Potential Nutrient Contribution of Community-Based Insects in Children's Food in Northern Ghana.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are a major problem among children in northern Ghana. Available local foods and existing plant-based dietary patterns among children are insufficient to meet children's nutrients requirements. Aside enhancing diets with animal source foods, most of which are expensive for rural households, entomophagy, which is culturally accepted, appears to be a great alternative.

Heterosis and Responses to Selection in Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato () Improved Using Reciprocal Recurrent Selection.

Sweetpotato is a highly heterozygous hybrid, and populations of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) have a considerable importance for food security and health. The objectives were to estimate heterosis increments and response to selection in three OFSP hybrid populations (H) developed in Peru for different product profiles after one reciprocal recurrent selection cycle, namely, H for wide adaptation and earliness (O-WAE), H for no sweetness after cooking (O-NSSP), and H for high iron (O-HIFE). The H populations were evaluated at two contrasting locations together with parents, foundation (parents in H), and two widely adapted checks.

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification assays for on-site detection of the main sweetpotato infecting viruses.

Globally, Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV) occur frequently and in combination cause sweetpotato virus disease (SPVD). Many viral diseases are economically important and negatively impact the production and movement of germplasm across regions. Rapid detection of viruses is critical for effective control.

Sensory characteristics and consumer segmentation of fried sweetpotato for expanded markets in Africa.

Prepared foods are increasing in popularity in West Africa alongside rapid urbanisation. Growing demand for fried products calls for targeted breeding efforts to meet consumer needs, but little is known regarding consumer preferences. This research identified the sensory attributes of fried sweetpotato preferred by different consumer groups using a combination of consumer acceptance testing and descriptive sensory analysis.

Review of knowledge to guide product development and breeding for sweetpotato frying quality in West Africa.

This review provides background about sweetpotato in West Africa to identify the current importance and future potential of sweetpotato fried products in the region. We drew on global literature to consider current best practices and health aspects in addition to information from West Africa where frying in the form of large wedges or 'chunk fries' is predominant over other forms (i.e.

Fried sweetpotato user preferences identified in Nigeria and Ghana and implications for trait evaluation.

Fried sweetpotato quality is important for variety adoption in West Africa. To inform breeding efforts, the study developed a product profile for sweetpotato chunk fries using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. Root characteristics, processing attributes, in-mouth attributes and appearance of fried product were critical to final product quality.

Efficiency of the Polycross and Controlled Hybridization Methods in Sweetpotato Breeding in Uganda.

Sweetpotato is an important crop in many parts of the world especially in developing countries. It is used for both human consumption as well as livestock feed. It is an important source of carbohydrates, vitamin C, fibre, iron, potassium, protein and β-carotene.

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.

Iron Absorption from Iron-Biofortified Sweetpotato Is Higher Than Regular Sweetpotato in Malawian Women while Iron Absorption from Regular and Iron-Biofortified Potatoes Is High in Peruvian Women.

Background: Sweetpotato and potato are fast-maturing staple crops and widely consumed in low- and middle-income countries. Conventional breeding to biofortify these crops with iron could improve iron intakes. To our knowledge, iron absorption from sweetpotato and potato has not been assessed.

Comparative analysis for producing sweetpotato pre-basic seed using sandponics and conventional systems.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, sweetpotato pre-basic seed is multiplied in screenhouses using a sterilized soil substrate. This is expensive and unsustainable. The use of sand substrate with a fertigation system ("sandponics"), is an alternative.

Variance component estimations and mega-environments for sweetpotato breeding in West Africa.

The current study was aimed at identifying mega-environments in Ghana and evaluating adaptability of superior sweetpotato [ (L.) Lam.] genotypes from a targeted breeding effort.

Storage Root Yield of Sweetpotato as Influenced by and Its Interaction With and in Kenya.

In this study, the effect of a Kenyan strain of (SPLCV) and its interactions with (SPFMV) and (SPCSV) on root yield was determined. Trials were performed during two seasons using varieties Kakamega and Ejumula and contrasting in their resistance to sweetpotato virus disease in a randomized complete block design with 16 treatments replicated three times. The treatments included plants graft inoculated with SPLCV, SPFMV, and SPCSV alone and in possible dual or triple combinations.

Understanding innovation: The development and scaling of orange-fleshed sweetpotato in major African food systems.

