Faculty of Agricultural Sciences M.Sc. Program “Agricultural Economics” Prof. Dr. Harald Grethe Responsible Scientist Katrin Winkler Program Coordinator
Alumni Winter School
A World without Hunger 02. - 04. December 2015 Book of Abstracts
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Alumni Winter School
A World without Hunger
Book of Abstracts
Editor Katharine Cresswell Riol
Table of Contents I Food and Agriculture Interdisciplinary Workshops DR. TITUS FONDO AMBEBE Effect of Inorganic and Organic Fertilization on Growth and Yield of F1 Cobra 26 Hybrid Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) in Buea, Cameroon JEFF BOWA Demonstrative Small-Scale Soybean Production using the concepts of Conservation Agriculture in the Kankoso Area of Serenje District, Central Province, Zambia FELIX FRIMPONG Aquaponics-Based Food Systems (AFS) Project MOSES JEMITALE Impact of Natural Disasters on Food Security in Malawi DR. MARTINE ZANDJANAKOU-TACHIN Recovery of Banana and Plantain for Poverty Alleviation in Two Communities of Benin through Banana Bunchy Top Virus Eradication Public Conferences PROF. MATHIAS BECKER The Role of Agriculturalists in Enhancing the Adaptive Capacity of Social-Ecological Systems PROF. REGINA BIRNER The Governance Challenges of Achieving Food Security CARTER COLEMAN Challenges of African Agricultural Investment and Inclusive Growth II Food and Agriculture with an emphasis on Tropical Forestry Interdisciplinary Workshops ADEFIRES WORKU GIZAW Livestock Production is not enough for Sustainable Livelihoods in the Dry-Land EcoZones in Ethiopia: Would Strategic Integration of Forests into Dry Zone Management Plans enhance Social-Ecological Resilience and Food Security? DR. MOHAMMED KHAMIS Contribution of Woody Plants to Household Food Security in North Darfur ELYAS SIDDIG ELTAHIR MUNEER Food from the Forest: A Practical Successful Example of how Baobab Trees Reduce Hunger for Rural People III Food and Energy Public Conferences PROF. HARALD GRETHE The Bioeconomy and Food Security: How to Reconcile? PROF. JÜRGEN PRETZSCH Needs to Redefine Bioeconomy from a Bottom-Up Perspective DR. DETLEF VIRCHOW The Complementary Use of Biomass in the Bioeconomy
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Table of Contents
IV Food and Public Health Interdisciplinary Workshops THOMAS ATHOO Current Food Safety Status and Public Health Regulation in Kenya AMANUEL KIDANE HAGOS Evaluation of a Pilot Project Promoting Consumption of Sweet Potato and Potato in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia GEORGE WALTER GRAVES WOODE Improving the Nutritional Status of Women and Children through Health Access and Quality: A Public-Private Partnership to Deliver Development Assistance in Ghana Public Conferences DR. IRMGARD JORDAN Improving Complementary Feeding to Prevent Malnutrition DR. NOOR AHMAD KHAN Food Fortification: A Viable Approach to Addressing Micronutrient Malnutrition PROF. HANS KONRAD BIESALSKI Hidden Hunger V Food and Regional Planning Public Conferences DR. JOSEPH ABAZAAMI Between Exit and Voice: Experiences and Lessons of CARE International’s Community Based Adaptation Approach to Food Security in North-Eastern Ghana DR. KARIN GAESING Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Needs VI Food and Regional Planning & Food and Energy Interdisciplinary Workshops MOHAMMED ISMAIL ADAM AHMED Water Harvesting Supporting Food Security MARK BOITT Application of Geospatial Technologies for Cropland Assessment in the Taita Hills, Kenya EMMANUEL DADA The Rapid Urbanization Process: Implication on Regional Planning and Food Production in Nigeria KALEB GIZAW NEGUSSIE Fire Monitoring through the use of Earth Observation Sensors in Southern Africa OLUSEGUN IMEVBORE OSIFUYE GIS-Based Land Use Simulation for Biomass Energy Production GABRIEL VINCENT SANYA Enhancing Food Security with the Integration of Mobile GIS Technology into Oil and Gas Site Specific Assessment Processes
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I Food and Agriculture Interdisciplinary Workshops DR. TITUS FONDO AMBEBE Effect of Inorganic and Organic Fertilization on Growth and Yield of F1 Cobra 26 Hybrid Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) in Buea, Cameroon
2
JEFF BOWA Demonstrative Small-Scale Soybean Production using the concepts of Conservation Agriculture in the Kankoso Area of Serenje District, Central Province, Zambia
3
FELIX FRIMPONG Aquaponics-Based Food Systems (AFS) Project
4
MOSES JEMITALE Impact of Natural Disasters on Food Security in Malawi
5
DR. MARTINE ZANDJANAKOU-TACHIN Recovery of Banana and Plantain for Poverty Alleviation in Two Communities of Benin through Banana Bunchy Top Virus Eradication
6
Public Conferences PROF. MATHIAS BECKER The Role of Agriculturalists in Enhancing the Adaptive Capacity of SocialEcological Systems
7
PROF. REGINA BIRNER The Governance Challenges of Achieving Food Security
8
CARTER COLEMAN Challenges of African Agricultural Investment and Inclusive Growth
9
Food and Agriculture
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Effect of Inorganic and Organic Fertilization on Growth and Yield of F1 Cobra 26 Hybrid Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) in Buea, Cameroon DR. TITUS FONDO AMBEBE Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, University of Buea, Cameroon F1 Cobra 26 is the predominant tomato variety grown in Buea in the south-west region of Cameroon. In an effort to accelerate growth and maximize yield in order to meet the high demand of the ever-growing population of the region, farmers have turned to the use of various agrochemical regimes in the cultivation of this popular vegetable. