Evaluation of the potential dietary impact of the implementation of nutritionally improved crops in rural areas of the department of Cesar (Colombia)

Abstract

In Cesar, 30.7% of children under 5 years of age suffer from deficiencies of vitamin A, along with 13.4% for iron and 57.0% for zinc. Therefore, it is important to guarantee food security in the population through improvements in the nutritional quality of the offered food products. One alternative is the implementation of nutritionally improved crops. The production and consumption of four basic crops in the rural areas of five municipalities were characterized and compared to the implementation of the studied biofortified crops. Surveys regarding the purchase, consumption and production of cassava, bean, maize and rice were given to those responsible for food preparation and/or agricultural production in 90 families and was determined for these food ration consumed per person. In the week prior to the survey, 95.6% of the families consumed bean, 93.3% maize and 88.9% cassava and rice. The products mainly originated from purchases in the local store (bean and rice) or grown by the families (cassava). Cassava and maize were most commonly cultivated (71.1%), followed by bean (56.7%), maize (32.1%), and rice (2.2%). A 61.6% of the cultivated cassava, 23.5% of the maize, and 26.4% of the bean were destined for self-consumption, while the rest was sold or traded. Looking at the difference between the nutritional content of the biofortified products and the traditional and eating habits indicated that the substitution of the traditional varieties with the biofortified crops represented a possible intake increase of 44.59 mg/ person-day of iron, 24.05 mg/person-day of zinc, and 1.62 mg/ person-day of vitamin A. The substitution with and exclusive consumption of biofortified crops would contribute 199, 169, and 77% iron, zinc, and vitamin A based on the estimated average requirement. Due to their potential nutritional impact, the study of the adaptability and acceptability of biofortified crops is recommended.

Rendimiento, estabilidad fenotípica y contenido de micronutrientes de fríjol biofortificado en el Caribe seco colombiano

“…Estos presentan una demanda de mano de obra significativa para el desarrollo del cultivo y sus costos en el mercado son competitivos respecto a los de la proteína animal. Resulta pertinente, en consecuencia, avanzar en programas de seguridad alimentaria con este producto basados en agricultura familiar (Tofiño et al 2011), dados los niveles de pobreza regional (44,8 %), el alto índice de deficiencias en la canasta básica recomendada (98,1 %) y las insuficiencias en el consumo de hierro (que están entre el 34 % y el 91 %) (Del Castillo et al 2012;Cancino et al 2014;Tofiño et al 2015). Conviene tener presente también la aplicación del sistema de nutrición de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) para el diseño de políticas públicas, pues aquel contempla la ingesta diaria recomendada -Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)-de dichos nutrientes (Simpson et al 2011;Tofiño et al 2015).…”

Agronomic evaluation of biofortified beans in Antioquia producers’ farms

“…It is important for food consumption due to its nutritional content of vegetable origin and an alternative for the rural population with scarce economic resources. Also, it is important to take into account what is recommended in the nutrition system of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the design of public policies, which considers the recommended daily allowance (Recommended Dietary Allowance, RDA) of such nutrients (Simpson et al, 2011;Tofiño et al, 2015). Likewise, it has been detected that beans have iron and zinc contents that can supply the daily requirements of these minerals (McClean et al, 2011).…”