Food Security, Dietary Diversity and Healthy Livelihoods

Food Security, Dietary Diversity and Healthy Livelihoods includes agricultural and/or livestock production, extension services, food security, food value chains, irrigation, markets and trading systems, primary health care, sustainable agricultural practices, and vulnerability and resilience.

DR TOLULOPE ADEBOWALE, NIGERIA

Fortification of cassava by-product as an alternative to maize in meat-type poultry birds production

Higher feed costs, fuelled by competing use demands for corn and soybeans and rising energy prices, affect livestock industries. Agricultural by-products and wastes offer a tremendous opportunity for developing countries to reduce the high cost of poultry production. Nigeria harvests about 59 million tonnes of cassava (Manihot esculenta) yearly, resulting in about 15 million tonnes of wet cassava peel, produced as a consequence of cassava processing. It is low in protein but contains a high amount of carbohydrates, causing an environmental problem with disposal. To reduce the cost of animal feed and prevent the resultant widespread environmental pollution from cassava processing, the utilization of peels in monogastric feeding has been suggested. Therefore, this study aims to apply improved processing methods, forming a high-quality cassava peel meal, and then fortifying it with natural high protein sources or synthetic sources of amino acids. The highly processed and fortified cassava peel meal is expected to be competitive with maize in broiler chickens’ feeding programmes regarding economic feasibility and environmental sustainability.

DR DEBORAH RUTH AMULEN, UGANDA

Molecular characterisation of the unassigned (unique) bee gut bacteria identified in Uganda as a follow-up study

In the previous study, honeybee samples were collected from landscapes of increased agrochemical activity and near-natural habitats to screen for the diversity of their gut microbiome. This was the first study in Uganda and the second in East Africa to focus on the characterisation of bee gut microbiome, and revealed high variability of bee gut microbiome with many unknown or unassigned bacteria in honeybee guts from high agrochemical use landscapes. As such, it was hypothesised that these unassigned bacteria could adapt honeybees from these landscapes to pesticide-induced stress. To test this hypothesis, additional bee samples will be collected from wildlife conservation areas (no pesticide use) and domestic wildlife interface where acaricides and insecticides are extensively used for tick and tsetse control on livestock. The new findings are expected to provide the necessary scientific evidence to understand the drivers of bee colony decline in domestic bee rearing landscapes in Uganda.

DR JOSIAH MWANGI ATEKA, KENYA

Effect of participatory forest management on household food and nutrition security in Kenya

In developing countries, forests play a significant role in supporting the livelihoods and food and nutrition security (FNS) of communities living adjacent to them. Despite their essential contribution, forests are being degraded at higher rates than other natural ecosystems. In Kenya, over 80% of the land is arid and semi-arid (ASAL), and only 7% is forest area, rapidly deteriorating due to overexploitation. This situation is unsurprising given that much of the current discourse on FNS has often remained productioncentric. Consequently, most efforts fail to recognise that the expansion of agricultural systems could threaten some of the contributions of forests to FNS, especially among vulnerable groups. Participatory Forest Management (PFM) policies have been promoted on the dual expectation of enhanced livelihood and conservation outcomes. While there is increased emphasis on using PFM to conserve forests and improve livelihoods, its effectiveness remains poorly understood with few studies focusing on this dimension. This study will apply the forest dependence and FNS framework to assess the effects of PFM participation on household food and nutrition security among forest-dependent rural households in Kenya.

DR MERCY BADU, GHANA

Structural characterisation of micro-nutritional, antioxidant, antiinflammatory specific compounds found in oilseeds and their respective bioavailability

Malnutrition and hunger are increasing in Ghana, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The savannah areas are the most widely affected, with nearly one in every five children under five years stunted, while one in every ten children under five is underweight. This puts them at risk of poor brain development, weak learning, low immunity, increased infections and, in many cases, death. Through rigorous research, many different oil-bearing seed species have been found with oil yields of up to 52% and crude protein contents of up to 29%. Some of the seeds have been shown to contain significant levels of mineral elements and essential bioactive compounds with considerable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities, and high phenolic content. This project seeks to isolate and characterise potential medicinal compounds from the seeds and test their biological properties. This will help promote the seeds as food material. Additionally, the study will investigate the bioavailability and accessibility of the compounds in the gastrointestinal tract using in-vitro digestion and absorption assays.