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield of F1 Cobra 26. Using a Randomized Complete Block Design, plants were grown in a field located in Buea during the 2014 farming season. The treatments were control (T1), poultry manure (T2), NPK (nitrogen: phosphorous: potassium) 20:10:10 (T3), and a combination of poultry manure and NPK 20:10:10 (T4). Growth and yield were examined. Plant height was lowest in T1 and T4. Although the tallest plants were found in T2, the statistics showed that the differences between T2 and T3 or T4 were not statistically significant. Similarly, values for the number of leaves and collar diameter were highest in T2, which showed little significant difference with T3 or T4, and lowest in T1. The pattern of response to treatments for leaf length was similar to that reported for the other growth parameters. For yield attributes, the number of fruit sets was highest in T2 followed by and not significantly different from T3, while it was lowest in the T1 and T4 treatments, which displayed similar responses for this trait. With the exception of T1 in which there was a significant reduction, the number of fruits per plant was similar for all treatments. The yield was 40.27, 33.09, 27.61 and 8.59 t/ha for T2, T3, T4 and T1, respectively. To scale down to the standard used by farmers for marketing tomatoes locally, the yield was also evaluated by the number of standard sized baskets filled with tomatoes at harvest. The weights of the standard baskets filled with harvested ripe tomato fruits did not differ within or between treatments, indicating that the number of baskets could be used as an unbiased measurement of yield. The number of baskets was highest in T2 and lowest under T1. Whether expressed in t/ha or the number of baskets, however, the differences in yield between T2, T3 and T4 were statistically insignificant. The findings of this study have important implications for the cultivation of F1 Cobra 26 tomato in Buea where inorganic fertilizers are scarce and/or expensive for smallholder farmers who constitute the tomato producing community. Keywords: agrochemicals, fertilizer, Lycopersicon esculentum, mill, tomato, yield
Dr. Titus Fondo Ambebe is an alumnus of Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in International Horticulture. Contact email:
[email protected] 2
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Food and Agriculture
Demonstrative Small-Scale Soybean Production using the concepts of Conservation Agriculture in the Kankoso Area of Serenje District, Central Province, Zambia JEFF BOWA Department of Animal Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zambia, Zambia Low efficiency in agricultural markets is one of the greatest socio-economic constraints to agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia, the agricultural sector is dominated by maize production, with significant government support through the Farmer Input Support Programme for small-scale farmers. However, significant marketing challenges are encountered by small-scale farmers who grow maize since it is mainly the government that buys it. Consequently, key private investors have ventured into other crops such as soybean, wheat, cotton and groundnuts that have a high value price. To help with the challenges of marketing, small-scale farmers are being encouraged to form cooperatives and/or venture into high value crop production. Soybean was grown as demonstrative crops to small-scale farmers in the Kankoso area of the Serenje District, Central Province, Zambia, between December 2014 and April 2015. The study demonstrated the concept of conservation agriculture using the MRI DINA soybean variety. It also provided the opportunity to pre-test the formation of Stream Agro-Commodities and Consulting. Previously ploughed land covering an area of 0.5 hectares was cleared, measured and ripped using hand holes. Inoculated MRI DINA soybean variety and D compound were broadcasted into ripped rows at 50 cm apart. This was followed by an application of the herbicide glycosate 75.5% active ingredient at 1.0-1.5 kg in 80 liters per hectare. Lambda EC insecticide was sprayed a week after germination and Dithane M 45 fungicide a week later. Data was collected during a focus group discussion of 14 farmers on the demonstration plot in the Kankoso area. Results from the focus group discussion showed that there was strong support for conservation agriculture. However, challenges to widespread adoption included the need to have scientific knowledge, equipment and security, and know the general cost involved. The partial drought of the 2014/2015 session caused a sharp fall in soybean output. It was concluded that irrigation schemes, incentives in the soybean value chain, more extension services, and agricultural insurance are needed for enhanced soybean production. Keywords: agricultural productivity, conservation agriculture, marketing, soybean
Jeff Bowa is an alumnus of the University of Bonn, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics. Contact email:
[email protected] 3
Food and Agriculture
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Aquaponics-Based Food Systems (AFS) Project FELIX FRIMPONG1*, SHADRACK AMPONSAH1, KENNEDY AGYEMAN1, JONAS OSEI ADU1, HEDERICK DANKWA2 & KWAME OWUSU AMOAH3 1
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Crops Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Water Research Institute, Achimota-Accra, Ghana 3 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Animal Research Institute, Achimota-Accra, Ghana * Conference speaker 2
