Food Availability AND Collaboration Techniques With Agricultural Farming Households And Individuals

INTRODUCTION

Individuals who are malnourished as a result of a lack of physical availability to food, as well as a lack of social or economic access to adequate food, are said to be suffering from food insecurity. Food insecurity manifests itself in physical symptoms caused by energy and nutritional deficits caused by an inadequate or unbalanced diet, or the body’s inability to adequately use food owing to disease or sickness.

According to the FAO (2010), food insecurity refers to the consequences of a lack of healthy food consumption, with the physiological use of food by the body coming under the category of nutrition and health. Malnutrition also causes poor health, making it harder for individuals to provide for their family. If hunger is neglected, it triggers a chain reaction that prolongs starvation, reduces parents’ ability to work and give birth to healthy children, and undermines children’s ability to study and live productive, healthy, and happy lives. This stop in human growth jeopardizes a country’s ability to flourish economically in the future.

Famine and hunger are both caused by a lack of food security. Food insecurity may be defined as either long-term or short-term. Food insecurity makes people more vulnerable to famine and hunger, and ensuring food security requires removing that vulnerability. Chronic insecurity is similar to malnutrition and is associated with poverty, which is particularly frequent in poor countries. Understanding the causes of food insecurity may help us identify solutions since no problem can be solved unless its roots are grasped. It’s difficult to discuss the causes of Nigerian food insecurity since the majority of Nigerians have lost interest in locally produced food.

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food and consider imported meals to be superior than locally produced ones. The expansion of the oil sector, as well as the vast sums of money it produces, has shifted the emphasis away from agriculture to the point that even domestic food production is insufficient. Because oil money has moved most Nigerians’ tastes toward foreign/imported items, the government felt that importing food was better than initiating local production (FAO, 2010). Despite the aforementioned variables, the following categories may be used to classify the causes of food insecurity in Nigeria:
Food insecurity, according to the FAO (2010), refers to the effects of insufficient intake of nutritious food, with the physiological utilization of food by the body falling within the area of nutrition and health. Malnutrition also leads to poor health, which makes it difficult for people to support their families. Hunger puts in motion a cascade of events that prolong malnutrition, diminish parents’ capacity to work and give birth to healthy children, and undermine children’s ability to learn and live productive, healthy, and happy lives if left ignored. This halt in human growth jeopardizes a country’s economic development potential for future generations.

Food insecurity is at the foundation of both famine and hunger. Food insecurity may be classified as chronic or temporary. Food instability leads to a high level of susceptibility to famine and hunger, and providing food security necessitates the removal of that vulnerability. Chronic insecurity is akin to malnutrition and is linked to poverty, which is prevalent mostly in developing nations. Because no issue can be treated until its origins are understood, understanding the causes of food insecurity can aid us in finding solutions. It’s difficult to talk about the reasons of food insecurity in Nigeria since most Nigerians have lost interest in locally produced food.

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food and perceive imported foods to be better than those produced locally. The growth of the oil industry and the enormous cash it generates has changed the focus away from agriculture to the point that even domestic food production is no longer sufficient. The government decided that importing food was preferable than starting local production, particularly because oil money has shifted most Nigerians’ preferences toward foreign/imported commodities (FAO, 2010). Despite the aforementioned factors, the causes of food insecurity in Nigeria may be divided into the following categories:

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NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF SOME PROCESSED AND UNPROCESSED LESSER KNOWN VEGETABLES CONSUMED IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to determine nutrient composition of some processed and unprocessed lesser known vegetables (LKCVs) consumed in Kaduna State. Multistage sampling and simple random sampling techniques were adopted to arrive at community of choice for data collection. Six communities were randomly selected from the three (3) senatorial zones of Kaduna state. In each selected community, in-depth interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were conducted with community women to identify types, processing methods and consumption pattern of LKCVs. A total of eight each of the processed and unprocessed LKCVs identified were aseptically collected for laboratory analysis. LKCVs commonly found in Kaduna state were therefore, subjected to analysis to determine their proximate and micronutrient (some minerals: Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Na, Zn and vitamins: vitamin C, vitamim A and folate) content. A total of 21 LKCVs were identified out of which 8 were selected based on availability for the study. All the vegetables were seasonal except Vigna unguiculata (Bean leaves), more so boiling and blanching were the common traditional processing methods. Senna obtusifolia (Coffee senna) (73.81%), Senna occidentalis (Coffee senna) (74.60%) and Clocusia esculentum (Cocoyam leaves) (61.11%) were consumed sufficiently by the respondents (5-6 times per week). Medicinal value (34.94%) was the dominant reason for consumption of the LKCVs. The proximate nutrient values for unprocessed LKCVs ranged from 50.33% to 13 9% (carbohydrate), 12.49% to 4.09%

