to 3·5 FG) when farm production predominated. The WDDS-10 gradually increased from February, concomitantly with an increase in food purchases (onions, tomatoes, mangoes) and reached its highest levels (>4 FG) from March to June, when food purchases were still relatively high and when more women consumed foraged fruits (shea plums and wild grapes). Women living on farms owning > 3 plough oxen and different animal species had significantly higher WDDS-10 than others (+0·28 and +0·35 FG, respectively). Women who practiced off-farm activities also had higher WDDS-10 than those who did not (+0·21 FG, P < 0·05). Other factors, for example, the number of foraged edible species, provided advantages in terms of dietary diversity only during certain seasons (October - January, P for interaction < 0·01).

CONCLUSIONS

Diversifying women's diets throughout the year requires complementary interventions aimed at diversifying production, promoting foraging and increasing income-generating activities to enable food purchasing.

Assessment of Biodiversity in Food Consumption Studies: A Systematic Review

The assessment of food biodiversity has gained importance in nutrition due to the positive association between the diversity of foods consumed and the quality of diets. To date, however, we do not know systematically how food consumption studies address food biodiversity. Our objective with this paper was to characterize how food consumption studies address biodiverse foods, both in terms of (i) new methods capable of overcoming the limitations of existing methods, and (ii) indicators capable of measuring the contribution of biodiversity to nutrition. We conducted a systematic review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), using four databases: Web of Science, Medline/PubMed (via National Library of Medicine), Scopus, and Google Scholar. We selected papers focused on the consumption of biodiverse foods without time constraints. In addition, we assessed the methodological quality of the studies we selected. We reviewed a total of 22 studies, and summarized the methods and indicators most used. We found that some researchers used biodiversity mapping strategies based on ethnographic approaches before the dietary assessment. Regarding dietary assessment tools, retrospective direct methods were the most used by researchers. We list 23 indicators used by the authors, among them the Dietary Species Richness (DSR), used in 18% of the studies. Studies that used biodiversity mapping strategies based on ethnographic approaches before the dietary assessment portrayed the local availability of biodiverse foods more consistently, i.e., presented lists with local edible species satisfactorily identified. We believe researchers in the future can avoid many of the limitations of current methods by ensuring that teams are interprofessional. We emphasize that most of the indicators we summarized are not sensitive enough to biodiversity since they do not measure edible resources at the species level. In this sense, the DSR is promising, because it fills information gaps, especially in the case of wild or neglected species.

Integrating Social-Ecological and Political-Ecological Models of Agrobiodiversity With Nutrient Management of Keystone Food Spaces to Support SDG 2

Agrobiodiversity—the biodiversity of food, agriculture, and land use—is essential to U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 2 by providing crucial food and nutritional quality of diets combined with strengthening agroecological sustainability. Focusing on the agrobiodiversity nexus to SDG 2, the current study utilized the interdisciplinary Agrobiodiversity Knowledge Framework (AKF), household-level surveys, and biodiversity sampling of crop fields and home gardens in a case study in Huánuco, Peru, in 2017. Statistical measures estimated agrobiodiversity of crop fields (n = 268 households) and home gardens (n=159 households) based on species richness (3.7 and 10.2 species/household, in fields and gardens, respectively) and evenness (Shannon diversity index; 0.70 and 1.83 in fields and gardens, respectively). Robust results of Poisson and OLS regression models identified several AKF-guided determinants of agrobiodiversity. Estimated species richness and evenness were significantly associated with 12 social-ecological and political-ecological factors from the four AKF thematic axes: farm characteristics and agroecology; diets and nutrition; markets, governance and sociocultural practices; and global change. This study's AKF approach, agrobiodiversity modeling, agroecological characterization, and field-based case study advanced a series of useful research insights, comparisons, and conceptual innovations to address SDG 2. Characterization of nutrient management through soil- and plant-focused cultural practices and livelihood roles distinguished the “keystone agrobiodiversity-and-food space” of multi-species maize fields (maizales) identified in AKF regression and characterization results. This key space furnished crucial food-nutrition and agroecological benefits that can be expanded by overcoming identified barriers. AKF-guided models incorporating key agrobiodiversity-and-food spaces and ecological nutrient management are needed to strengthen SDG 2 strategies.

