Potentials and limitations of a food group-based algorithm to assess dietary nutrient intake of women in rural areas in Tanzania.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of nutrient intake assessment with the food group-based algorithm "Calculator of Inadequate Micronutrient Intake" (CIMI) in comparison to the established nutrition software NutriSurvey. Using Food Frequency Questionnaires and 24-h dietary recalls of 1010 women from two rural districts in Tanzania, 23 relevant typical Tanzanian food groups were identified and subsequently the dietary protocols assessed via CIMI algorithm were compared by bivariate correlations and Bland-Altman analysis with the results of the NutriSurvey software (reference) and were set in relation to blood biomarkers of 666 participants. CIMI and NutriSurvey calculations regarding macro- and micronutrient intakes were similar. The Bland-Altman analyses and correlation coefficients of energy (0.931), protein (0.898), iron (0.775) and zinc (0.838) confirm the agreement of both calculations. The food group based CIMI algorithm is a practical tool to identify the inadequacy of macro- and micronutrient intake at population level.

Effect of passive solar drying on food security in rural Mozambique.

Achieving food security in Mozambique is critical, since 80% of the population cannot afford an adequate diet. While increasing agricultural production is a necessary effort to address this challenge, inadequate post-harvest treatment leads to storage losses and quality degradation, with repercussions for food security. The use of solar drying is promoted as a solution to provide efficient and reliable access to food preservation that improves the food security situation in rural communities. However, there is a lack of clear evidence on how the use or access to solar drying affects food security. This study identifies the determinants of farmers' choice to use solar drying and evaluates the effect of a passive solar dryer on food security using survey data from 634 households. We allocated solar dryers to selected communities and all interested individuals belonging to these communities were eligible to use it. Propensity score matching and endogenous switching poisson regression are used to estimate the average effect. The use of solar drying with associated training significantly increases the food security status of participants by increasing household food availability, women's dietary diversity, and months of adequate household food provision and by decreasing the household food insecurity access scale.

Governing COVID-19: analyzing the effects of policy responses on food systems in Tanzania.

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic increased debates on global public health concerns. From early 2020 to 2022, globally, life was upended in the wake of the pandemic. Industries of all kinds were forced to rapidly changed how they work, including agriculture. Particularly for smallholder farmers in developing countries, the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with climate change effects, negatively affected their livelihoods. Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is unrealistic if immediate efforts are not made to address the existential threats facing smallholder farmers. This study analyzes COVID-19 governance and policy responses, examining its effects on smallholder farmers in the south and east of Tanzania using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Results: Findings show that mobility restrictions imposed by other countries and fears of the Tanzanian people leading to voluntary isolation resulted in an amended structure of farmers' markets: Reductions in exports, imports and in the purchasing power of the local people followed. Food security was diminished as food availability on the market level was reduced due to mobility restrictions. The impact of COVID-19 resulted in more than 85% of smallholder farmers experiencing an income reduction, thus also increasing the pre-existing vulnerability of these communities. Findings show that farms producing non-exported crops had less severe income reductions and could cope better. The results indicate that only 20% of smallholder farmers started using digital information technology to gather information since physical movements were restricted. Access to technology remained limited in rural areas. Even during the COVID-19 crises, farmers' concerns about the vulnerability of their food systems include non-COVID-19 causes, such as climate change. Conclusions: Although Tanzania did not impose a total lockdown, the country was affected by COVID-19, partly via policies of other countries. Impacts included: (i) a decline in local markets as smallholder farmers had fewer trading partners from neighboring states; (ii) a loss of employment opportunities due to the absence of both local and external trade; (iii) reductions of farm output and income; (iv) a lack of agricultural inputs (fertilizer etc.) that are usually imported; (v) fear to continue farming activities due to news about COVID-19 spreading; and (vi) reduction of work efficiency because of a lack of social gathering due to voluntary isolation.While COVID-19 compelled policymakers to make urgent decisions to ensure stable food supply chains, the fundamental task is to address these immediate disruptions while also investing in the long-term goal of a resilient, sustainable, and productive global food system. This can be achieved by adopting a policy package that includes investments in technological development, access to small long-term loans, and regulatory reforms, with which governments can create conditions supporting productive, sustainable, and resilient food systems that can withstand future shocks.

Adoption and Impact of Kitchen Garden on Food and Nutritional Security of Farming Households in Tanzania.

This article analyzes factors influencing the adoption of kitchen gardens and food and nutrition security implications of kitchen gardens on farming households. For this, the Per Capita Kilocalorie Intake (PKCI) and Food Consumption Score (FCS) were applied as food and nutrition security indicators. This paper is based on cross-sectional data that include a sample of 825 households from two districts in Tanzania. Endogenous Switching Regression is employed to determine factors influencing the adoption of a kitchen garden and its impact on food and nutrition security of the involved farming households. The results of the analysis indicate that the adoption of a kitchen garden increased with the family size (adult equivalent), credit use, access to information, districts (location), and the usage of other water sources for agriculture in addition to rainfed. It decreased with total land size and TLU. While the adoption of a kitchen garden significantly increased adopters' FCS by 1.45 or 2.96% and non-adopters' FCS by 1.26 or 2.69%. In contrast, the adoption of a kitchen garden significantly reduced non-adopters' PKCI by 101.18 or 3.92% but it does not have significant impact for adopters. Therefore, policymakers and development organizations should further promote and scale-up the kitchen garden intervention in order to use it as a tool to enhance the household's food and nutrition security.

