Using Traditional Methods and Indigenous Technologies for Coping With Climate Variability

Stigter, C.J.; Zheng, Dong; Onyewotu, L.O.Z.; Mei, Xurong

doi:10.1007/s10584-005-5949-5

Cited by 86 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…While there may not be a direct causal relationship between overall farm production diversity and TF production diversity, the two may be mutually reinforced as farmers and organizations aim to increase farm production diversity for ecological, productive and nutritional reasons [32]. Doing so by targeting TF production diversity may be particularly relevant for nutrition-sensitive agriculture initiatives, given that TFs are shown to simultaneously contribute to agricultural resilience, food access [54][55][56][57] and to dietary intake of key macronutrients, micronutrients and phytochemicals [56][57][58][59][60][61], and they further play a protective role against chronic diseases [6,8,59].…”

Section: Opportunities For Traditional Food Promotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador

2021

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Background The displacement of traditional dietary practices is associated with negative nutritional consequences for rural Indigenous people, who already face the brunt of both nutritional inadequacies and excesses. Traditional food (TF) consumption and production practices can improve nutritional security by mitigating disruptive dietary transitions, providing nutrients and improving agricultural resilience. Meanwhile, traditional agricultural practices regenerate biodiversity to support healthy ecosystems. In Ecuador, Indigenous people have inserted TF agricultural and dietary practices as central elements of the country’s agroecological farming movement. This study assesses factors that may promote TF practices in rural populations and explores the role of agroecology in strengthening such factors. Methods Mixed methods include a cross-sectional comparative survey of dietary, food acquisition, production and socioeconomic characteristics of agroecological farmers (n = 61) and neighboring reference farmers (n = 30) in Ecuador’s Imbabura province. Instruments include 24-h dietary recall and a food frequency questionnaire of indicator traditional foods. We triangulate results using eight focus group discussions with farmers’ associations. Results Compared to their neighbors, agroecological farmers produce and consume more TFs, and particularly underutilized TFs. Farm production diversity, reliance on non-market foods and agroecology participation act on a pathway in which TF production diversity predicts higher TF consumption diversity and ultimately TF consumption frequency. Age, income, market distance and education are not consistently associated with TF practices. Focus group discussions corroborate survey results and also identify affective (e.g. emotional) and commercial relationships in agroecological spaces as likely drivers of stronger TF practices. Conclusions Traditional food practices in the Ecuadorian highlands are not relics of old, poor and isolated populations but rather an established part of life for diverse rural people. However, many TFs are underutilized. Sustainable agriculture initiatives may improve TF practices by integrating TFs into production diversity increases and into consumption of own production. Agroecology may be particularly effective because it is a self-expanding global movement that not only promotes the agricultural practices that are associated with TF production, but also appears to intensify affective sentiments toward TFs and inserts TFs in commercial spaces. Understanding how to promote TFs is necessary in order to scale up their potential to strengthen nutritional health.

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Section: Opportunities For Traditional Food Promotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador

2021

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“…In some cases, traditional knowledge can offer a useful repository of alternative technologies that are particularly compatible with local food systems and cultural models, accessible, familiar, easy to use, and low-cost. Certain agro-ecological farming (Altieri, 2004;Pangaribowo et al, 2013) and climate change coping strategies (Stigter et al, 2005) were for example modelled after successful traditional agricultural systems. Similarly, especially when other food technologies such as fridges or pasteurization are inaccessible or inappropriate for local conditions, traditional food processing and storage techniques can serve as inspiration.…”

Section: Conclusion and Implications For Policy And Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture and food security

Alonso

Cockx

Swinnen

2018

Global Food Security

140

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This paper reviews available cross-disciplinary evidence on how culture affects food security. We discuss the impact of culture on all four dimensions (availability, access and choice, utilization, and stability). Although there is large heterogeneity in the size and breadth of available evidence, with research often biased toward high-come countries, it is clear that how and why we obtain, process, prepare, and eat food is influenced by culture in various ways. In addition, gender, family, and decision-making power play a critical role in the impact of culture. The dynamics of culture as well as the magnitude and relative importance of cultural effects in the context of food security are still poorly understood. Nevertheless, there remains ample scope for improving food security policy by taking culture better into account.

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“…The Morogoro region has a coastal climate with temperatures ranging from a minimum of 19 °C to a maximum of 30 °C, mean annual precipitation of 854 mm, and an altitude of 366–549 masl. The Dodoma region study site in central Tanzania has a semi-arid (savanna) type of climate with a unimodal rainfall regime of 500–700 mm per annum, usually starting as early as mid-November in some places and ending around mid-May, followed by a long dry season (Stigter et al , 2005). The rainfall is relatively low in amount and rather unpredictable in frequency.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Nutritional Perceptions of Traditional African Vegetables on Farm Household Production Decisions: A Case Study of Smallholders in Tanzania

Afari‐Sefa¹,

Rajendran²,

Kessy³

et al. 2015

Ex. Agric.

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SUMMARYRecent years have seen increasing political interest and growing public health awareness and advocacy for diversifying diets into highly nutritious traditional vegetables, fruits and other nutrition-sensitive crops as a more viable approach to mitigate the growing scourge of malnutrition due to unhealthy and imbalanced diets. These foods contribute essential micronutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and other health-related phytochemicals to staple-based diets and their consumption is crucial for the attainment of several Millennium Development Goals. Despite their nutritional benefits and the high farm gate values per unit of land, the production and marketing of traditional vegetables from Tanzania and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are constrained by factors such as poor quality seeds, lack of appropriate market information and support systems, and lack of consumer awareness of their nutritional importance. This paper investigates the determinants and pathways for smallholder participation in traditional African vegetable production and identifies entry points for farmers to increase traditional vegetable production by linking nutritional awareness and promotion with potential high value markets. A primary survey of 181 traditional vegetable growers from five regions of Tanzania indicates that perceptions about the nutritional value of traditional African vegetables are a main driver of household production decisions in the sector. The results of this study provide evidence that farmers tend to grow more African traditional vegetables as compared to other crops based on their increased level of perception towards nutritional value of traditional vegetables along with other factors such as their market value, timely availability of quality certified seeds, willingness to invest in labour, required training for women and better access to credits. Farm size negatively affects growing traditional vegetables, implying that on a comparative basis, smallholders tend to grow more traditional vegetables than larger-farm operators. Thus, more attention should be given to reducing production and its associated transaction costs by ensuring timely access to quality certified seeds, ensuring optimal use of inputs and increasing labour productivity, particularly for smallholders.

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Using Traditional Methods and Indigenous Technologies for Coping With Climate Variability

Cited by 86 publications

References 18 publications

Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador

Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador

Culture and food security

Impact of Nutritional Perceptions of Traditional African Vegetables on Farm Household Production Decisions: A Case Study of Smallholders in Tanzania

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