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).

Identification and frequency of consumption of wild edible plants over a year in central Tunisia: a mixed-methods approach.

Objective: To identify wild plants used as food and assess their frequency of consumption over a year in a region of Tunisia where agriculture is undergoing a major transformation from smallholder farming to an intensive high-input agricultural system.

Design: Qualitative ethnobotanical study followed by a survey of women's frequency of consumption of wild plants conducted using FFQ at quarterly intervals.

Setting: Sidi Bouzid governorate of central Tunisia.

A "Fork-to-Farm" Multi-Scale Approach to Promote Sustainable Food Systems for Nutrition and Health: A Perspective for the Mediterranean Region.

Mediterranean countries are undergoing dietary and nutritional changes that affect their inhabitants' health, while facing massive environmental challenges. The increasing demand of water in agriculture, the capacity to maintain local food production, and the growing dependence on food imports are interconnected issues that must be addressed to ensure food security and nutrition in the Mediterranean region. Here, we present the conceptual framework and methodologies developed by the MEDINA-Study Group for rethinking food systems toward sustainable consumption and production modes.

Using Household Consumption and Expenditures Survey (HCES) data to assess dietary intake in relation to the nutrition transition: a case study from Cape Verde.

Background: Few surveys of food and nutrient intakes are conducted at the individual level in low- and middle-income countries, whereas Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) are regularly carried out to monitor economic conditions. Because of the paucity of individual-level data, there is interest in using HCES to aid in the design of food and nutrition policies.

Objective: Data from the 2001/02 HCES from Cape Verde were used to assess household dietary intakes in the context of the country's nutrition transition.

Proxy measures of household food consumption for food security assessment and surveillance: comparison of the household dietary diversity and food consumption scores.

Objective: To provide an overview of the household dietary diversity score and the food consumption score, two indicators used for food security assessment and surveillance, and compare their performance in food security assessments in three countries.

Design: Cross-sectional cluster sampling design using an interview-administered structured questionnaire on household food security, including household-level food group consumption measured over 1 d and 7 d.

Setting: Survey data are from Burkina Faso, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and northern Uganda.

Proceedings of the workshop on food-consumption surveys in developing countries: future challenges.

The workshop "Food-consumption surveys in developing countries: Future challenges," held in Chiang Rai, Thailand, January 25--26, 2003, brought together 30 nutritionists and food safety experts from 10 Southeast Asian countries as well as from countries outside the region. It provided a forum for sharing information and experiences relating to food-consumption survey methodology. It enabled detailed discussions of the gathering of food-consumption data in developing countries for purposes of nutrition assessment, exposure assessment, and studies of diet-disease relationships.

[Breastfeeding in Africa: will positive trends be challenged by the AIDS epidemic?].

In Africa, more than 95% of infants are currently breastfed, but feeding practices are often inadequate: feeding water, and other liquids, to breastfed infants is a widespread practice. Consequently, the rate of exclusive breast-feeding is low, particularly in West Africa. The rate of bottle-feeding is high in some countries (exceeding 30% in Tunisia, Nigeria, Namibia and Sudan).