In many poorer parts of the world, biofortification is a strategy that increases the concentration of target nutrients in staple food crops, mainly by genetic manipulation, to alleviate prevalent nutrient deficiencies. We reviewed the (i) prevalence of vitamin A, iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies; (ii) availability of vitamin A, iron and Zn biofortified crops, and their acceptability in South Africa. The incidence of vitamin A and iron deficiency among children below five years old is 43.6% and 11%, respectively, while the risk of Zn deficiency is 45.3% among children aged 1 to 9 years. Despite several strategies being implemented to address the problem, including supplementation and commercial fortification, the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies is still high. Biofortification has resulted in the large-scale availability of βcarotene-rich orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP), while provitamin A biofortified maize and Zn and/or iron biofortified common beans are at development stages. Agronomic biofortification is being investigated to enhance yields and concentrations of target nutrients in crops grown in agriculturally marginal environments. The consumer acceptability of OFSP and provitamin A biofortified maize were higher among children compared to adults. Accelerating the development of other biofortified staple crops to increase their availability, especially to the target population groups, is essential. Nutrition education should be integrated with community health programmes to improve the consumption of the biofortified crops, coupled with further research to develop suitable recipes/formulations for biofortified foods.
Drought is a major challenge threatening agricultural productivity in uMsinga. The occurrence of drought is expected to increase in coming decades, intensifying in severity, duration and the way people are affected by drought. The objective of this study is to understand small-scale farmers’ and rural communities’ perceptions of drought, its environmental and socio-economic impacts, adaptive and mitigation measures at household level and their satisfaction with the government’s role in drought management in the community. The study utilized a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, in the form of questionnaires, focus groups and key informant interviews. The sample size for the research study was 180 respondents for the questionnaire component and a total of 30 respondents for the focus groups and key informant interviews. The results show that increased levels of poverty, food insecurity and increased migration were the main socio-economic impacts perceived by respondents. Water scarcity, crop failure, forest degradation and an increase in average temperatures were perceived by respondents as the main environmental impacts caused by drought in uMsinga. Respondents perceived drought as a serious threat to agricultural production and adopted various indigenous adaptive strategies. A majority of respondents adopted a reactive approach to drought management, and therefore did not adopt many mitigation measures.
Small-scale fisheries play a significant role as a source of employment, livelihood strategy and contributor to food security. However, changes in climatic variables alter the productivity and distribution of marine and freshwater fish species, negatively affecting the livelihoods of fishery-dependent communities. This study seeks to identify small-scale fishers’ livelihoods and examine the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and food security of small-scale fishing households. The study was conducted in Sanyathi fishing basin in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. The Sustainable Livelihood Approach framework of the Department for International Development was used to define the small-scale fishers’ livelihood assets and activities. The study employed a mixed-method approach for data collection. A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and observations were used to collect data from the small-scale fishers. The data collected were subjected to descriptive and bivariate analysis. The present results indicate that fishing is the community’s primary livelihood activity. More than 62% of fishermen stated that fishing revenue is declining, owing to declining fish catches. Of participants, 98% recognised food purchases as the primary source of food. Therefore, 78% of the small-scale fishers perceive their households to be food insecure due to declining incomes from fisheries. These findings show the need for policymakers and development agencies to formulate strategies that specifically target fishing communities whose livelihoods rely on natural ecosystems.
Notwithstanding the dispersed nature of the water, energy and food (WEF) nexus scholarship in the African continent, its strategic importance to the African agenda has gained widespread attention in research and planning circles. In this regard, the bibliometric science mapping and content analysis of the WEF nexus scientific publication trends, the conceptual, intellectual and social structures, as well as the inherent paradigmatic shifts in the WEF nexus body of knowledge in the African continent have been undertaken, using the nexus body of literature accessed from the Web of Science and Scopus core collection databases. The review results confirmed that, whilst the WEF nexus scholarship has expanded since 2013, there is also evidence of growth in the conceptual, intellectual and social structures of the WEF nexus in the African continent. These shifts have resulted in the emergence of hot topics (subfields) including modelling and optimization, climate variability and change, environmental ecosystem services sustainability, and sustainable development and livelihoods. The review further determined that these structures have evolved along two main perspectives of WEF nexus research development, i.e., the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary domains. In support of the interpretation of the visual analytics of the intellectual structure and changing patterns of the WEF nexus research, the shifts in positivist, interpretivist and pragmatic paradigmatic perspectives (these are underpinned by the ontology, epistemology, and methodology and methods) are considered when explaining WEF nexus research shifts: (a) From the unconnected silo paradigms that focus on water, energy and food (security concerns) to interconnected (and sometimes interdependent or nested) linkages or systems incorporating environmental, social-economic and political drivers (also viewed as subfields) in a bid to holistically support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the African continent; and (b) in the evaluation of the WEF nexus scholarship based on novel analytical approaches. We contend that whilst the theories of science change underpin this apparent expansion, the macro-economic theory will find use in explaining how the WEF nexus research agenda is negotiated and the Integrative Environmental Governance (IEG) is the duly suited governance theory to bridge the inherent disconnect between WEF nexus output and governance processes uncovered in the literature. Overall, operational challenges and opportunities of the WEF nexus abound, transitioning the WEF nexus research to practice in Africa, motivating the need to take advantage of the scholar–practitioner research underpinnings, as contemplated in the transdisciplinary research approach, which is characterised by the dual quest for new knowledge and considerations of use. Yet, there is need for more coordinated and collaborative research to achieve impact and transition from WEF nexus thinking to WEF nexus practice.
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