Six systems of rattan production, processing and marketing from four Asian countries are compared using a production-to-consumption systems approach. Cases were selected to represent a range of management and capital intensity at different stages. Strong similarities among the cases are explained by characteristics of the material and similar policy treatments among the four countries. There is a tendency toward increasing intensity and scale in the manufacturing sector, but this has not translated into incentives for improved management in raw material production. The industry in most countries is still based mainly on the unsustainable exploitation of wild rattan, although there are technically feasible systems for intensifying production. Raw material shortages are already being experienced in the industry. The situation represent a good opportunity for investment. The paper concludes by identifying key areas for attention
Tag: consumption
Traditional Honey and Wax Collection with Apis Dorsata in the Upper Kapuas Lake Region, West Kalimantan: a prelude to co-management
Local knowledge and practices on use and management of edible insects in Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
Edible insects (EIs) provide an important food source in Africa, but their potential to improve livelihoods and environmental conservation is yet to be fully exploited. This study contributes towards enhancing the use of EIs in the Lake Victoria basin (LVB), with particular attention to local perspectives of the catalogue, ecology, management, collection, processing and consumption. The study was conducted along the LVB in Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda between 2012 and 2013 using a household survey and focus group discussions. Results revealed that up to 20 insect species were eaten in Uganda, 13 in Burundi, and six in Rwanda. In Uganda, the most consumed insects were a katydid grasshopper (Ruspolia differens), palm weevil (Rhynchophorus phoenicis) larvae and termites (Macrotermes), while in Rwanda and Burundi, Macrotermes species were the most consumed. The most common source of EIs in households was their own collection from the wild, although a number of insects were also bought from markets. Local communities reported various ways of collecting, processing and storing insects. Overall, most of these activities require technological interventions. Despite the high consumption of EIs, no deliberate efforts were reported on conservation and rearing of any of the insects consumed in the three countries. This raises serious questions pertaining to the sustainable consumption of EIs, especially in the face of climate change in this region.
Use of Biochar-Producing Gasifier Cookstove Improves Energy Use Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality in Rural Households
Biomass fuels dominate the household energy mix in sub-Saharan Africa. Much of it is used inefficiently in poorly ventilated kitchens resulting in indoor air pollution and consumption of large amounts of wood fuel. Micro-gasification cookstoves can improve fuel use efficiency and reduce indoor air pollution while producing char as a by-product. This study monitored real-time concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and amount of firewood used when households were cooking dinner. Twenty-five households used the gasifier cookstove to cook and five repeated the same test with three-stone open fire on a different date. With the gasifier, the average corresponding dinner time CO, CO2, and PM2.5 concentrations were reduced by 57%, 41%, and 79% respectively compared to three-stone open fire. The gasifier had average biomass-to-char conversion efficiency of 16.6%. If the produced char is used as fuel, households could save 32% of fuel compared to use of three-stone open fire and 18% when char is used as biochar, for instance. Adoption of the gasifier can help to reduce the need for firewood collection, hence reducing impacts on the environment while saving on the amount of time and money spent on cooking fuel.
The ENRICH Bot, a smartphone application measuring fruit and vegetable intake and food choice motives: Development and validation for the case of urban Kenyan consumers
Understanding the complexity of food consumption and choice motivation is vitally important for guiding business and policy efforts towards healthier nutritional intake. We need that insight in order to develop, offer, and design food and nutrition interventions that better fit the diverse range of consumers and eventually lead to a higher intake of healthy foods (e.g. fruit and vegetables). The rise in ownership of smartphones and technical developments provide the opportunity to apply new and innovative metrics. The overall aim of this study was to develop and validate a tool/metrics, the ENRICH Bot, that can provide reliable information on fruit and vegetable intake and food choice motives (FCM) in real time and in situ from urban consumers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with an application to urban consumers living in Nairobi (Kenya).
