Farmers fortifying maize with soy beans to beat malnutrition.

Farmers fortifying maize with soy beans to beat malnutrition. While most families strive daily to eat mineral-deficient ugali, which mainly supplies energy, Joseph Nyangweso is ‘adding value’ to the meal by lacing the flour with protein-rich soy beans. Soy beans are grown mostly for industrial applications of extracting edible oil by companies like Bidco or fortification of baking and cooking flour. But the farmer, who has been growing the soy beans for small-scale selling, realized the seeds lost viability after six months if not replanted or sold. The protein content in soy beans ranges from 36 per cent to 56 per cent of grain dry weight. One cup of boiled soy beans that is about 172g gives 29g of proteins, according to the Soybeans 101: Nutritional factsheet. Just like other proteins, some people have allergic reaction after consumption. Nyangweso carried out some research on the recommended mix ration. He found out that at least one kilogramme in very four kilos of the maize flour is sufficient. That translates to about 25 per cent of soy beans flour, which should be in the mix. Maize is a stable food for more than three quarters of the population. Apart from energy, maize is a poor source of nutrients like proteins, fats and other minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium, among others. For poor families that cannot afford a balanced diet, fortification has been introduced to cater for those who can buy the flour.source

CIAT releases new varieties of steamed beans.

CIAT releases new varieties of steamed beans. Consumers and bean traders will soon be spending about 100 minutes less in cooking the delicacy with the 12 newly released varieties from the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT. The precooked beans are subjected to steam before packaging for sale. The beans are ready for consumption in about 15 minutes. After harvesting, the beans are subjected to boiling water that is releasing steam. The boiling water does not get into contact with the beans otherwise they will cook. The steam precooks the beans before packaging for the market. The traditional beans take about two hours to cook. This duration becomes prohibitive for low class families who cannot afford the fuel to sustain the continued cooking. CIAT says within the 15 minutes, consumers will require fuel of about Sh47 for one kilo of the beans.Various companies across Africa have been engaged to produce the seeds for the farmers. CIAT says about 10,000 farmers are already growing the varieties across the continent. After harvesting, the farmers are expected to deliver the beans to factories for processing and packaging. Snack beans are also been developed alongside the precooked varieties. The beans only require salting and they are ready for consumption. The programme of supporting the farmers is being rolled out in sub-Saharan Africa countries.source

Supplementary fish feeds offer farmers more financial return than commercial feeds.

Supplementary fish feeds offer farmers more financial return than commercial feeds. A new study and fish expert has shown that Supplementary fish feeds offer farmers more financial return than commercial feeds. Farmers rearing fish with homemade feeds may make more profits by than their commercial feeds counterparts despite the higher crude protein content in the latter. Kenya Prisons officer Jared Mokaya, who manages the Nakuru correctional facility farm, said commercial feeds offer a vigorous and heavier yield, but the at the end, the net financial gain is lower than supplements production. His sentiments have been supported by a research that shows that there is an average of 0.23 benefit cost from three Nile tilapia set-ups where the growth and economic performances were tested. In the study, reversed sex Nile tilapias were raised in four rice-fish ecosystems for 120 days. The traditional feed had 21 per cent crude proteins (CP), while the formulated one had 26 per cent CP. Commercial had 30 per cent CP while nothing was added to the last set up, which acted as the control. “The highest benefit-cost ratio of 2.15 was in the control, followed by formulated feed (1.90). But in the case of numerical net return, it was the opposite. The commercial feeds had the lowest profit margin ratio of 1.67m,” the research published on the Journal of Applied Aquaculture reads. The report adds that the cost of commercial feeds is more than that of supplementary feed.For farmers to make more profits, the research says that fish grown in rice fields will give more profits if farmers use homemade feeds. Food and Agricultural Organisation, FAO, recommends that farmers rear fish in flooded fields with rice. The waste from fish are nitrogen for the rice. The rice consumes the ammonia in the body waste while the fish also release carbon dioxide for photosynthesis in the crop. source

Benefits of raising fish in rice fields.

