Animal-source foods (ASF), such as fish, provide a critical source of nutrients for dietary quality and optimal growth of children. In sub-Saharan Africa, children often consume monotonous cereal-based diets, a key determinate of malnutrition such as stunting. Identifying existing sources of ASF for children’s diets will inform the development of nutritious food systems for vulnerable groups. Here we adopt a food systems framework (sensu HLPE, 2017) to examine links between aquatic- and terrestrial-based ASF sources with ASF consumption and dietary diversity in rural children aged 6-23 months in sub-Saharan Africa. Employing a novel approach, we merged existing geo-tagged nationally-representative datasets, including Demographic and Health Surveys for Malawi (2015-16, n=3995) and Zambia (2013-14, n=2333) with spatial data on proximity to inland fisheries (waterbodies ≥0.1km2) and formal markets. We found that children living closer to inland fisheries were more likely to consume fish and aquatic-based ASF, and exhibit higher dietary diversity. Children did not always consume more ASF if they lived were closer to a formal market or in a house that owned livestock. We found that inland fisheries are one of the most important sources of ASF for rural children in sub-Saharan Africa. We also demonstrate that secondary datasets provide a useful methodology for understanding the role of food systems for diets. As food systems transition, it is important that policy and programs preserve components of the existing food system – namely inland fisheries - to ensure the ongoing provision of nutrient-dense fish and aquatic-based ASF for the dietary quality of infants and young children.
Fish is a key source of income, food, and nutrition in Zambia, although unlike in the past, capture fisheries no longer meet the national demand for fish. Supply shortfalls created an opportunity to develop the aquaculture sector in Zambia, which...
L’eau d’irrigation est une ressource cruciale pour le développement économique et social en Tunisie. Dans un contexte de décentralisation et de délégation du rôle de l’État, une part importante de la gestion de cette eau d’irrigation a été confiée aux...
C’est en 1954 que les paysans de la Commune rurale de l’Imanan, située dans l’Ouest du Niger, ont commencé la culture de pomme de terre. Partie d’une simple culture d’appoint associée à d’autres spéculations, la production de pomme de terre...
This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals. It reviews three cases of systems of innovation operating in contrasting regional, socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts, in terms of four features of...
Ce guide est le premier d’une série consacrée à l’application pratique,sur des cultures de petits producteurs et des systèmes de production agricole spécifiques, du modèle «Produire plus avec moins» de la FAO. Sa publication intervient alors que la production du...