Food biodiversity: Quantifying the unquantifiable in human diets

Dietary diversity is an established public health principle, and its measurement is essential for studies of diet quality and food security. However, conventional between food group scores fail to capture the nutritional variability and ecosystem services delivered by dietary richness and dissimilarity within food groups, or the relative distribution (i.e., evenness or moderation) of e.g., species or varieties across whole diets. Summarizing food biodiversity in an all-encompassing index is problematic. Therefore, various diversity indices have been proposed in ecology, yet these require methodological adaption for integration in dietary assessments. In this narrative review, we summarize the key conceptual issues underlying the measurement of food biodiversity at an edible species level, assess the ecological diversity indices previously applied to food consumption and food supply data, discuss their relative suitability, and potential amendments for use in (quantitative) dietary intake studies. Ecological diversity indices are often used without justification through the lens of nutrition. To illustrate: (i) dietary species richness fails to account for the distribution of foods across the diet or their functional traits; (ii) evenness indices, such as the Gini-Simpson index, require widely accepted relative abundance units (e.g., kcal, g, cups) and evidence-based moderation weighting factors; and (iii) functional dissimilarity indices are constructed based on an arbitrary selection of distance measures, cutoff criteria, and number of phylogenetic, nutritional, and morphological traits. Disregard for these limitations can lead to counterintuitive results and ambiguous or incorrect conclusions about the food biodiversity within diets or food systems. To ensure comparability and robustness of future research, we advocate food biodiversity indices that: (i) satisfy key axioms; (ii) can be extended to account for disparity between edible species; and (iii) are used in combination, rather than in isolation.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2051163 .

Gender Roles and Native Potato Diversity Management in Highland Communities of Peru

Crop diversity contributes to yield stability and nutrition security and is valued for its potential use in breeding improved varieties and adaptation to future climates. Women across the globe contribute to biodiversity conservation, and, in the Central Andes region, the cradle of potato diversity, rural women play a vital role in the management of a wealth of native potato diversity. To examine how gender roles and traditions influence the agricultural and conservation practices of male and female custodians of native potato diversity, we undertook a qualitative study in eight farming communities high in the Andes, in the Pasco region of Peru. This article reviews agricultural and crop diversity management practices, farmer motivations for conserving potato diversity, the role that agrobiodiversity plays in family diets and economies, and support of in situ conservation by external actors. It examines how gender norms limit the potential of women to fully benefit from the crop and argues for more gender-responsive approaches that empower both women and men, enable women to overcome barriers, and contribute to a more inclusive, community-based management of agrobiodiversity that ensures its long-term conservation and contribution to community development and well-being.

Farm production diversity and women's dietary diversity: Evidence from central Tunisia

In the context of studies on the effects of agricultural production diversity, there are debates in the scientific community as to the level of diversification appropriate for improving dietary diversity. In Tunisia, agriculture is a strategic sector for the economy and a critical pillar of its food sovereignty. Using instrumental variable methods to account for endogeneity, we have estimated the association between agricultural production diversity and women’s dietary diversity among smallholder farming households in the Sidi Bouzid governorate (central Tunisia). Although we found a low level of agricultural production diversity and a fairly diversified diet among women, we observed a systematic weak positive association between five different indicators of agricultural production diversity and women’s dietary diversity. We observed a stronger positive association between women’s dietary diversity and women being more educated and households being wealthier. Neither diversity of food supplies in food markets nor market distance were associated with women’s dietary diversity, whereas we observed a higher level of consumption of some products (dairy) when they were produced on the farm.

Linking farm production diversity to household dietary diversity controlling market access and agricultural technology usage: evidence from Noakhali district, Bangladesh

Background and objective

Diversified agricultural production is considered a means to enhance food diversity at the household level, particularly in developing countries where subsistence farming is common. Given the importance of a diversified diet for human health and the persistent malnutrition problem in Bangladesh, a pressing issue is how different crops and livestock production affect household food diversification, and this study sought to answer that question.

Methods

Using a multistage sampling procedure, data were collected from 190 small farm holder households from Hatiya (a coastal rural sub-district of Noakhali, Bangladesh). Farm production diversity (FPD) is measured using the household biodiversity index (HBI), a simple count of all crops and livestock produced on the farm. The household dietary diversity score (HDDS) is calculated, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines, by counting 12 food groups consumed by the households in the last 24 h preceding the survey.