Aquaponics is the coined name for a farming technology that integrates fish farming, crops and/or animal production, for example, small ruminants and grass cutters, including rabbits, sheep and goats, as a comprehensive unit, usually on a one hectare parcel of land. It is a closed system that may involve at least two to several units, such as aquaculture, a snailery, a compost unit, livestock/poultry, vegetables, worm rearing, and crop production, where either the output or effluent from one of these components becomes an input for the other. The objective of the aquaponics-based food system (AFS) project, sponsored by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), is to increase smallholder food production through the implementation of water conservation, ensuring all year round food production for enhanced nutrition to the smallholder farmer. The project is being implemented by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Crops Research Institute in affiliation with the CSIR water research and animal research institutes. The CSIR-Crops Research Institute has established an on-station demonstration at Fumesua, and, so far, disseminated to three farmers from the Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana. Experts’ assessments and analysis of the AFS has shown that it is not only a sustainable practice with highly variable, all year round food production that ensures improvements in nutrition for the smallholder farmer, but that it also requires technical knowhow and start-up capital for the establishment of all the different units, with the farmer breaking even after five to six months of starting up. Keywords: aquaponics, crops, food, poultry, productivity, small ruminants, sustainable agriculture
Felix Frimpong is an alumnus of Bonn University, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in Agricultural Science and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics. Contact email:
[email protected] 4
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Food and Agriculture
Impact of Natural Disasters on Food Security in Malawi MOSES JEMITALE United Nations World Food Programme, Rome A combination of factors has resulted in a situation in which many developing countries in Africa, including Malawi, are affected by acute food insecurity on a seasonal basis that varies from location to location. The majority of households affected by hunger in Malawi live in fragile and marginal environments, and bear the brunt of climate change. Malawi faces a number of climatic shocks, which include floods and drought. In the past decade, the intensity and frequency of climatic disasters has been increasing in the face of climate change, population growth, urbanization, and environmental degradation. Disasters reduce short-term domestic food supplies and pose a major risk to future production. In January 2015, Malawi experienced severe flooding that affected 1,101,364 people, displaced 230,000, and killed 106. According to a joint food security assessment conducted in February 2015, some 616,000 people in 17 districts were made food insecure due to floods, and required food assistance between April and July 2015. A recent food security assessment conducted by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee revealed that 2.8 million people will require food assistance from October 2015 to April 2016 as a result of floods, prolonged dry spells, and the early cessation of rains. In the wake of such disasters, rebuilding food production and distribution to help people gain access to safe and nutritious food without fear of hunger or starvation is the essence of food security. Keywords: climate, disasters, drought, floods, food security, hunger
Moses Jemitale is an alumnus of the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics. Contact email:
[email protected] 5
Food and Agriculture
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Recovery of Banana and Plantain for Poverty Alleviation in Two Communities of Benin through Banana Bunchy Top Virus Eradication DR. MARTINE ZANDJANAKOU-TACHIN Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences et Techniques Agronomiques (ENSTA), University of Agriculture of Kétou, Benin Nowadays, fighting against hunger is a priority for all of us. In West Africa, most research is oriented on poverty alleviation and food security. Banana and plantain are staple foods and a source of income for poor people in West Africa in general and Benin in particular. Since 2011, the production of these foods has drastically decreased, causing an economic problem in many communities in the country. The crop is affected by a virus known as Banana Bunchy Top Virus. The disease is characterized by stunted plants with yellow edges, erect, narrow and small leaves, a bunchy appearance, and the production of a few deformed fingers or no fruit, culminating in the death of the plant. It is transmitted through infected planting materials and the aphid Pentalonia nigronoversa. At the moment, no chemical is available to control the disease, so the only solution is eradication of the plant. The University of Agriculture of Kétou has received a grant from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and, in collaboration with the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique of Benin (INRAB), aims to develop ways to control the disease, improve livelihoods, and alleviate hunger in the communities through a clean seed production system and the establishment of field demonstrations. This work has been carried out with National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), producers, students and local government representatives. Keywords: Banana Bunchy Top Virus, food security, West Africa
Dr. Martine Zandjanakou-Tachin is an alumna of the University of Hannover, Germany. She studied a M.Sc. in Phytopathology/Entomology. Contact email:
[email protected] 6
Public Conferences
Food and Agriculture