MR FARSI HICHAM, MOROCCO

Sleep and circadian rhythms under harsh desert biotope conditions: Effect of heat stress and dehydration in the dromedary camel and the Moroccan black desert goat

The dromedary camel and the black desert goat play an important socioeconomic role in Morocco. Indeed, husbandry of both species contributes 14% to GDP, covering milk and meat needs for local populations. Under both intensive and extensive systems, these animals are exposed to harsh conditions of their biotope, specifically elevated temperatures during the day, affecting their production. The first objective of the project is to verify whether the desert black goat exhibits an adaptive heterothermy as seen in the camel and the oryx when exposed to heat stress and dehydration. Moreover, this project aims to understand the mechanisms inducing and controlling sleep and the general activity in desert environments which are important for the breeding management of these species. The other objective is to build fundamental knowledge on the behavioural and polysomnographic sleep in camel and Moroccan black goats and then to verify whether dehydration and heat stress could induce a temporal niche switching or desynchronising of the circadian clock of the two species.

DR YAYA IDRISSOU, BENIN

Integration of trees and/or shrubs in cattle farming in Benin as a strategy with adaptation and mitigation co-benefits to climate change

To cope with the adverse effects of climate change (CC), cattle farmers in Benin have developed several adaptation strategies classified into three groups: integrating livestock with crops; fodder cropping and use of feed concentrates; and pastoral mobility. The strategy of the first two groups improves livestock productivity in the context of CC although research has revealed that the carbon sequestration potential of farms adopting of strategies is low due to the absence of trees and/or shrubs, which could therefore act as net carbon emitters. To indeed cope with CC, strategies developed by cattle farmers must also contribute to CC mitigation. One such option is the integration of trees and/or shrubs in livestock farming, which can increase livestock productivity and provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration in the soil and the biomass of trees. This study aims to assess the socio-ecological indicators to promote integrating trees and/or shrubs in cattle farming in Benin’s dry and subhumid tropical zones. The results of this study will provide cattle farmers with effective CC mitigation and adaptation strategies in Benin.

DR SAMIA KDIDI, TUNISIA

Design of small SNP panel to predict dairy breed proportion in Tunisian crossbred goat population

DNA markers are being used to assess breeds’ purity and composition. In goats, high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), which contains tens of thousands of SNP markers across the whole genome, is commercially available. The genomic data (genotypes of these SNPs) and computational methods allow the assignment of individual animals to their breed of origin and the estimation of breed composition. However, high-density

SNP assays remain too expensive for routine application, thus the development of small subsets of SNPs from commercially available panels using several computational methods. Smallholder dairy farming in Tunisia uses crossbred goats that combine local adaptation traits of the native population with high-potential milk yielding exotic dairy breeds. Pedigree recording is absent in such systems, meaning that farmers do not know the breed composition of their crossbreds to make appropriate mating decisions. Thus, this project aims to develop a small SNP panel from a commercially available goat SNP65 BeadChip to estimate dairy breed proportion in Tunisian crossed goats.

MS MELAINE EUGENIE MAGANG KEMTA, CAMEROON

Assessing hidden skin-dwelling trypanosomes on the transmission of human and animal African trypanosomiases: Importance of one health concept

African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is one of the most important livestock diseases that cause major constraints to livestock production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Controlling AAT is becoming urgent, especially with the prohibition of hunting activities, and the socioeconomic and environmental mutations observed in affected areas such as Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) foci. In many of these foci, animal trypanosomes circulate sympathetically with human pathogenic trypanosomes that cause HAT. Animals seem to play a role as reservoirs in maintaining and transmitting human pathogenic parasites. Eliminating HAT and AAT in affected areas, therefore, requires a better understanding of the impact of skin-dwelling trypanosomes in the transmission of African trypanosomiasis. This study will generate data on skin dwelling trypanosomes in Cameroon and will also enable an understanding of their importance in the epidemiology of AAT. It would also help to design new control strategies for eliminating AAT and HAT.