Results

On average, households consumed 6.49 food groups during the reference day, according to the household biodiversity index (HBI). The generalized Poisson log-linear regression results indicated that farm production diversity had a positive association with HDDS; one group of farm production increased the household dietary diversity (HDD) by 0.084 unit [β: 0.084, 95% CI: 0.064, 0.106; Exp (B): 1.087], an 8.7% increase in dietary diversity. Total land size, less time to reach the district market, and improved irrigation process affect dietary diversity in bivariate analysis. Farmer's reliance on production diversity reduces when the market is more accessible and improved irrigation is used for production.

Conclusion

Smallholder farm households in Bangladesh could benefit from context-specific, food-based nutrition-sensitive agriculture policies that focus on triangulation of diversified production, greater market access, and updated agricultural technology utilization.

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In subsistence farming, diverse agricultural production can play a vital role in ensuring diversified food consumption.

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In this study, a generalized Poisson regression estimator was used for modeling count data with under-dispersion.

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Study findings indicated that higher farm production diversity (FPD) was associated with higher dietary diversity.

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Farmer's reliance on FPD reduces when the market is more accessible and improved irrigation is used for production.

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Nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices aimed at subsistence farmers could help to achieve food diversity.

Crop diversity is associated with higher child diet diversity in Ethiopia, particularly among low-income households, but not in Vietnam

OBJECTIVES

To examine associations of household crop diversity with school-aged child dietary diversity in Vietnam and Ethiopia and mechanisms underlying these associations.

DESIGN

We created a child diet diversity score (DDS) using data on seven food groups consumed in the last 24 h. Generalised estimating equations were used to model associations of household-level crop diversity, measured as a count of crop species richness (CSR) and of plant crop nutritional functional richness (CNFR), with DDS. We examined effect modification by household wealth and subsistence orientation, and mediation by the farm's market orientation.

SETTING

Two survey years of longitudinal data from the Young Lives cohort.

PARTICIPANTS

Children (aged 5 years in 2006 and 8 years in 2009) from rural farming households in Ethiopia (n 1012) and Vietnam (n 1083).

RESULTS

There was a small, positive association between household CNFR and DDS in Ethiopia (CNFR-DDS, β = 0·13; (95 % CI 0·07, 0·19)), but not in Vietnam. Associations of crop diversity and child diet diversity were strongest among poor households in Ethiopia and among subsistence-oriented households in Vietnam. Agricultural earnings positively mediated the crop diversity-diet diversity association in Ethiopia.

DISCUSSION

Children from households that are poorer and those that rely more on their own agricultural production for food may benefit most from increased crop diversity.

Indicators and Recommendations for Assessing Sustainable Healthy Diets

Research coupling human nutrition and sustainability concerns is a rapidly developing field, which is essential to guide governments' policies. This critical and comprehensive review analyzes indicators and approaches to "sustainable healthy diets" published in the literature since this discipline's emergence a few years ago, identifying robust gauges and highlighting the flaws of the most commonly used models. The reviewed studies largely focus on one or two domains such as greenhouse gas emissions or water use, while overlooking potential impact shifts to other sectors or resources. The present study covers a comprehensive set of indicators from the health, environmental and socio-economic viewpoints. This assessment concludes that in order to identify the best food option in sustainability assessments and nutrition analysis of diets, some aspects such as the classification and disaggregation of food groups, the impacts of the rates of local food consumption and seasonality, preservation methods, agrobiodiversity and organic food and different production systems, together with consequences for low-income countries, require further analysis and consideration.

Food Crop Diversity, Women's Income-Earning Activities, and Distance to Markets in Relation to Maternal Dietary Quality in Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Women's dietary diversity and quality are limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nutrition-sensitive interventions that promote food crop diversity and women's access to income could improve diets and address the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs.

OBJECTIVES

We examined the associations among food crop diversity and women's income-earning activities with women's diet quality, as well as effect modification by access to markets, in the context of small-holder food production in rural Tanzania.