Benefits of raising fish in rice fields. A Chinese study has confirmed the findings of Kenya's Yala Swamp rice farmers, with evidence that cultivating rice and fish together stops disease, ups yields, and cuts the need for both fertilizers and pesticides. The Yala Swamp farmers, near Lake Victoria, have for decades grown fish and rice in the same flooded paddy fields, and have discovered they never require fertilizers to grow their rice, which is also rarely attacked by common rice diseases such as rice sheath blast responsible for some 40 per cent of rice losses in the country. A six-year long study conducted in China found that when fish were introduced into flooded paddy fields, farmers were able to grow the same amount of grain as in conventional rice monocultures, but with more than two-thirds less pesticide and a quarter less fertiliser. Farmers could therefore make large savings on fertilisers and pesticides, which typically represent 60–70 per cent of the total cost of rice production. Scientists now say the rice-fish technique is good for both the fish and the rice. Safely hidden from birds, the fish thrive in the dense rice plants, while they in turn provide a source of fertilizer with their droppings, eat insect pests and help to circulate oxygen around the rice field. Farmers also claim that keeping fish in rice fields can increase rice yields by up to 10% – plus they have the additional supplies of fish. source

Soil steaming cuts tomato losses.

Soil steaming cuts tomato losses. After a two-season sustained decline in the greenhouse tomato produce, Nathan Mala is recovering in yields after steaming the soil to kill pathogens like bacteria wilt. The Kiambu County farmer steamed the soil to kill the bacterial wilt before packing it into 400 polythene bags for his 8m by 30m greenhouse in Nyambari. The soil was also mixed with farm yard manure, but he used folia and other granular fertilizers to boost the nutrients content. The farmer spent more than Sh10,000 in 2015 in controlling soil borne diseases such as fusarium wilt, bacterial wilt and other pathogens, which cause death of the tomatoes before flowering. He repeatedly filled a 200kg capacity drum with soil and 20 litres of water before heating it in an open fire. Every day, the farmer filled 20 polythene bags with the treated soil until he reached 400. In preventing recontamination of the soil he covered the floor with a polythene liner. Although he did not have an instrument of confirming if the heat had killed the pathogens, the drying or limited steam from the soil was a sign of certainty. The door path into the greenhouse had a disinfectant, jik, for cleaning the feet before entry. For effective control of the pathogens he germinated the seedlings in a soilless culture, which is a rich nutrient medium. The seedlings are clean and the roots are least disturbed during transplanting, which enables fast establishment and a vibrant growth vigour. more

Common Food Additive Promotes Colon Cancer in Mice.

Common Food Additive Promotes Colon Cancer in Mice. Colon cancer is on the rise in younger people according to New York Times , with a sharp increase in people in their 20s and 30s. What's causing the spike? One finding suggests a super common food additive found in thousands of foods could be a 'new' colon cancer trigger. A popular food additive used in everything from dill pickles to ice cream is now linked to colon cancer.Emulsifiers are added to most processed foods to improve food texture and extend shelf life. But it also throws off healthy levels of intestinal bacteria, triggering chronic, low-level inflammation that promotes colorectal cancer, according to a new study. For this study, researchers focused on two of the most commonly used emulsifiers called polysorbate 80 and carboxymethylcellulose. They fed mice doses comparable to the cumulative amounts people would eat daily in processed foods. Consuming emulsifiers drastically changed the species composition of the gut microbiota in a manner that made it more pro-inflammatory, creating a niche favoring cancer induction and development, researchers pointed out. Alterations in bacterial species resulted in bacteria expressing more flagellin and lipopolysaccharide, which activate pro-inflammatory gene expression by the immune system. more

Weight-related deaths can affect non-obese too.

Weight-related deaths can affect non-obese too. A new global study suggests you dont you don't have to be diagnosed as obese to be at risk of dying from illnesses related to excess weight. The study found more than 2 billion children and adults suffered from health problems linked to being overweight,as the 4 million deaths attributed to being overweight in 2015, nearly 40% were not considered clinically obese. The common diseases are include type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers ,although an increasing percentage had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30, the threshold for obesity. The paper, published in the the New England Journal of Medicine, said the findings highlighted "a growing and disturbing global public health crisis". "People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk - risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening conditions," said Dr Christopher Murray, author of the study and director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. more