The Role of Agriculturalists in Enhancing the Adaptive Capacity of Social-Ecological Systems PROF. MATHIAS BECKER Plant Nutrition, University of Bonn, Germany Producing sufficient food for an estimated nine billion people by 2050 is the major challenge faced by agricultural scientists in the coming decades. Limited availability and degradation of productive resources, as well as unpredictable rains and frequent extreme events, increase yield variability and uncertainty in the outcome of investments into agriculture. While the green revolution in the 1960s was able to partially overcome food shortages through technological innovation (i.e., plant breeding, irrigation, agrochemicals), such single solutions and blanket recommendation based approaches frequently disregarded consequences for environmental health, social effects, cultural specifics, and long-term implications. Today, there is a call for a second green revolution that can address not only the challenges of increasing food production, but also maintain other ecosystem services in a broader economic, social and political context. This new strategy of “Sustainable Intensification” is reflected in the social-ecological scope of the new sustainable development goals (SDGs) that consider both the biophysical conditions as well as the socio-cultural environment. Thus, enhanced food production for a world without hunger (SDG 2) must be achieved concomitantly with poverty alleviation (SDG 1) in a healthy environment (SDGs 6, 7 and 13). Postulated approaches for sustainable intensification of agricultural land uses include the rehabilitation of degraded areas, increased resource use efficiency (i.e., crop physiological advances), technological innovations (i.e., precision agriculture in combination with larger farmer sizes), and “modern” plant breeding (i.e., enhancing stress resistance and lifting the yield ceiling). Apart from land rehabilitation, these strategies are largely geared toward developed and transition economies where production occurs close to the yield potential. This paper postulates that gains in resource use efficiency and yield potential will contribute little to food security in developing countries as the major share of the arable land area in Europe and North America is devoted to producing animal feed and bioenergy. On the other hand, most developing countries produce mainly food crops and far below the yield ceiling, achieving on average only 10-40% of the potential or achievable yields. The short- to medium-term priority in investments and research in agriculture should thus focus on site- and system-specific targeting and the adoption of existing agricultural knowledge and technologies. A case study from Kakamega in Kenya illustrates that defining social-ecological niches for promising technology options is enhancing the adaptive capacity of small-scale farmers and is projected to more than double regional food production. In addition, condition-specific solutions can promote food security without jeopardizing other ecosystem services, provided that effective policy environments (good governance) are in place. Interdisciplinary agricultural research that takes a social-ecological systems perspective is seen to substantially contribute to achieving the SDGs. Keywords: agricultural research, food security, social-ecological systems, sustainable development goals
Contact email:
[email protected] 7
Food and Agriculture
Public Conferences
The Governance Challenges of Achieving Food Security PROF. REGINA BIRNER Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany The sustainable intensification of smallholder agricultural production is key for achieving food security. To achieve this goal, smallholder farms need a conducive institutional environment, including access to agricultural extension services, inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, agricultural finance, and marketing opportunities for their products. Using a value chain perspective, this lecture discusses the governance challenges that are involved in providing these services to smallholder farmers. The challenges include the following: (1) market failures that arise due to high transaction costs, information asymmetry, and the nature of risk in agriculture; (2) governance failures that arise when governments engage in service provision or regulation to address market failures, examples of which are absenteeism of service staff or elite capture and corruption in agricultural support programs; (3) community failures that affect the option to use community-based approaches to engage in service provision, examples of which are the freerider problem of collective action, and the challenge to include women and marginalized groups in farmer-based organizations. Using examples from Africa and South Asia, the lecture presents strategies to overcome these governance challenges and improve service provision to smallholder farmers. Keywords: food security, governance, smallholder agriculture, sustainable intensification
Contact email:
[email protected] 8
Public Conferences
Food and Agriculture
Challenges of African Agricultural Investment and Inclusive Growth CARTER COLEMAN Agrica UK Limited, London, UK Kilombero Plantations Limited (KPL) is a green field, 5,000 hectare commercial farm that broke ground in 2008. The smallholder project started the following year and has now trained 7,403 neighboring rice farmer families, transforming their yields and their yield potential. Both the commercial farm and smallholder project face large challenges. Both have suffered from a volatile market, stemming from government policy decisions and bad governance. Both must cope with the absence of basic infrastructure and the underdevelopment of site-specific agronomic knowledge and inputs. Access to credit, a critical component in maintaining high productivity and assisting people to rise out of poverty, is a particular smallholder obstacle. KPL’s short history illustrates successes and the long path of a work still in progress. Keywords: agricultural investment, inclusive growth, Kilombero Plantations Limited, smallholder farmers
Carter Coleman is the founder and CEO of Agrica Limited and the chairman of its Tanzania subsidiary, Kilombero Plantations Limited (KPL). Contact email:
[email protected] 9
II Food and Agriculture with an emphasis on Tropical Forestry Interdisciplinary Workshops ADEFIRES WORKU GIZAW Livestock Production is not enough for Sustainable Livelihoods in the DryLand Eco-Zones in Ethiopia: Would Strategic Integration of Forests into Dry Zone Management Plans enhance Social-Ecological Resilience and Food Security?