On-farm yield gains with stress-tolerant maize in eastern and Southern Africa
Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important staple food in eastern and southern Africa (ESA) with human maize consumption averaging 91 kg capita–1 yr–1. Current maize yield averages 1.2 t ha–1 and is barely sufficient for the region’s requirements due to drought and low N stresses. The objective of this study was to compare new drought tolerant (DT) maize hybrids and open pollinated varieties (OPVs) against the best commercial varieties in ESA under farmer management conditions and to validate on-station results. Maize varieties were simultaneously selected on-station in four types of environments across 44 locations in ESA during the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons. During the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons, 20 promising DT maize hybrids and OPVs were selected from the on-station based on their mean grain yield and stability. These selected varieties were compared with the best commercial check varieties on-farm across 80 locations in ESA in a randomized complete block design for two seasons. The genotype + genotype × environment comparison biplot showed variety CZH0616 together with other new DT hybrids to be stable and high yielding across 44 locations on-station in the ESA region compared to the commonly grown checks such as SC513. The new DT hybrids showed a yield advantage over the commercial check varieties both in the early and medium-late maturing categories by 4 to 19%, and the gains were bigger under stress conditions. Under farmers’ fields CZH0616, CZH0837, CZH0935, and CZH0928 were high yielding and stable across locations. © 2017 American Society of Agronomy 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711 USA
Why extensive research and development did not promote use of peach palm fruit in Latin America
Peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) was domesticated as a fruit crop by the first Amazonians in traditional Neotropical agroforestry systems, but research and development (R&D) to date has not transformed its fruit into a modern success story. The fruit is really a tree ‘potato,’ competing with traditional starches rather than with succulent fruits. R&D efforts have focused more on production than on product transformation, commercialization and the consumer, thus failing to fill gaps in the production-to-consumption chain. Consumer demands are only now getting more consideration, and clear identification of the smallholder farmer as the R&D client is not yet generalized. Too many, often large germplasm collections have biased R&D programs away from smallholder farmers and did not pursue the quality and uniformity that consumers want. The general lessons learnt from 25 years of R&D efforts on peach palm that should guide the development of other indigenous agroforestry fruit tree species are: 1) identify market demands, whether subsistence or market-oriented; 2) identify clients and consumers, and their perceptions of the product; 3) work on food and nutritional security aspects of the species and let entrepreneurs be attracted, rather than vice versa; 4) take up species improvement in a moderately sized effort, using a participatory approach tightly focused on clients’ demands; and 5) reappraise the priorities from time to time.
Climate change, agriculture and food security: a global partnership to link research and action for low-income agricultural producers and consumers
To achieve food security for many in low-income and middle-income countries for whom this is already a challenge, especially with the additional complications of climate change, will require early investment to support smallholder farming systems and the associated food systems that supply poor consumers. We need both local and global policy-linked research to accelerate sharing of lessons on institutions, practices and technologies for adaptation and mitigation. This strategy paper briefly outlines how the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) is working across research disciplines, organisational mandates, and spatial and temporal levels to assist immediate and longer-term policy actions.
Rubber Cultivation Weakened the Soil Methane Sink Function Compared to Natural Forest
The impact of transforming natural forest into rubber plantations on soil function as CH4 sink has not been well understood especially on the seasonal dynamic and changes in underlying soil processes. Aimed to understand how this land use conversion changes the soil CH4 sink we conducted measurements in both natural forests and rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna SW China. Temporal dynamic of soil surface CH4 flux CH4 concentration and isotope signature of 13CH4 in the soil profile at 5 10 30 and 70 cm depth were measured at representative time in dry and rainy season. CH4 uptake by soils in rubber plantations was only 41.8 % of uptake by forest soils with annual CH4 cumulative flux of -2.41±0.28 and -1.01±0.23 kgC ha−1yr−1 for forests and rubber plantations respectively. The CH4 oxidation was stronger in dry season than in rainy season mainly explained by changes in soil moisture. From dry season to rainy season CH4 flux shifted to weak consumption in forest and young rubber plantation or even towards emission in older rubber plantations; CH4 concentration increased in all four depths with higher increment in older rubber plantations. The enrichment of soil CH4 by 13CH4 was higher in forest than in rubber plantations. The decrement of delta 13CH4 from dry to rainy season in both land uses indicated the increased CH4 production in rainy season while the flux showed the net consumption. The CH4 turnover rate suggested that the surface 0–5 cm soil was the most active layer responsible for CH4 oxidation. Conversion the forest into rubber plantation weakened soil CH4 sink function. Seasonal change of CH4 flux and 13CH4 enrichment was larger under rainforest than rubber plantations indicating modified soil water regime under rubber. Converting forest into rubber plantations and rubber cultivation may have profound impact on greenhouse gas emission from soil.
Not Just an Issue in Forested Regions: Investigating the Consumption and Trade of Pangolins in a Forest-Savannah Mosaic Area of Cameroon
Cameroon hosts three species of pangolins and has recently been identified as a hub of pangolin trafficking. However, information on threats to pangolins needed to guide conservation efforts remains scarce, notably on consumption and trade patterns, and the prevalence of individuals trading pangolins. Local communities sharing the same habitats with pangolins can provide such information, which is useful to better target interventions. Based on a snowball sampling approach and using interview surveys in 20 villages surrounding Mbam et Djerem National Park, we investigated the consumption of pangolins and its drivers, parts sold, selling prices, places sold and buyers, and employed the nominative technique to estimate the percentage of people within the surveyed population engaged in selling pangolins. Our results showed that both giant and white-bellied pangolins are locally consumed, mainly for their taste, and traded for meat and scales. Distance to the capital city Yaoundé, ethnolinguistic group, and education significantly affected the likelihood of consuming or trading white-bellied and giant pangolins. Selling and prices of giant pangolin meat and scales were significantly affected by distance to Yaoundé. The prevalence of people selling white-bellied and giant pangolins were higher in Tibati and Yoko compared to other municipalities. Overall, our study provided information necessary for effective law enforcement and research-oriented decision-making for pangolin conservation. We recommend the establishment of consumption reduction campaigns focusing on taste preference, investigation of the impacts of the newly constructed national road on pangolin supply chains and trafficking, and increasing the involvement of local communities in the management process of Mbam et Djerem National Park.