Wild-caught fish provide an irreplaceable source of essential nutrients in food-insecure places. Fishers catch thousands of species, yet the diversity of aquatic foods is often categorised homogeneously as 'fish', obscuring understanding of which species supply affordable, nutritious, and abundant food. Here, we use catch, economic and nutrient data on 2,348 species to identify the most affordable and nutritious fish in 39 low and middleincome countries. We find that a 100 g portion of fish cost between 10-30% of the cheapest daily diet, with small pelagic fishes (herrings, sardines, anchovies) the cheapest nutritious fish in 72% of countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, where nutrient deficiencies are rising, <20% of small pelagic catch would meet recommended dietary fish intakes for all children (six months-four years old) living near to water bodies. Nutrition-sensitive policies that ensure local supplies and promote consumption of wild-caught fish could help address nutrient deficiencies in vulnerable populations. Main TextA nutrient-adequate diet is unaffordable for almost three billion people, particularly in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to growing global malnutrition and food insecurity 1,2 . In these regions, fish is a key component of the food system that is often produced by small-scale sectors 3 . Critically, in these settings fish provide a local source of highly bioavailable micronutrients such as iron and zinc 4 that are often lacking in diets 5 . In populations that have access to and consume relatively high amounts of fish, studies have demonstrated improved pregnancy and birth outcomes 6,7 and faster child growth 8 . Fish is expected to contribute to healthy diets where it is affordable and accessible, but the cost and availability of nutrient-rich foods, including fish, is highly variable across and within countries 9-11 . In the Global South, lower household income 9 and proximity to markets 12 and fisheries 13 can restrict access to fish, and thus limit its potential to contribute to people's health. Yet scarcity of data on fish prices at the species-level mean that large-scale analyses of fish affordability typically combine aggregate products by ecosystem category (e.g. pelagic or demersal fishes 14 ) or simply as 'fish' 10 . These data simplifications limit understanding of how the affordability of fish varies among species, production methods, and locations. Furthermore, productivity and nutrient content of wild-caught fish varies greatly 4 , such that micronutrient-rich fish may not be available (i.e. produced or traded) and affordable in every country. Three key questions remain unanswered: 1) where are wild, micronutrient-rich fish affordable?; 2) which wild-caught species are the cheapest, most micronutrient-rich fish?; and 3) where do fisheries provide an abundant supply of nutritious food? Here, we examine the affordability and supply of wild-caught fish in 39 low-and middleincome countries. We compile information on catch weight, price (at point of landing, 'exvesse...
Poverty and food insecurity persist in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a secondary analysis of nationally representative data from three sub-Saharan Africa countries (Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda) to investigate how both proximity to and engagement with small-scale fisheries are associated with household poverty and food insecurity. Results from the analysis suggest that households engaged in small-scale fisheries were 9 percentage points less likely to be poor than households engaged only in agriculture. Households living in proximity to small-scale fisheries (average distance 2.7 km) were 12.6 percentage points more likely to achieve adequate food security and were 15 percentage points less likely to be income poor, compared to the most distant households. Households distant from fishing grounds (>5 km) were 1.5 times more likely to consume dried fish compared to households living close. Conserving the flow of benefits from small-scale fisheries is important for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in the region.
African agriculture is highly sensitive to weather variability and extreme weather shocks. The question of how weather events affect participation in agricultural employment-including from a gender perspective-remains unanswered. This study aims to empirically quantify differences in how women and men adapt their participation in agricultural employment in response to climate variability and extreme weather events. Our study uses a novel individual-level database that draws mostly from Labour Force Surveys (LFS) that represents more than 80% of the total African population and covers nearly 86% of the Africa's total workforce. In order to identify shock-affected areas, we match data from that LFS with gridcell monthly time series bioclimatic variables (temperature and rainfall). We estimate two systems of equations using the seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) estimator to account for the potential contemporaneous correlation of the error terms in each equation. Descriptive results by region show that, regardless of age and sex, agriculture dominates employment distribution. In West and Central Africa and in East and Southern Africa region the agricultural sector employs the largest share of the working population. Multivariate SUR results show that, of all weather events, heat waves and droughts have the greatest detrimental effecton the intensity of individual efforts in agriculture; the number of work hours is reduced by 40% in the case of heat waves and 14% during droughts. If farmers are women, however, the reduction in work hours due to heat wave is lessened by 40%. Given the fundamental role of women both in agricultural production and in coping with extreme weather shocks, the key priorities would lie on implementation of sustainable, climate-resilient, and gender-sensitive policies; corresponding interventions in the labor market; and gender mainstreaming in planning and promoting agriculture-and job-related programs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.