The development and scaling of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) during the past 25 years is a case study of a disruptive innovation to address a pressing need - the high levels of vitamin A deficiency among children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. When the innovation was introduced consumers strongly preferred white or yellow-fleshed sweetpotato, so it was necessary to create a demand to respond to that need. This was at odds with the breeding strategy of responding to consumers' demands.

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

This study examined the nutrition and food security impacts of a project that was designed to improve availability of disease-free planting materials of biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in rural Tanzania. Difference-in-difference and matching techniques were employed to estimate causal effects using panel data. Participation in the project increased agronomic and nutritional knowledge of households, raised uptake rate for OFSP varieties, and improved food security status.

What is the cost of integration? Evidence from an integrated health and agriculture project to improve nutrition outcomes in Western Kenya.

Integrated nutrition and agricultural interventions have the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of investments in food security and nutrition. This article aimed to estimate the costs of an integrated agriculture and health intervention (Mama SASHA) focused on the promotion of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) production and consumption in Western Kenya. Programme activities included nutrition education and distribution of vouchers for OFSP vines during antenatal care and postnatal care (PNC) visits.

Tackling vitamin A deficiency with biofortified sweetpotato in sub-Saharan Africa.

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) is a rich plant-based source of beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. In sub-Saharan Africa, sweetpotato is known as a food security crop but most varieties grown are high dry matter white-fleshed types, lacking beta-carotene. In 1995, researchers recognized the potential of OFSP varieties to address widespread vitamin A deficiency in SSA using an integrated agriculture-nutrition approach.

The potential contribution of bread buns fortified with beta-carotene-rich sweet potato in Central Mozambique.

Background: Orange-fleshed sweet potato is an efficacious source of vitamin A. Substituting wheat flour with orange-fleshed sweet potato in processed products could reduce foreign exchange outlays, create new markets for producers, and result in increased vitamin A consumption among consumers provided there is adequate retention of beta-carotene during processing.

Objective: To explore whether substituting 38% of wheat flour (by weight) in bread buns ("golden bread") with boiled and mashed orange-fleshed sweet potato from fresh roots or rehydrated chips would produce economically viable beta-carotene-rich products acceptable to Mozambican rural consumers.

Ensuring the supply of and creating demand for a biofortified crop with a visible trait: lessons learned from the introduction of orange-fleshed sweet potato in drought-prone areas of Mozambique.

Background: Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is a promising biofortified crop for sub-Saharan Africa because it has high levels of provitamin A carotenoids, the formed vitamin A is bioavailable, and white-fleshed sweet potato is already widely grown.

Objectives: To examine whether farmers will adopt varieties with a distinct visible trait, young children will eat OFSP in sufficient quantities to improve vitamin A intake, OFSP can serve as an entry point for promoting a more diversified diet, and lessons can be drawn to assure sustained adoption.

Methods: The 2-year quasi-experimental intervention study followed households and children (n = 741; mean age, 13 months at baseline) through two agricultural cycles in drought prone-areas of Mozambique.

A food-based approach introducing orange-fleshed sweet potatoes increased vitamin A intake and serum retinol concentrations in young children in rural Mozambique.

Vitamin A deficiency is widespread and has severe consequences for young children in the developing world. Food-based approaches may be an appropriate and sustainable complement to supplementation programs. Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is rich in beta-carotene and is well accepted by young children.

Sources of measurement variation in child anthropometry in the Malawi maternal and child nutrition study.

An examination of intra- and inter-observer error in child anthropometry and variation between two skinfold calipers was conducted as part of a large prospective study of maternal and child nutrition in Malawi, Central Africa. Measurements include length, weight, head and arm circumferences, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, and estimated cross-sectional arm fat and arm muscle areas. Total observer error, expressed as a percentage of total variance in each trait, is ⩽3.

Malawi maternal and child nutrition study: Study design and anthropometric characteristics of children and adults.

The Malawi Maternal and Child Nutrition (MMCN) Study is a three-year longitudinal investigation of some of the determinants and consequences of protein-energy malnutrition in a rural African population. This paper describes the anthropometric characteristics of children and adults based on the baseline census conducted in the 89 villages included in the MMCN Study. Mean length-for-age of Malawian children (birth-60 months) is very low (Z-score = -2.