METHODS

Data from a cross-sectional study of 880 women from Rufiji, Tanzania, were analyzed. Women's dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. The prime diet quality score (PDQS; 21 food groups; range, 0-42), a unique diet-quality metric for women that captures the healthy and unhealthy aspects of diet, was computed. Generalized estimating equation linear models were used to evaluate the associations of food crop diversity and women's income-earning activities with PDQS, while controlling for socio-economic factors.

RESULTS

Maternal overweight (24.3%) and obesity (13.1%) were high. The median PDQS was 19 (IQR, 17-21). Households produced 2.0 food crops (SD ± 1.0) yearly. Food crop diversity was positively associated with PDQS (P < 0.001), but the association was strengthened by proximity to markets (P for interaction = 0.02). For women living close (<1.1 km) to markets, producing 1 additional food crop was associated with a 0.67 (95% CI, 0.22-1.12) increase in PDQS, versus a 0.40 (95% CI, 0.24-0.57) increase for women living farther away. The PDQS increased with women's salaried employment (estimate, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.26-1.67).

CONCLUSIONS

Household food production may interact with access to markets for sales and purchases, while nonfarm income also improves women's diet quality in rural Tanzania. Programs to improve women's diet quality should consider improving market access and women's access to income (source of empowerment), in addition to diversifying production.

Agricultural Food Production Diversity and Dietary Diversity among Female Small Holder Farmers in a Region of the Ecuadorian Andes Experiencing Nutrition Transition

Some rural areas of Ecuador, including the Imbabura Province of the Andes Highlands, are experiencing a double burden of malnutrition where micronutrient deficiencies persist at the same time obesity is increasing as many traditional home-grown foods are being replaced with more commercially prepared convenience foods. Thus, the relationships among agricultural food production diversity (FPD), dietary diversity (DD), and household food insecurity (HFI) of the rural small holder farmers need further study. Therefore, we examined these associations in small holder farmers residing in this Province in the Andes Highlands (elevation > 2500 m). Non-pregnant maternal home managers (n = 558, x age = 44.1, SD = 16.5 y) were interviewed regarding the number of different agricultural food crops cultivated and domestic animals raised in their family farm plots. DD was determined using the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women Score (MDD-W) based on the number of 10 different food groups consumed, and household food insecurity (HFI) was determined using the 8-item Household Food Insecurity Experience Scale. The women reported consuming an average of 53% of their total food from what they cultivated or raised. Women with higher DD [MMD-W score ≥ 5 food groups (79% of total sample)] were on farms that cultivated a greater variety of crops (x = 8.7 vs. 6.7), raised more animals (x = 17.9 vs. 12.7, p < 0.05), and reported lower HFI and significantly higher intakes of energy, protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin A (all p < 0.05). Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that FPD was only modestly related to DD, which together with years of education, per capita family income, and HFI accounted for 26% of DD variance. In rural areas of the Imbabura Province, small holder farmers still rely heavily on consumption of self-cultivated foods, but greater diversity of crops grown in family farm plots is only weakly associated with greater DD and lower HFI among the female caretakers.

Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon

Few longitudinal studies link agricultural biodiversity, land use and food access in rural landscapes. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that, in a context of economic change, cash crop expansion is associated with deforestation, reduced agrobiodiversity and changes in food access. For this purpose, we analysed data collected from the same 53 upland and floodplain mestizo households in Ucayali, Peru, in 2000 and 2015. We found an emerging transition towards less diversified food access coupled with loss of forest cover and reduced agricultural biodiversity. In 2015, diets appeared to rely on fewer food groups, fewer food items, and on products increasingly purchased in the market compared to 2000. Wild fruits and plants were mentioned, but rarely consumed. Agricultural production systems became more specialised with a shift towards commercial crops. Peak deforestation years in the 15-year period appeared linked with incentives for agricultural expansion. Our results suggest an overall trend from diversified productive and “extractive” systems and more diverse food access, towards specialized productive systems, with less diverse food access and stronger market orientation (both in production and consumption). The assumption in the food and agricultural sciences that increased income and market-orientation is linked to improved food security, is challenged by our integrated analyses of food access, agrobiodiversity, land use and forest cover. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal, multidimensional, systemic analyses, with major implications for land use, food and health policies. The potential risks of parallel homogenisation of diets and agricultural production systems require interdisciplinary research and policies that promote integrated landscape approaches for sustainable and inclusive food systems.