11
DR. MOHAMMED KHAMIS Contribution of Woody Plants to Household Food Security in North Darfur
12
ELYAS SIDDIG ELTAHIR MUNEER Food from the Forest: A Practical Successful Example of how Baobab Trees Reduce Hunger for Rural People
13
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Food and Agriculture with an emphasis on Tropical Forestry
Livestock Production is not enough for Sustainable Livelihoods in the Dryland Eco-zones in Ethiopia: Would Strategic Integration of Forests into Dry Zone Management Plans enhance Social-Ecological Resilience and Food Security? ADEFIRES WORKU GIZAW1,2*, JÜRGEN PRETZSCH1, HABTEMARIAM KASSA3, DEMEL TEKETAY4 & GERALD KAPP1 1Institute
of International Forestry and Forest Products: Tropical Forestry, Dresden University of Technology, Germany 2Forestry Research Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Ethiopia 4Botswana College of Agriculture, Deptartment of Crop Science and Production, Botswana * Conference speaker Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa; 80% of the population lives in rural areas, practicing crop and livestock production. Traditional pastoralism and agro-pastoralism employs 14% of the population. This segment of the population lives in the drylands, an area that constitutes over 70% of the country’s landmass. Recent droughts have been undermining ecological processes in the pastoral landscapes, pushing a significant proportion of the households into poverty. Livestock production has become insufficient to support the growing population, calling for a study into alternative livelihoods. Frequent droughts have also intensified desertification, and hence future interventions should have multiple outcomes that enhance livelihood and ecological resilience. This study tries to understand the significance of dry forest resources to household food security and the role of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) system for the sustainable management of dry forests in the context of pastoral and agro-pastoral production systems. It was conducted in selected arid and semi-arid areas in the Somali region, south-eastern Ethiopia. Data collection and interpretation was based on SocialEcological Co-evolution Theory. An integrated qualitative and quantitative research design was employed to collect empirical data from 137 randomly selected survey households, 12 case study households, 28 key informants, and a dozen focus group discussants. Value Chain Analysis was used to characterize the commercialization of selected high value, dry forest products, and to identify opportunities to develop pro-poor producers’ small and medium-scale enterprises. A livelihood assessment showed that protracted droughts adjoined with other social-ecological determinants have transformed significant proportions of accumulating and well-off households into a struggling livelihood typology, skewing income and wealth distribution among households. The historical domination of livestock income, such as its “stepping-up and stepping-out” function, has been reduced to a “hanging-in” typology, causing significant numbers of pastoral households to drop out. In contrast, the econometric analysis depicted increasing livelihood dependence on dry forests, which offer many households the opportunities to avoid, reduce and transfer income related risks ex-ante drought, and to smooth consumption and income, such as by way of insulating the remaining livestock assets from being sold to purchase grains ex-post drought. Various dry forest products such as myrrh and opopanax constituted 35% of the households’ total income and 42% of the total cash income. Dry forest income enables 24% of the households to remain above the poverty line, and reduced income disparity by 13.7%. Marketing dry forest products has enhanced participation and benefitted women. Involvement of trade companies in the gum and resin value chain contributed to the nation’s economy via export promotion and job creation. Despite its importance, dry forests are exposed to growing land use transformation and climate change related stressors. Owing to the prevailing changes, the study communities have been employing various TEK based management practices. This study argues that careful integration, not marginalization, of the vast dry forest resources of the Somali region into dry zone management plans will enhance food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and biodiversity conservation, and combat desertification. Keywords: African dry lands, dry forest, food security, landscape resilience, livelihood diversification, malnutrition, pastoralism, poverty, traditional ecological knowledge systems
Adefires Worku Gizaw is an alumnus of the University of Dresden, Germany, where he completed a Ph.D. Contact email:
[email protected]
11
Food and Agriculture with an emphasis on Tropical Forestry
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Contribution of Woody Plants to Household Food Security in North Darfur MOHAMED ADAM KHAMIS*, ABUBAKR SIAM & IBRAHIM ALNUR Faculty Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, Al Faskir University, North Darfur * Conference speaker The study was conducted with the objective of gathering baseline information and analyzing the environmental and socio-economic interactions of wild woody food plant resources in North Darfur State. Three areas with highly fragile environments were selected (Malliet, Malha and Umkaddada) as study sites. Field surveys on plant species composition and stocking density and households were carried out using a stratified random sampling method. Plant field surveys detected 17 indigenous wild woody plant species belonging to eight families. Eight of the species are used as food plants: Boscia senegalensis (Makhait), Cordia rothii (Andarab), Balanites aegyptiaca (Haglieg), Ziziphus spina-christi (Sidir; nabag ahmer), Ziziphus mauritiana (Sidr; nabag asfer), Grewia tenax (Giddame), Capparis deciduas (Tundub), and Grewia erythraea (Saat). The other nine non-food plant species associated with the study areas were: Acacia tortilis (Sayal), Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Marakh), Acacia mellifera (Kitir), Acacia nubica (Laout), Caloptropis procera (Usher), Commiphora africana (Gafal), Faidherbia albida (Haraz), Maerua crassifolia (Sarah) and Acacia senegal (Hashab). In the study areas, family sizes ranged from between six to ten people, and farming was their main occupation. Wild plant foods, especially Mukhait, contribute substantially to household food provision for rural communities during famines resulting from recurrent drought. All woody plants play important roles in enhancing food security as they provide fuel wood and help conserve the environment for other livelihoods. The relationship between the relative abundance of edible woody plant species and the preference of their consumption was positive. Mukhait and Sayal exhibit better growth and abundance in the extremely dry environments of the North Darfur region. Focusing conservation and future research plans on ecological and socio-economic interactions of native, wild, edible plants in arid environments of North Darfur should be considered. Keywords: environment, food security, households, North Darfur, socio-economic, wild woody plants
