Sub-Saharan African Maize-Based Foods - Processing Practices, Challenges and Opportunities

Ekpa, Onu; Palacios-Rojas, Natalia; Kruseman, Gideon; Fogliano, Vincenzo; Linnemann, A.R.

doi:10.1080/87559129.2019.1588290

Cited by 116 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…There is a reluctance by farmers and consumers to shift to other staple crops. This is evidenced by the adoption rates of modern maize varieties, about 50% in sub-Saharan Africa, which is quite high compared with other crops (Ekpa et al 2019). In our analysis, we express the costs of climate change in terms of lost cropping revenues to smallholder farmers in the climate hotspot countries of Malawi and Tanzania.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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Climate change is threatening food security in many tropical countries, where a large proportion of food is produced by vulnerable smallholder farmers. Interventions are available to offset many of the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture, and they can be tailored to local conditions often through relative modest investments. However, little quantitative information is available to guide investment or policy choices at a time when countries and development agencies are under pressure to implement policies that can help achieve Sustainable Development Goals while coping with climate change. Among smallholder adaptation options, developing seeds resilient to current and future climate shocks expected locally is one of the most important actions available now. In this paper, we used national and local data to estimate the costs of climate change to smallholder farmers in Malawi and Tanzania. We found that the benefits from adopting resilient seeds ranged between 984 million and 2.1 billion USD during 2020–2050. Our analysis demonstrates the benefits of establishing and maintaining a flexible national seed sector with participation by communities in the breeding, delivery, and adoption cycle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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“…Not only a loss of nutrients occur during these processing operations, but they could also influence the nutrient availability in vivo, by modifying the matrices in which nutrients are embedded in a grain (Oghbaei and Prakash 2016). In SSA, dehulling of maize grain before grinding is a common food processing practice (Ekpa et al 2019). This milling technique that removes the outer layers or pericarp of grain by abrasion is useful for improving texture and digestibility (Oghbaei and Prakash 2016).…”

Section: Contribution Of Maize To Daily Nutrient Requirements Of Eastmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of micronutrient deficiencies and analysis of maize contribution to nutrient requirements of women and children in Eastern and Southern Africa

Galani

Orfila

Gong

2020

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

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This paper reviews and analyses the importance of maize as staple food in Eastern and Southern Africa (E&SA) and contributes in understanding the nexus between maize nutritional composition and prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) in these regions. MNDs remain a major public health concern particularly for women and children, with calcium, iodine, iron, selenium, zinc, folate and vitamin A deficiencies being the most common. Estimates of their prevalence are among the highest in E&SA: iron-deficient anemia affected 26 to 31% of women of reproductive age, and deficiencies up to 53%, 36%, 66%, 75% and 62% for vitamin A, iodine, zinc, calcium and selenium, respectively, were measured in populations of these regions. Besides, these two regions show the highest worldwide maize per capita consumption (g/person/day) as main staple, with 157 in Eastern Africa and 267 in Southern Africa, including up to 444 in Lesotho. The analysis of food composition tables from these regions showed that 100 g of maize foods consumed by these populations could to some extent, contribute in satisfying dietary reference intakes (DRIs) of children and women in energy, proteins, carbohydrates, magnesium, zinc, vitamins B1 and B6. However, it provides very low supply of fats, calcium, sodium, selenium, vitamins C, A and E. The high occurrence of MNDs and considerable nutritional potential of maize consumed in E&SA can be explained by loss of nutrients due to processing practices, low food diversification and reduced nutrients bioavailability. Success cases of the main strategies to tackle the issue of MNDs in these regions by improving maize nutritional quality are discussed in this paper. Maize fortification was shown to improve nutrition and health outcomes of population. Increasing dietary diversity by complementing maize with other foods has improved nutrition through integration of micronutrient-rich foods in the diet. Mostly, biofortification has successfully contributed in reducing vitamin A and zinc deficiencies in rural communities more than nutrient supplementation, fortification and dietary diversity.

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“…Wheat, maize and rice comprise at least 75% of the world’s grain production [ 49 ]. Consumption of immature maize as a roasted product or boiled whole kernel, and/or traditional processed products is common in Africa [ 50 , 51 ]. Mohlefe or malitsibana is a common green maize bread in Lesotho, prepared by wet-milling maize kernels to a thick dough, shaped into cob-like forms, covered with maize leaves and steamed until completely cooked [ 51 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of Pepeta, a locally processed immature rice-based food product, to promote food security in Tanzania

et al. 2021

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Consumption of pepeta, a traditionally processed immature rice product, is common in Tanzania, where it contributes to food security as an early rice food i.e. when there is no other food available at the household while the crops in the field not yet fully ripe. Many production steps are needed to guarantee a consistent, good quality pepeta product, and this hinders its utilization in other rice-growing sub-Saharan regions. This study aims to gain insight into the pepeta processing knowledge and final product, and assess variations in the processing conditions and parameters across the study area. A survey among 257 Tanzanian processors and consumers revealed that the pepeta product is widely known, rated second (73.5% respondents) as rice-based food after wali (cooked white rice, (100%)) and linked to traditions of the communities in the study area. Harvest of immature rice grain, roasting, pounding, cleaning, and packing are the main process steps of pepeta production. Method of rice harvest, rice suitability for pepeta production after optimum harvest, dryness of grains and number of pounding as indicator to terminate roasting and pounding process respectively, and packaging materials used varied significantly across respondents in the study area. Reported criteria considered by respondents for product acceptability did not vary significantly across study area. The criteria include colour (76.5%), general appearance (60.8%), texture (64.7%) and taste (52.9%). Immature rice paddy and pepeta were sold at a higher price than mature rice paddy and white rice, respectively, which implies that options to facilitate pepeta processing through, for instance, standardization of processing conditions and parameters could lead to increased income.

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Sub-Saharan African Maize-Based Foods - Processing Practices, Challenges and Opportunities

Cited by 116 publications

References 92 publications

The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa

The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa

A review of micronutrient deficiencies and analysis of maize contribution to nutrient requirements of women and children in Eastern and Southern Africa

Utilization of Pepeta, a locally processed immature rice-based food product, to promote food security in Tanzania

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