MRS PHUONG HONG LE, VIETNAM

Adding value of coconut by-products through bioconversion technology

Improving food and agricultural production efficiencies is key to solving the globally expanding population. Currently, one-third of the food produced by humans is wasted. To produce a food product, roughly an amount of non-food by-products is also generated, causing a significant environmental impact. However, if value can be added, agricultural by-products can produce other environmentallyfriendly products with a high market value. In Vietnam, coconut is the main tree to adapt to climate change. It is thus important to establish a strategy for developing coconut products that balance government priorities with profits for farmers. Young coconut water is freshly consumed, and mature coconut kernel is mainly used to make coconut milk. Interestingly, mature coconut water has high amounts of amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals that can be a nutrient medium for the growth of microorganisms. This project, therefore, aims to enhance the value of mature coconut water through bioconversion technology using lactic acid bacteria fermentation. After that, research will be carried out to formulate a coconut-based yoghurt from this fermented substrate.

MS PRISCA CHEKAM MEFFOWOET, CAMEROON

Internal and external parasites of edible wild snails in Cameroon: Potentials impact on public health

Giant African snails are a source of protein popular with equatorial African people. The primary source of snail supply is picking, although it is clear that people who consume this meat are unaware of the health risks they face. Awakening the awareness of local populations to the potential risks related to the consumption of infested meat is a crucial and decisive aspect of snail farming. In Cameroon, no precise bibliographic information is available and only predators and competitors of snails are mentioned. This project aims to raise the awareness of local populations and improve knowledge on parasites that can infest edible snails in the areas where the climate is conducive for developing these molluscs in Cameroon. The present study, in addition to identifying parasites that infest edible snails, will highlight the public health risks associated with the consumption of these snails by local populations. The results will provide a database on the risks of zoonosis transmission related to snail consumption and handling in captive breeding.

DR SMITH NKHATA, MALAWI

Enhancement of Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags’ performance for maintaining nutrition quality of vitamin A maize (biofortified maize) during postharvest storage

Improved nutrition is a big part of human capacity development. Malnourished children do not attain their full potential even when nutrition improves later in life. Due to difficulties in achieving a nutritious diet in many developing countries due to the high cost of quality diets, the biofortification of staples such as maize with provitamin A carotenoids was started. The current recommended practices of storing maize grains in polypropylene woven bags, traditional granaries or metallic silos are adequate to protect grains from insects. However, they do not protect against loss of vitamin A (provitamin A carotenoids) as higher losses of the provitamin A carotenoids during storage have been reported, making the grains less nutritious by the time of consumption. While PICS bags’ utility in maintaining the nutrition quality of biofortified grains showed promising results, its dependence on commercial oxygen absorbers necessitates the exploration of more economically viable alternatives for scavenging oxygen inside the PICS bags by rural farmers. We want to test the hypothesis that increasing the physiological activity of grains within recommended storage moisture level could be the most effective and economical way to scavenge oxygen inside PICS bags by rural farmers instead of commercial scavengers.

DR AYOBAMI OLADEJO, NIGERIA

Effects of ultrasound, microwave and vacuum drying pre-treatment on the quality of plantain chips during deep fat frying

Plantain chips are a popular snack consumes particularly in developing countries. However, too much oil uptake by the fried plantain chips poses serious health risks like heart disease, cancer and obesity. In the past, conventional methods have been applied to frying of foods to reduce the oil uptake by fried foods. But these methods are ineffective in bringing about a significant reduction in the oil uptake. Therefore, this project seeks to apply novel frying methods in the form of ultrasound, microwave, vacuum drying and their combinations as pre-treatment prior to deep fat frying. It is hypothesized that these novel frying methods would significantly reduce oil uptake without compromising fried plantain chips’ nutritional and physicochemical qualities.

DR OPHELIA SOLIKU, GHANA

Contribution of protected areas to the achievement of some Sustainable Development Goals: The linkages, immediate outcomes, challenges and way forward

Protected areas (PAs) have been marked by conflicts due to the multiple actors, varying interests and institutional structures connected with their management. These conflicts are pervasive in Sub-Saharan Africa where many rural people’s livelihoods are directly attached to forest and wildlife resources. While studies have established that well-managed PAs yield significant benefits that address both environmental and societal challenges, research on the contribution of PAs in achieving the SDGs has remained mainly at the global or conceptual level. There is generally a lack of empirical data for particular PAs and countries regarding PAs’ contributions to achieving the SDGs, which makes it difficult for PA managers and policy-makers to track progress and make informed decisions aimed at maximising the full benefits of PAs and addressing any challenges that arise. Therefore, this project aims to assess the contribution of PAs in Ghana to achieving specific SDGs. Results from this project will be crucial for managers of PAs and policy-makers to recognise the potential and challenges of protected areas in helping governments meet their global and national commitments for conservation and sustainable development.