Dr. Mohamed Adam Khamis is an alumnus of the University of Dresden, Germany. He studied Tropical Forestry and Management. Contact email:
[email protected] 12
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Food and Agriculture with an emphasis on Tropical Forestry
Food from the Forest: A Practical Successful Example of how Baobab Trees Reduce Hunger for Rural People ELYAS SIDDIG ELTAHIR MUNEER Institute of Gum Arabic Research and Desertification Studies, University of Kordofan, Sudan Due to its noteworthy importance, in recent years there has been an international interest towards baobab trees. The baobab fruit pulp has been accepted as a food ingredient by the European Union and the US Food and Drug Administration. As one of the productive countries of this tree, Sudan is famed for the baobab (Adansonia digitata), which is locally known as Tebaldi. This research was conducted in 2015. It aimed to emphasize the potential of baobabs against hunger in regard to the multiple benefits these trees provide. This research investigated how baobabs served to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty in rural communities of the Kordofan region in Sudan during the drought of 1980s and up until today. To obtain reliable knowledge, the rural areas where baobabs are grown were visited. Group discussions with the local communities were conducted. Observations were made and photos taken. Moreover, relevant and recent literatures were reviewed. The main findings of this research exposed that rural people in the surveyed villages considered baobabs the most valuable tree species they have ever had after the gum Arabic tree. Baobabs provide several services. According to the rural people, every part of the tree has a special use. Fruits, leaves, flowers, bark, seeds, wood and roots are used in different ways. Baobab fruits and leaves contribute to human diets. Baobabs provide energy and nutrients, including vitamins, minerals and proteins. Young tender leaves are mixed with peanuts and used as salad locally known as afos. Baobab leaves are widely used as the main dish of daily life (a soup known as kuka), and sold fresh or dried in large amounts in homes, rural and urban markets. Baobab fruit pulp has a high nutritional value, high energy, and contains carbohydrate, fiber, ash, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Baobab pulp and seeds still act as an important supplementary food during famine times. In Sudan and during Ramadan (fasting month), the juice made from baobab pulp has a special spiritual value: it is loved and drunk all over the country, and is locally known as gongleis. Baobab serves as fodder, fibers for weaving and ropemaking, gum, seed oil, natural medicine, materials for handicrafts, and water storage. The wood is chewed by humans and animals in case of extreme water scarcity. Baobab also often constitutes shelter and a gathering point for humans and their livestock. The bark is stripped off at the lower trunk of the trees and used for traditional ropes. In rural and urban areas, dysentery and diarrhea are treated by the frequent drinking of baobab juice; baobab bark or roasted seeds are fed to patients several times a day as a remedy for different diseases. Regardless of these benefits, baobabs are still underutilized. Strategic plans should be made to protect the current baobab resources, reduce deterioration, maximize its utilization, achieve sustainability, and reduce hunger in the rural communities of the world. Keywords: baobab, hunger, rural community, Sudan, Tebeldi
Elyas Siddig Eltahir Muneer is an alumnus of Dresden University of Technology, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in Tropical Forestry and Management. Contact email:
[email protected] 13
III Food and Energy Public Conferences PROF. HARALD GRETHE The Bioeconomy and Food Security: How to Reconcile?
15
PROF. JÜRGEN PRETZSCH Needs to Redefine Bioeconomy from a Bottom-Up Perspective
16
DR. DETLEF VIRCHOW The Complementary Use of Biomass in the Bioeconomy
17
Public Conferences
Food and Energy
The Bioeconomy and Food Security: How to Reconcile? PROF. HARALD GRETHE Agricultural and Food Policy, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany The global demand for biomass for energy and material production has been increasing heavily in recent years and will continue to grow. The links between the movement toward a bioeconomy and food security are manifold and complex. This presentation provides an overview and discusses policy implications. A potential negative effect of moving toward the bioeconomy on food security is intensively discussed in literature and empirically demonstrated: the globally increasing demand for agricultural biomass for energy and material use is competing with biomass for food use via the price mechanism, i.e., agricultural prices are driven up, resulting in reduced food availability for poor net consumers of food. Several empirical studies show that this not only reduces access to calories and protein, but also access to a diverse and balanced diet due to the inherent real income reduction. In contrast, the move toward a bioeconomy may benefit poor, food insecure households in developing countries and enhance food security. This is if additional income opportunities are generated for poor households from the sales of biomass. The production of energy or materials from biomass may also increase food security through direct welfare impacts of improved energy and material supply and independence. Also, the conversion from traditional (e.g., cooking fire) to more efficient bioenergy pathways may provide positive incomes as well as health and thus food security effects. Finally, biomass sources from biowaste or biomass complementary to food production may not compete at all with food availability. Due to market forces and political decisions to decarbonize the economy, biomass demand for energy and materials will increase in the future and partially compete with food demand. This has several policy implications among which are the need: i) to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, especially in developing countries; ii) to move toward more sustainable biomass consumption patterns; iii) to take into account indirect, price-mediated effects when designing bioeconomy policies; iv) to enhance efforts to improve the regulatory framework for sustainable biomass production and use; and v) to fight the main reason underlying food insecurity: poverty. Keywords: bioeconomy, biomass, food security
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Food and Energy
Public Conferences
