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The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of socio‐economic variables on households' food demand. This paper derived the indirect utility function in terms of expenditure and price through the use of nonlinear demand quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) model to estimate price, expenditure and elasticities of food items consumed in the North‐Central, Nigeria, and the impact of the socio‐economic variables on households' food demand.

The primary data used came from random selection of 396 households between 2006 and 2007 through a stratified random sampling procedure from Kwara and Kogi states making up the North Central zone in Nigeria.

All own price elasticities of the six food groups analyzed (root and tubers – RT, cereal – CR, legume – LG, animal protein – AP, fruits and vegetable – FV, fats and oil) showed that they are price inelastic. The results of income elasticity show that AP consumption is the most sensitive to income changes, while fats and oil is the least sensitive to income changes. Factors that positively and significantly affected demand for LG, FV, AP, CR and RT were household size (HSZ), level of education, primary occupation, access to credit, presence of children ≤6 years mainly at P<0.01. HSZ (P<0.01) negatively affected demand for AP.

This paper is original and novel in that it examines the impact of socio‐economic variables on households' food demand. High‐income elasticities of demand for all the food groups in QUAIDS except fruits and vegetable, as well as fats and oils, suggests that income‐generating policies will foster higher levels of consumption for these commodities.

Tuber crops are extremely important for humans, being extensively used in many cultures and mainly in poor and developing countries. Tanias (Xanthosoma Schott) belong to the Aracea family and have been commonly used as a staple food since pre‐Columbian times. Nowadays, tanias are integrated in the staple diet of several countries in the Americas, West Africa, Asia and the Pacific. In order to shed light on their potential and possible risks for human nutrition, nutritional and anti‐nutritional evaluations of different compounds synthesized by tania corms were carried out by using seven tropical species.

Classical analyses for non‐structural carbohydrates and nitrogenated compounds as well inhibitory assays towards α‐amylases and proteases were employed.

Tests for quantitation of reducing sugars, soluble polysaccharides, free amino acid content and total protein amounts presented variable scores among studied species. Nevertheless, the amounts of non‐starchy polysaccharides and sugars were less than those observed in other tuber crops, such as potato, cassava, sweet potato and yam. Otherwise, when anti‐nutritional compounds were evaluated, no digestive enzyme inhibitory activity was detected in performed assays. Moreover, Xanthosoma atrovirens, Xanthosoma brasiliense and Xanthosoma mafaffa showed agglutination activity towards blood type B, probably due to the presence of lectins.

In summary, data here presented suggest that it is not possible to indicate a single tania candidate as the best choice for human consumption.

The paper presents a pioneer comparison of nutritional and antinutritional compounds between different species of tania corms.

The aim of the study is to compare the effect of steaming method and time on the physico‐chemical properties of underutilized Dioscorea dumetorum with three more commonly consumed Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea cayenensis and Dioscorea alata.

Raw and pre‐gelatinized flour were produced from the yam species. Pre‐gelatinization was done by steaming diced cubes in autoclave at 68,950 Nm‐2 for 5 min and in Barlett steamer at 98±2°C for 10, 20 and 30 min. Flour samples were analyzed for amylose content, swelling index, consistency, solubility, water absorption capacity, and iodine affinity for starch.

The physico‐chemical properties of the flours were affected by both species and steaming time. Pre‐gelatinization of the tuber reduced amylose content in all the yam species, which reduced further with increase in steaming time. Except for amylose content and iodine affinity for starch, D. dumetorum compared with D. rotundata and D. cayenensis in the parameters that were measured. Samples autoclaved for 5 min had value similar to those steamed in Barlett steamer for 10 and 20 min for all the parameters that were measured, except consistency.

It is very important to encourage the cultivation and utilization of D. dumetorum because of the high yield and nutritional composition to enhance the nutritional and financial well‐being of the populace.

Pre‐gelatinization is important as pre‐treatment for yam tubers. Underutilized D. dumetorum could be useful in ingredient formulation for product development, especially as a thickening agent.

The revelations that have been made concerning the insanitary conditions under which large quantities of important food products are prepared in the United States for consumption in this country have attracted, for the time being, the attention that the subject deserves.

This study aims to analyze iodine content in various foods and water.

Food and water samples were collected from rural and urban areas of different agroclimatic zones of Haryana State, India, and analyzed for iodine content by a standard method.

A wide variation was observed in the iodine content of cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and milk. The iodine content in water samples varied from source to source and from zone to zone.

The investigators could not obtain sufficient samples of pulses and fruits for analysis from rural areas as they are not grown by farmers in their fields.

The study is original and innovative. The values of iodine for various foods are not available in the literature, and thus data of the present study will be useful to researchers, nutritionists, food scientists and dieticians.

The aim of the study is to assess the dietary diversity score (DDS) and nutritional status of women in the University of Agriculture extension village in rural areas of Ogun State, Nigeria.

A representative sample of 204 women was surveyed from the rural villages in two seasons using simple random technique. A pretested interview guide was used to collect information on personal data, and socio demographic characteristics of the subjects. Information on dietary diversity was obtained using Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project questionnaire (FANTA). Body mass index (BMI), waist‐hip ratio (WHR) and skin fold thickness were used in classifying obesity. Information on food intake was obtained from 24‐hour dietary recall techniques. For each season, a DDS was computed and the nutritional status was assessed. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics; SPSS software package version 16.0.