Anthropometrics, Hemoglobin Status and Dietary Micronutrient Intake among Tanzanian and Mozambican Pigeon Pea Farmers.

Inadequate consumption of micronutrient-dense and protein-rich foods such as vegetables, legumes and meat is an important contributing cause for anemia and deficiencies of vitamin A and iron in rural communities of Tanzania and Mozambique. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional status (anthropometrics and hemoglobin) and diets in particular micronutrient intake of female and male pigeon pea farmers from Lindi, Tanzania, and Gurué, the Zambézia province of Mozambique. A total of 1526 farmers (669 from Tanzania, 857 from Mozambique) were studied, of whom 16% were overweight and 35% were anemic. The highest prevalence of overweight and anemia, at 35% and 48%, was observed in Tanzanian and Mozambican women, respectively. Overall, only a small proportion of women and men reached the recommended daily dietary intake of vitamin A (10%), iron (51%) and zinc (44%). Multiple regression models revealed that dark green leafy vegetables (DGLVs) highly predicted vitamin A intake, whereas legumes in Tanzania and starchy plants in Mozambique were actually the dominant sources of vitamin A. Cereals covered over half of the iron and the zinc intake in both countries. An increased consumption of micronutrient-rich DGLVs and legumes, while reducing the high amounts of refined maize or polished rice, is suggested to counteract the high prevalence of anemia and overweight among smallholder farmers in East and South Eastern Africa.

Understanding the drivers of food security among agriculture-based households in Gurué District, Central Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of food insecurity in Mozambique is alarming, despite progress made during the 2010s. Several studies apply different proxy indicators of food security (FS) to assess the FS situation. However, these studies overlook the factors affecting FS, using only a single data point that results in an incomplete picture of FS. Food security is expected to fluctuate, being better and worse than what studies suggest. Using a sample of 296 households to assess FS, key drivers conditioning households' capacity to achieve FS in Gurué District, Central Mozambique, are identified. Data were collected in the pre-harvest period and during the harvest period to capture relevant interseasonal variation of FS. Household FS is assessed using three standard indicators: Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), Household Food Consumption Score (HFCS), and Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP). RESULTS: Each household was classified into a specific FS status depending on the indicator applied. Generally, most households were classified as being severely or moderately food insecure during the pre-harvest season, while during the harvest season, medium and high levels of FS predominated. Nevertheless, varying outcomes were found depending on the indicator used to assess FS. MAHFP and HDDS are more related to the consumption of farm-sourced food, while HFCS responds more strongly to purchased food. Gender and age of the household head, geographic location, size and quality of land, staples production (especially cassava), livestock and crop diversity, as well as cash crops had a statistically significant effect on FS indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that the decision whether farmers should rely on staple foods production for increasing their FS status or specialize on cash crops production to generate income and buy food depends on the indicator used to assess FS, since each indicator captures a specific domain of food security. Thus, one central recommendation derived from our results is that policy makers should promote a balance between market-oriented agriculture and subsistence production to achieve FS. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40066-021-00344-3.

High Prevalence of Overweight and Its Association with Mid-Upper Arm Circumference among Female and Male Farmers in Tanzania and Mozambique.

The increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity may already have reached the farmers in Tanzania and Mozambique. Here, the measurement of the mid-upper-arm-circumference (MUAC) could become a simple and sensitive tool for early detection of at-risk groups of overweight as well as underweight. Body Mass Index (BMI) and MUAC of female and male farmers (n = 2106) from different regions of Tanzania and the Zambézia province, Mozambique, were analyzed by region, sex, age, and correlates. MUAC cut-offs, calculated via BMI cut-offs (<18.5, ≥25, and ≥30 kg/m2), and multiple linear regression (MLR), compared to those selected by highest Youden's index (YI) value, were assessed. The study showed an overall higher prevalence of overweight (19%) than underweight (10%) due to the high number of overweight female farmers (up to 35%) in southern Tanzania. BMI, which was mainly and positively predicted by MUAC, was higher in Tanzania and among female farmers, and decreased significantly from the age of ≥65 years. MUAC cut-offs of <24 cm and ≥30.5 cm, calculated by MLR, detected 55% of farmers being underweight and 74% being overweight, with a specificity of 96%; the higher cut-off <25 cm and lower cut-off ≥29 cm, each selected according to YI, consequently detected more underweight (80%) and overweight farmers (91%), but on the basis of a lower specificity (87-88%). Overweight was evident among female farmers in East Africa. MUAC cut-offs, whether defined via linear regression or Youden's Index, could prove to be easy-to-use tools for large-scale screenings of both underweight and overweight.