Needs to Redefine Bioeconomy from a Bottom-Up Perspective PROF. JÜRGEN PRETZSCH Institute of International Forestry and Forest Products: Tropical Forestry, Dresden University of Technology, Germany In African countries, many forests and wood plantations have been overused and destroyed. A main reason behind this is the increasing demand for fuel, post and construction wood, which causes a gap between demand and supply. In a number of countries, the deficit reaches an amount of 10 million m3 of wood per year. Recent bioeconomy approaches may be applied, but have to be based on production in small farm forestry units. This small-scale production contrasts with large-scale bioeconomy projects. Specific challenges of small-scale fuel wood and construction wood production are outlined and discussed in the presentation. On the level of the farm and the wood product value chain, participative technology development workshops are used to develop innovation strategies. Interventions may be related to technology development, like the establishment of woodlots or agroforestry plots. On the level of value chain upgrading, the creation of commercialization platforms as well as producer organizations is essential. The challenge is to bundle the limited farm output in larger units that may be transported at a low cost and sold in urban areas, even as input for wood industries. Costs need to be calculated along the chain to identify the best options. In a further step, national clusters should be analyzed to find out what the effect is of small-scale production on a national level, especially when related to employment, industry production, and export. So far, this type of wood based cluster analysis has hardly been applied in African countries. The concept will be discussed with the African participants. It represents the framework for a running project application with east African countries. Keywords: Africa, bioeconomy, small-scale production, wood industry
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Public Conferences
Food and Energy
The Complementary Use of Biomass in the Bioeconomy DR. DETLEF VIRCHOW*, DR. MANFRED DENICH, DR. ARNIM KUHN & DR. TINA BEUCHELT Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany * Conference speaker The growing demand for more and more diverse biomass-based products will transform African agriculture from a food to a complex biomass-supplying and -processing sector, which would include non-food agricultural produce, like feed, energy and industrial raw materials. As a result, agriculture will become the core part of a biomass-based economy, which has the potential not only to produce renewable biological resources, but also to convert this biomass into products for various uses. Although politically a “food-first approach” is normally assured, the competition for biomass is widely discussed and seen as a threat, especially for the poor and food insecure population of Africa. Despite this threat, low-income but biomass-rich countries could benefit from the emerging bioeconomy, with new prospects arising that go beyond these countries’ normal role of pure raw material suppliers. The farmers of these countries, including the small-scale farmers and those involved in processing and marketing, can capture a significant part of the added value. The emerging bioeconomy will intensify the interlinkages between biomass production, processing and trading. To depict these increasingly complex systems, the value chain approach is insufficient, and adapted analytic approaches are needed. With the perspective of the “biomass-based value web” approach, a multi-dimensional methodology can be used to understand the interrelationship between several value chains as a flexible, efficient and sustainable production, processing, trading and consumption system. Besides political regulations securing the food-first approach, the “biomass-based value web” approach can identify existing and potentially complementary uses of biomass in the bioeconomy, especially for the benefit of the poor and food insecure. Keywords: agriculture, bioeconomy, biomass, food security, value web
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IV Food and Public Health Interdisciplinary Workshops THOMAS ATHOO Current Food Safety Status and Public Health Regulation in Kenya
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AMANUEL KIDANE HAGOS Evaluation of a Pilot Project Promoting Consumption of Sweet Potato and Potato in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
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GEORGE WALTER GRAVES WOODE Improving the Nutritional Status of Women and Children through Health Access and Quality: A Public-Private Partnership to Deliver Development Assistance in Ghana
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Public Conferences DR. IRMGARD JORDAN Improving Complementary Feeding to Prevent Malnutrition
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DR. NOOR AHMAD KHAN Food Fortification: A Viable Approach to Addressing Micronutrient Malnutrition
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PROF. HANS KONRAD BIESALSKI Hidden Hunger
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Interdisciplinary Workshops
Food and Public Health
Current Food Safety Status and Public Health Regulation in Kenya THOMAS ATHOO Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya The human body is dependent on food for nutrition. However, consumption of foods contaminated with biological, chemical or physical hazards pose significant health and economic burdens across any population or nation. Cases of food borne related illnesses occur regularly throughout the world, from the developed to the least developed countries, and may result in high levels of morbidity and occasionally in death. In Kenya, for instance, methanol laced alcoholic drinks, mycotoxins in foods, cholera and food poisoning outbreaks have increasingly become public health concerns. Between 1970 and 1993, 37 food poisoning outbreaks were reported to the Ministry of Health from various parts of the country. In 2009, cholera outbreaks caused a reported 11,425 cases and 264 deaths in Kenya. There were 105 alcohol related deaths and 133 cases of hospitalizations in May 2015. Medical reports indicated that 80 deaths that occurred in various parts of Kenya in July 2015 were a result of the consumption of alcoholic drinks that contained high levels of methanol. The Kenyan food safety control system is multi-sectoral. Regulation of food and/or agricultural production and importation is carried out by several agencies, including but not limited to: the Public Health Department, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Pest Control Products Board, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services, National Biosafety Authority, Kenya Police Services, AntiCounterfeit Agency (ACA), and industry specific regulators such as the Tea Directorate, Coffee Directorate, Kenya Dairy Board, Department of Veterinary Services, and Fisheries Board. The mandates of these regulators are often overlapping, resulting in territorial conflicts, overregulation, inaction, inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Inadequate government funding, inadequate technical capability (human resource and testing facilities), unclear mandates, misconducts, impunity and poor leadership have culminated in an inefficient food safety control system. Tackling misconducts and inefficiencies, building capacity, and redefining the mandates of these players are necessary. Those involved in food production and the environment, and food handlers play an important role in ensuring food safety throughout the chain of production, processing and preparation. The regular inspection of food production premises, risk assessments, hygiene trainings, regular medical examinations of food handlers, and the prevention of contaminated food from entering the food chain are internationally practiced. Promotion and adoption of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles and business ethics by the Kenyan food industry is recommended. Keywords: food poisoning, food safety, hygiene, public health, regulators