The socio economic characteristic revealed that more than half (53 percent) had no formal education, 59 percent were small scale farmers. The DDS increased from 3.55±7.6 to 3.93±4.3 between the two seasons. DDS within the various food groups showed that fruit group increased from 0.48±0.20 to 0.52.±0.10, vegetable group 0.60±0.30 to 0.66±0.30, and meat group 0.48±0.20 to 0.58±0.30 while cereals/grain groups and oil/dairies group decreased from 0.42±0.30 to 0.37, 0.11±0.30 to 0.09, respectively, between the two seasons. The nutrient content of the subjects was calculated from nutrient contents of foods obtained from food composition tables and compared to dietary reference intake (DRI). The results showed that the protein, energy and fat intakes of the subjects increased significantly during the rainy season (p<0.05). Two percent of the subjects gained weight, 4 percent had weight reduction from overweight and obese category. The result of the waist‐hip ratio showed that 78 percent had normal waist‐hip ratio, 14 percent had overweight, and 7 percent were obese. The dietary diversity score of the subjects was low. There is need for nutritional education in the villages.

This may be the first research work to assess the dietary diversity score of rural women in Nigeria.

This paper aims to draw on community risk assessment (CRA) for assessing vulnerability to climate change in north-western Ghana, focusing on sunshine, temperature and wind, elements of climate which are seldom explored in vulnerability assessments to climate change.

The paper draws on data collected from a qualitative research design that used participatory rural appraisal methods, particularly, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and seasonal calendar analysis in three selected rural communities of the Sissala East District. Furthermore, an inter-generational framework was adopted for comparative assessment of vulnerability and changes in vulnerability to climate change.

The results show that the current generation of smallholder farmers is more vulnerable to climate change than the past generation, the era of grandparents. Thus, farmers are exposed to higher-intensity sunshine, temperature and wind in contemporary times than was the case in the past. Consequently, their livelihoods are affected the most by the damaging effects of these climatic hazards. The CRA process revealed the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems for vulnerability assessments and at the same time, underpins the need for adaptation of such knowledge if it is to sustain smallholder farmer efforts at climate change adaptation at community levels.

The paper recommends an endogenous development approach to climate change adaptation planning (CCAP), one that will build on indigenous knowledge systems for effective community education, mobilization and participatory response to climate change. Policy interventions should aim at enhancing climate change adaptation through innovations in soil and water conservation, access to water for irrigation and domestic use, climate smart-housing architecture and agro-forestry within the framework of decentralization and district development planning.

This paper will contribute to climate change research in two ways: first, by drawing attention to the usefulness of CRA in vulnerability assessment; and second, by focusing on climate elements which are critical for CCAP but rarely given sufficient attention in vulnerability assessments.

This essay provides evidence that the invention of agriculture was not a dramatic technological advance in the history of humankind and that agriculture was quite consistent with nomadic hunting and gathering. The available clues also suggest that exact origins of agriculture do not seem important. Rather, the crucial question is why certain societies dramatically increased their dependency on agriculture for subsistence two to ten millennia ago. Unfortunately, most of the major theories purporting to explain the neolithic revolution – either the origins or the spread of agriculture – are either untestable or inconsistent with the available evidence. What is at stake for economic historians is to rethink the process of the adoption of agriculture using a multi-causal approach.

Due to the rise in urbanization, demand for easily prepared foods such as pastries and noodles has risen. But the high price of wheat in the global market puts financial stress on low-income people, especially on those living in tropical regions, where wheat does not thrive well. They depend solely on imported wheat, which is expensive due to importation cost, or seek other relatively less-nutritious cereals. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibility of supplementing wheat flour with flour from relatively cheap and easy-to-produce root tuber, such as cassava, potato and sweet potato.

Strong-, medium- and weak-gluten wheat flours were supplemented with flour from cassava, potato and sweet potato at 10, 20 and 30 percent. Strong gluten composites were used to make bread, whereas medium and weak gluten composites were used for cookie and noodle production, respectively. Protein, ash, fat, crude fiber, moisture, carbohydrate, gluten, zeleny and energy contents of each composite were tested.

The nutritional and sensory quality of bread, cookies and noodles made from wheat flour supplemented with root tuber flour at 10, 20 and 30 percent was assessed. Results revealed that mixing wheat flour and root tuber flour has important effects on the moisture, protein, carbohydrate, fat, ash, gluten, zeleny sedimentation value and crude fiber content of the resulting mixture. Moisture and carbohydrate increased while protein and fat significantly (p<0.05) decreased with increasing root tuber flour levels in formulations. Gluten content also decreased significantly with rising root tuber flour concentrations. There was a mild reduction in bread’s general acceptability at 10 and 20 percent in potato composites; thus potato flour was still acceptable at 20 percent. Cassava flour composite also topped with a general acceptability score of 69.26 at 20 percent in cookies, whereas sweet potato composite achieved a score of 84.81 in noodles.

This work has successfully confirmed that wheat flour could be supplemented up to 20 percent with root tuber flour without compromising the nutritional and sensory quality of products. It has also demonstrated that different products require different root tuber flour substitution for optimum results. Potato at 10 percent substitution was found to be best for bread production. Cassava and sweet potato at 10 percent substitution were also best for cookies and noodles, respectively. With respect to protein content only, sweet potato substitution is better than cassava and potato.

The aim of this study is in twofolds. First, to take a critical look at nutrient consumed and its trends and second, to examine the relationship between share of nutrient consumed across selected food groups and per capita income in Nigeria.

The author uses seemingly unrelated regressions.

The result of the first objective reveals that the average calorie, protein and fat intakes were still below the recommended daily allowance since the 1960s as diets in Nigeria remained very much cereal-based over the years. Also, the results of objective two show that calorie, protein, and fat share of animal products respond positively but inelastic to the per capita income growth in Nigeria over the years.

Contrary to previous studies, the present study is designed not to fit aggregated nutrient demand from various food items as a function of income, but to relate the nutrient share of each homogenous and heterogeneous food product categories to the aggregated nutrient intake from these food groups and per capita income in Nigeria.