High Prevalence of Stunting and Anaemia Is Associated with Multiple Micronutrient Deficiencies in School Children of Small-Scale Farmers from Chamwino and Kilosa Districts, Tanzania.

Inadequate macro- and micronutrient nutrition and its consequences, such as anaemia, iron and vitamin deficiency, and growth retardation, could particularly affect children of small-scale farmers. In the present cross-sectional study, 666 school children aged 5-10 years from villages of Chamwino and Kilosa districts were studied for associations between nutritional and micronutrient status and dietary intake. The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight, and overweight was 28.1, 14.4, and 5%, while that of anaemia and deficiency of iron (ID), vitamin A (VAD), and zinc (ZnD) was 42.9, 29.3, 24.9, and 26.4%, respectively. Dietary recalls (24h) revealed that, except of iron (74%), only small proportions of children reached the recommended daily micronutrient intakes: 4% for zinc, 19% for vitamin A, and 14-46% for B vitamins. Stunting was highly associated with wasting in both districts and with VAD in Chamwino. Anaemia was predicted by ID, VAD, and ZnD in Chamwino and by elevated infection markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and α-1 glycoprotein (AGP), in Kilosa. Overall, elevated CRP and/or AGP increased the risk while higher serum carotenoids indicating a diet of more fruit and vegetables reduced the risk of VAD. The significantly lower prevalence of anaemia and ID in Chamwino was related to higher iron and vitamin A intake and the consumption of mainly bulrush millet with dark green leafy vegetables compared to maize or rice with legumes in Kilosa. Nutrition and hygiene education integrated with home and school garden programmes could reduce the multiple burdens of anaemia; micronutrient deficiencies and infections; and, in the long term, the prevalence of stunting.

Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Rural Tanzania: Mapping Perceptions for Social Learning.

In Tanzania, a high level of hunger persists. Several factors compound a complex scenario of food insecurity. Contextual aspects at the community level can influence the maintenance of the vulnerable local conditions. This article aims to better understand these aspects by investigating community problem perceptions in n = 04 remote rural villages in Tanzania. Furthermore, how to include community perceptions as a pedagogical element of food security projects is discussed. The methodology consists of three steps: preparatory exploration; household survey (n = 663); and pedagogical workshops (n = 270). The main results indicate that inhabitants of the four villages identify and describe their problems differently. We discovered food insecurity's hidden factors. Community problem perceptions and local knowledge play fundamental roles in critical food security, despite the environmental conditions' effect (lack of infrastructure, water scarcity). The pedagogical process of Codification and Decoding of hunger situations can generate more effective educational programs for social learning.

Gaps in knowledge and practice on dietary consumption among rural farming households; a call for nutrition education training in Tanzania.

Dietary-related conditions are preventable only if people have better understanding of factors that underpin their dietary choices. A cross-sectional study was carried out to examine levels and gaps of nutrition knowledge and practices (KPs) of 663 mothers/caregivers in rural households of Tanzania. Results indicated that, only 14% of the population had received nutrition education prior to the survey. The mean KP score was 6.9 (±2.6) out of 20 with only 17% of the study population had KP scores above the mean. The average proportion of those who had correct responses above mean was 27% for knowledge and 22% practices. Low coverage of nutrition education and poor participation of men in nutrition education activities were frequently reported as the barriers for adoption of desirable dietary practices at households. The KP levels are far below the recommended FAO thresholds and entail high levels of nutrition illiteracy which call for immediate intervention.

Consumption of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables Predicts Vitamin A and Iron Intake and Status among Female Small-Scale Farmers in Tanzania.

Inadequate consumption of micronutrient-dense foods such as vegetables and meat are an important contributing cause for anemia and deficiencies of iron and vitamin A in rural communities of Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 to examine nutritional and micronutrient status and their associations to the diet of female small-scale farmers in the sub-humid Kilosa (n = 333) and the semi-arid Chamwino (n = 333) districts, in the Morogoro and Dodoma region. An overall higher prevalence of overweight (19.7%) and obesity (7.1%) than of underweight (5.9%) was detected. Significantly more women in the two villages of Kilosa (27-40%) than in the two villages of Chamwino district (19-21%) were overweight/obese, but also more frequently had anemia (34-41% vs. 11-17%), iron deficiency (24-32% vs. 15-17%), and low serum retinol (21-24% vs. 8-9%). Overall, only a small proportion of women reached recommended daily micronutrient intakes: 27% for vitamin A, 17% for iron, 7% for zinc, and 12-38% for B-vitamins. The amount of dark green leafy vegetables (DGLV) consumed was the main determinant of vitamin A and iron intake by women in Chamwino and corresponded to higher hemoglobin, serum retinol and iron status than in the villages of the Kilosa district; in agreement, DGLV consumption also predicted iron and vitamin A intake in Kilosa district. DGLV consumed with wholemeal millet was advantageous in terms of women's vitamin A and iron intake and status over the predominantly maize-rice-based diet lacking vegetables.