Exploring agrobiodiversity for nutrition: Household on-farm agrobiodiversity is associated with improved quality of diet of young children in Vihiga, Kenya

Due to their limited access to the external productive inputs and the dependency on rain-fed agricultural production, small scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have continued to face undernutrition despite the significant advancements in agriculture. They however often live in areas endowed with high agrobiodiversity which could contribute, if explored, to improved diets and nutrition. Few studies have linked the contribution of agrobiodiversity to the micronutrient adequacy of the diets of young children among smallholder farmers. The study explored this relationship and contributes to the growing body of literature linking agrobiodiversity to nutrition of young children. Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted as part of baseline assessment for an intervention study, one in the lean and a second in the plenty season in Vihiga county, Kenya. Household level interviews were administered to 634 households with children 12–23 months. Agrobiodiversity was defined as the number of crop species cultivated or harvested from the wild and the number of livestock maintained by the household across two agricultural seasons. Dietary data were collected using two-non-consecutive quantitative 24-hour recalls and analyzed using Lucille software. Diet quality was assessed using dietary diversity score based on seven food groups and mean probability of micronutrient adequacy computed for eleven micronutrients. A total of 80 species were maintained or harvested from the wild by the households. Mean household species richness was 9.9 ± 4.3. One in every four children did not meet the minimum dietary diversity score. The average mean probability of micronutrient adequacy was 68.11 ± 16.08 in plenty season compared to 56.37± 19.5% in the lean season. Iron, zinc and calcium were most limiting micronutrients in the diet, with less than 30% average probability of adequacy in both seasons. Household agrobiodiversity was positively associated with both dietary diversity score (r = 0.09, p = 0.029) and micronutrient adequacy (r = 0.15, p<0.000) in the pooled sample. One unit increase in species diversity was associated with 12.7% improvement in micronutrient adequacy. Despite the rich agrobiodiversity in the study area the diets were low in diversity and there is an unrealized opportunity to improve micronutrient intake through greater promotion and consumption of locally available agrobiodiversity.

Perceptions of agrodiversity and seed-saving practices in the northern Andes of Ecuador

BACKGROUND

As concerns about agrodiversity loss and its impact on food security increase, interest in seed-saving practices and motivations has risen, especially in regions characterized by ancestral farming. Agroecology practitioners in the northern Andes of Ecuador (n = 65) participated in this study to describe (1) the dynamics of intergenerational agrodiversity, (2) perceptions of relevance of the crops they grow, (3) criteria for characterizing the differences between conventional and non-conventional seeds, and (4) their seed-saving practices.

METHODS

This exploratory study incorporated a community-based participatory research approach using mixed methods. We conducted (1) a timeline mapping for exploring the dynamics of intergenerational agrodiversity and (2) structured interviews to explore the perception of relevance of crops grown to identify criteria for characterizing conventional and non-conventional seeds and for identifying seed-saving practices. We computed ranks and frequencies from free listing data derived from the interviews to detect the most salient patterns for crop diversity and seed-saving practices. A principal component analysis was performed to illustrate crops distribution within the study area.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Based on the timeline-mapping tool, we found that participants perceive an intergenerational loss of agrodiversity. Data derived from free listing determined that salient crops differ in each location of the study area, mostly due to geographic (altitude, climate), market factors, and crop management limitations. Responses from open-ended interview questions revealed that farmers discriminate conventional from non-conventional seeds using yield, adaptation to local conditions, pest tolerance, taste, and crop management as criteria. Analysis of free listing data determined that the most salient reported practices related to seed saving were soil fertility management, seed selection, safe seed storage, tilling and rowing, and weeding.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to raising awareness of intergenerational agrodiversity loss and replacement with modern crops. We found the relevance of crops and practices is subject to cultural and environmental context, and few agricultural practices are exclusively used for seed saving. Further, farmers clearly discriminate conventional from non-conventional seeds based on advantages and disadvantages, cultural motivation, and produce destination. The community-based participatory approach resulted in positive engagement from participants and promoted commitment from farmers to preserve agrodiversity and support practices at the community level.