(crude protein), 5.00% to 0.37% (fat), 7.06% to 6.63% (ash), 61.11% to 28.10% (moisture) and 9.88% to 1.72% (fibres). While in processed LKCVs, proximate compositions ranged from 41.38% to 11.80% (carbohydrate), 6.44% to 2.67% (crude protein) 3.16% to 0.17% (fat), 5.72 %

to 2.72% (ash), 72.30% to 50.05% (moisture), and 6.43% to 0.93% (fibres). Minerals nutrient value of unprocessed LKCVs showed that potassium has the highest value range of 3,277.6omg to 220.10mg/100g; magnesium, 128mg to 99.96mg/100g; calcium, 200.22mg to 5.33mg/100g; sodium, 7.14mg to 0.07mg/100g; iron, 19.53mg to 0.39mg/100g; zinc, 9.61mg to 0.23mg/100g; vitamin A, 11.78mg to 0.19mg/100g; vitamin C, 4,22mg to 0.07mg/100g; vitamin B9, 12.49mg to 5.24mg/100g. The minerals and vitamins nutrient of processed LKCVs analyzed also gave ranges for potassium, 996.50mg to72.30mg/100g; magnesium, 85.7mg to 125.08mg/100g; calcium, 2.7mg to 103.48mg/100g; sodium, 0.36mg to 9. 39mg/100g; iron, 0.19mg to 11.78mg/100g; zinc, 0.29mg to 5.38mg/100g; vitamin A, 6.99mg to 14.59mg/100g; vitamin C, 0.35mg to 3.35mg/100g; Vitamin B9, 2.77mg to 8.11 mg/100g. There was significant (p<0.05)

difference between the processed and unprocessed nutrient content of LK C Vs in favour of unprocessed that had the higher nutrient in all the vegetables except for moisture content. All the vegetable are of low fat content and the nutrient level vary widely. Vegetables when combined would complement each other and provides more nutrient- rich local diet, thus contributes to food security.

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ABSTRACT

Rice is one of the main staple food crops and its demand is rapidly increasing in West Africa, hence there is need to increase its production at lower production costs through adequate N management with appropriate varieties.Nitrogen (N) management is one of the key inputs in rice production, especially in the savanna soils which is usually associated with widespread N deficiency. The focus of this research was to evaluate the performance of rice under different N fertilizer management options. Field experiments were conducted in 2012 and

2013 at the research farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Talata Mafara (irrigated) and Kadawa (rain-fed). The treatment combinations included two granular forms of N as Urea Super Granule (USG) and Granular Urea (GU) at different rates [0, 45.1, 72.2, 117.3 kg N/ha and a rate based on leaf colour chart (LCC)] with three varieties of rice (FARO 55, FARO 57 and FARO 52) as the test crops. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated thrice. The second phase of the study involved the use of Quantitative Evaluation of the Fertility of Tropical Soils (QUEFTS) model to simulate rice performance as a decision support tool for site-specific fertilizer recommendation in the study areas. Crop growth attributes generally increased with increased N application for both USG and GU, but with delay in days to heading. Application of USG at 117.3 kg N/ha significantly (p<0.01) increased yield and yield attributes, except for grain-, phosphorus- and potassium- harvest indices where application of GU based on LCC gave the highest values. Interaction between N management and varieties indicated that application of USG at 117.3 kg N/ha on FARO 52 resulted in significant rice yield increase.Paddy yield was highly and positively correlated with total biomass (r= 0.883**), straw yield (0.733**), dry matter (0.351**), plant height (0.158**) and N uptake (0.701**); but weak and non-significant negative relationship existed between soil pH (- 0.021) and available P (- 0.055). The indigenous soil nutrients supplies (INS, IPS and IKS) were 25.26 –

94.50 kg N ha-1, 5.78 – 28.84 kg P ha-1and 47.48 – 156.30 kg K ha-1with fertilizer recovery fractions of 0.25 – 0.61, 0.09 – 0.48 and 0.27 – 0.69 for N, P and K respectively at both locations. The recommended fertilizer dosage modeled by QUEFTS were 104 – 140 kg N ha- 1, 69 – 94 kg P ha-1 and 23 – 46 kg K ha-1for dry season (Talata Mafara) and 92 – 130 kg N ha-1, 34 – 56 kg P ha-1 and 10 – 19 kg K ha-1 for wet season (Kadawa). It was higher than the conventional „blanket fertilizer‟ rate recommended over the years. The model also recommends higher N with lower K for FARO 55, but lower K for FARO 57 and FARO 52; thereby advocating for site specific nutrient management (SSNM) through the use of different fertilizer combinations for different soil conditions. Field validation of the QUEFTS model showed a good agreement between observed and simulated yields (R2 = 0.85, RSME = 0.93, RSMEn =< 30% and d-stat = 0.71), thus confirming better performance of QUEFTS in the rice ecosystem under different nitrogen regimes. Partial economic analysis of rice production at both locations revealed that application of USG at 117.3 kg N/ha with FARO

52 gave the highest gross margin of ₦237,907.22k/ha and a profit of ₦2.81k per naira invested. Results obtained from this study revealed that FARO 52 using USG had better paddy yields and highest NUE.Further studies are also required to establish the appropriate use of leaf colour chart in the study areasDownload Full Material-N5000