Thomas Athoo is an alumnus of Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in International Horticulture. Contact email:
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Food and Public Health
Interdisciplinary Workshops
Evaluation of a Pilot Project Promoting Consumption of Sweet Potato and Potato in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia WELLINGTON JOGO1, AMANUEL KIDANE HAGOS2*, HAILE TESFAY1, SOLOMON GEBRESELASSIE1, FREZER ASFAW1, MARIAMA FOFANAH1, STEFFEN SCHULZ1 & ABENEZER TAMRAT2 1
International Potato Centre (CIP), Ethiopia Irish Aid, Ethiopia * Conference speaker 2
Despite encouraging progress over the past 15 years, children under the age of five and pregnant and lactating women in the Tigray region, northern Ethiopia, continue to suffer from high levels of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. Introducing nutrient-rich crops into local farming systems is a key strategy for addressing malnutrition and food insecurity in the region. The main purpose of the survey was to assess the impact of a project called “Alleviating Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Tigray, Ethiopia, through Promotion of Potato and Sweet Potato”, which was implemented from March 2011 to October 2013. A comparative crosssectional survey was conducted among 90 participant and 50 non-participant households in 15 villages of the Tigray region between October and November 2013. The households were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The percentage of sweet potato-growing households increased from 4% (baseline) to 51% (end line) in the participant group, and from 8% to 15% in the non-participant group. Consumption of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) among participant households increased from 0% to 23% and from 0% to 33% for children and breastfeeding mothers. However, the project did not have a significant impact on overall food consumption and dietary diversity of the households. Access to extension services and sweet potato vines, and landholding size enhanced adoption of the crops by farmers. Continued and coordinated promotion of sweet potato and potatoes in general increases adoption, production and consumption of such crops. Strengthening linkages among value chain actors is critical for the sustainability of sweet potato interventions. Further studies on understanding the factors influencing farmers’ decisions to adopt these two crops are needed. Keywords: Ethiopia, food security, sweet potato, potato, malnutrition
Amanuel Kidane Hagos is an alumnus of the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He studied a M.Sc. in International Health. Contact email:
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Interdisciplinary Workshops
Food and Public Health
Improving the Nutritional Status of Women and Children through Health Access and Quality: A Public Private Partnership to Deliver Development Assistance in Ghana GEORGE WALTER GRAVES WOODE University Research Co., LLC (URC), Center for Human Services, Maryland, USA Women’s work, especially in reproductive and subsistence-focused activities, involves them working closely with the environment and its resources. Despite the fact that women constitute 52% of the agricultural labor force and contribute 46% to the total agricultural GDP of Ghana, investment in their health, among other issues, to improve their productivity has been minimal. Ghana’s Health Sector Medium Term Development Plan, 2014-2017, provides a framework for bridging the current equity gaps in health care service access and a reinforcement of the continuum of care principle. It builds on lessons and experiences of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda, which focused on human development, productivity and employment. Planning depends on reliable data, therefore the need for reliable and timely health information for decision-making at all levels cannot be overemphasized. Data quality has become an important issue due to its impact on government budgets for, inter alia, the maintenance of health services. According to a recently held performance review meeting of the Ghana Health Service in April 2015, several districts were cited as having poor data completeness, timeliness and accuracy of data, which is compiled and used for planning purposes. “Data completeness” is measured as the percentage of data available divided by the data required – 100% is best. Therefore, the ability to make good decisions based on available data represents data completeness. “Data timeliness” is the availability of data at the time it needs to be utilized. The Systems for Health Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development and implemented by the University Research Company, an American grantee, is a five year project (2014-2019) aimed at contributing to the objectives of improving the nutritional status of pregnant women and young children, ending preventable maternal and child deaths, and improving gender equity in five regions in Ghana. One of the key interventions of the project that I am involved in is to build the capacity of public sector workers to collect timely complete and accurate data on six key reports critical for the planning needed to achieve these objectives for women and children. The timeliness and completeness of the following key reports used for maternal and child health are used: Monthly Midwife’s returns – Form A; Family Planning Returns – Form B; Monthly Child Health Returns – Form C; Monthly OPD Morbidity Returns; Monthly Nutrition Report; and Monthly Vaccination Report. Nutritional status is defined as whether or not one is eating the correct amounts and types of nutrients. A doctor or health provider usually makes an assessment about nutritional status by evaluating several factors, including appearance, blood levels, weight, height and issues that may affect a person’s ability to have access to or absorb food. Coaching visits were carried out in the facilities of our key partner: The Ghana Health Service. Before visiting a facility, I reviewed its data on the data repository of the Ghana Health Service, known as the District Health Information Management System, in order to identify the coaching needs related to timeliness or completeness of data. Once the needs were established, I visited the facility and reviewed source data used to generate the reports. I then coached health staff on gaps identified through the participatory methods, developed action plans with staff to address the gaps, undertook group discussions, and shared the action plan with the district and regional levels of the health system. Data covering three time points between October 2014 and June 2015 was taken on districts where facilities submitted complete reports on time. The key reports needed for planning were analyzed using Excel pivot tables. Paired sample tests in SPSS showed an improvement in districts where facilities had submitted complete reports on time by 38% over the baseline. This was found to be significant (p
