Browsing by Author "Waized, Betty"

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Consumption of processed food & food away from home in big cities, small towns, and rural areas of Tanzania
(WILEY, 2021) Sauer, Christine M; Reardon, Thomas; Tschirley, David; Liverpool-Tasie, Saweda; Awokuse, Titus; Alphonce, Roselyne; Ndyetabula, Daniel; Waized, Betty
We study household consumption of various categories of processed food, includ ing ultra-processed food and meals away from home in Tanzania. We compare peri-urban versus hinterland rural areas, and large cities versus small towns. Three sets of findings stand out. (1) Contrary to the common view in Africa that processed food is mainly an urban middle-class phenomenon, we found it has penetrated the diets of the rural areas and the rural and urban poor. In rural areas, surprisingly 60% of food consumption comes from purchases in value terms, and processed food accounts for 76% of purchases and 47% of all food consumed. For the rural poor, purchased processed food is 38% of food consumption. In urban areas processed food’s share of purchases (hence consumption) is 78%, similar for the rich and poor. (2) We found that ultra-processed food (such as sugar-sweetened beverages and cookies) and meals-away-from-home (MAFH) have emerged as important in urban as well as rural areas. As these foods tend to be high in oil, salt, and sugar, this is a health concern. The share of ultra processed foods and MAFH is 21% in rural areas and 36% in cities albeit twice as high in large cities compared with small towns and among richer compared to poorer consumers. (3) Our regressions show the spread of processed food con sumption in rural and urban areas, among the rich and poor, is driven mainly by opportunity costs of the time of women and men, and thus the pursuit of sav ing home-processing and cooking time, as well as food environment factors. As these drivers are long term trends this suggests processed food consumption will continue to grow
Mapping value chains for nutrient-dense foods in Tanzania
(Institute of Development Studies, 2014-06) Temu, Anna; Waized, Betty; Ndyetabula, Daniel; Robinson, Ewan; Humphrey, John; Henson, Spencer
This report details the findings of an analysis of value chains for several nutrient-dense foods in Tanzania. It rapidly assesses the potential of ten commodities to contribute to reducing undernutrition and identifies three with particularly high potential. It then systematically examines issues at the various stages of these value chains, in order to identify barriers that inhibit the extent to which the product is likely to mitigate micronutrient undernutrition. The report recommends options for development agencies, governments, public–private partnerships and other development actors seeking to strengthen the linkage between agricultural activities and nutrition outcomes. It is accompanied by two other reports on Tanzania: a case study of a particular food processing business and an analysis of policy options. Chronic undernutrition is a critical problem in Tanzania, with alarmingly high rates of stunting and micronutrient deficiencies leading to cumulative losses of US$3.7bn over five years according to one estimate. Particular problems include low consumption of iron-rich foods by women, poor infant feeding practices and widespread use of inadequate complementary foods. Food-based approaches, especially those that deliver key micronutrients to the ‘1,000 days group’, appear to have a key role in reducing rates of undernutrition in the country. An expert stakeholders’ workshop was convened to rapidly review experiences with ten commodities considered to have potential for nutrition. Of these, three were chosen for more in-depth study: cowpea, orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and complementary foods. The report provides an overview of these three value chains. Considerable numbers of businesses, especially small enterprises, are involved, particularly at the stages of food processing and retail. The report maps the value chains for these focal products, concentrating on whether they meet five key criteria necessary for foods to be able to mitigate micronutrient undernutrition: availability, affordability, acceptability, nutritional quality, and effective signalling of this quality to purchasers. The report then examines issues at each stage of the value chains for the focal products: production, storage/transport, processing and distribution/retail. It identifies key barriers facing these foods and assesses a set of potential responses to the barriers. The main findings are as follows: Cowpeas are primarily a subsistence crop, although in some areas they are sold and eaten as a protein source or snack food. Cowpeas have the advantage of being a very low-cost source of protein, iron and folates. Further, there is potential to leverage consumers’ familiarity with other types of pulses to increase consumption. Yet important barriers remain: demand is low and the crop is still not widespread in commercial markets. It has largely been neglected by public agricultural support programmes. Cowpea is also highly susceptible to post-harvest losses; traders use dangerous chemicals to prevent pest damage, but this creates health risks for consumers. To address these problems, interventions can seek to promote the use of low-cost and safe storage techniques. Social marketing campaigns can also increase awareness of the benefits of eating cowpeas and create greater consumer demand. Support can also be provided to foster business models that deliver new, nutrient- dense cowpea foods to a wide group of consumers. Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is exceptionally rich in vitamin A and can be produced at low cost in many regions of Tanzania. It is well suited for use as a complementary food for young children. However, at present, both producers and consumers prefer white-fleshed varieties of sweet potato – which contain few micronutrients – to the orange varieties. Furthermore, markets for OFSP are poorly developed and availability is low. Several donor-funded initiatives have aimed to increase production of improved varieties of OFSP, but they have not addressed marketing and demand issues. Future interventions should support new products in order to make OFSP appeal to consumer tastes, while social 4marketing should be used to increase consumer awareness and to encourage traders to promote and market OFSP to their customers. Finally, supporting processors to scale up new products could make OFSP more acceptable to urban consumers. The orange colour of OFSP tubers is a key advantage for this crop: it allows consumers to easily distinguish it from white varieties, creating a potential for businesses to specialise in OFSP. The key to strengthening OFSP is to increase consumer demand through social marketing and by working with traders and retailers. Complementary food products. Complementary foods made from mixes of cereals and legumes already have a positive impact on nutrition in Tanzania. There is robust demand and a large number of enterprises involved in making these products. However, many do not contain sufficient nutrients to support infant growth and development, and products can be contaminated with pathogens or aflatoxins. Meanwhile larger firms’ products are not affordable for poor consumers. Interventions need to address market constraints so that businesses can sell safe and nutritionally adequate products at an affordable price. Policy actors can choose from a number of approaches; in-depth assessments will be needed to evaluate the risks and benefits of each. If policymakers aim to introduce quality controls in the complementary food market, they will need to organise the small enterprises into clusters so that it is easier to engage with and monitor them. This could be accompanied by a voluntary certification system that would distinguish nutritionally adequate products from those that are not. However, experience in Tanzania and elsewhere indicates that both of these interventions require substantial resources and long-term support, as well as entailing considerable uncertainty. Alternative options include procurement and distribution funded by donors or government, which can circumvent some of the key constraints faced by private markets while also targeting the most vulnerable groups. Public distribution, however, requires long-term funding commitments. A final option is to use behaviour change communications to promote home fortification using locally available ingredients. This strategy may be lower risk but does not address supply constraints. Finally, the report highlights a set of overarching constraints that inhibit markets for nutrient- dense foods more broadly. These issues include low public nutrition awareness and demand, the difficulty of distributing to poor populations, the absence of mechanisms to signal nutritional quality, and the cost of working with value chains made up of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These challenges, and policy options for addressing them, are examined in more detail in the accompanying policy report.
Promoting biofortified crops for nutrition: lessons from orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) in Tanzania
(Institute of Development Studies, 2015-04) Waized, Betty; Ndyetabula, Daniel; Temu, Anna; Robinson, Ewan; Henson, Spencer
This case study examines the outcomes of interventions in Tanzania that have promoted the production and consumption of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) – a biofortified crop – with the objective of reducing vitamin A deficiencies. The report contributes to policy efforts to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture by providing lessons for the introduction of biofortified crops in Tanzania and elsewhere. The case study is particularly instructive because OFSP has been a flagship of biofortification efforts, and because Tanzania appeared to have high potential for uptake of the crop. The country is a major producer of sweet potato, although the vast majority of production is of the nutrient-poor white-fleshed varieties (WFSP). Sweet potato is an important food security crop for small farming households, particularly in Tanzania’s Lake Zone. The crop has the advantage of requiring little land and few inputs, and can be stored on-farm for several months. The crop also has commercial value, and white-fleshed varieties are available in urban markets throughout the year. Donor-funded initiatives have played a central role in developing all stages of the OFSP value chain, with a particular focus on breeding new varieties that appeal to the preferences of both producers and consumers. Development projects have also supported the dissemination of planting materials and funded public awareness campaigns. However, information collected for this case study suggests that, so far, interventions have not achieved widespread uptake of OFSP. Only a small minority of farming households in intervention districts grow OFSP. Commercial farmers who supplied OFSP planting materials to project distribution systems have found that, after project funding ended, the local market was not viable, and have ceased production. Meanwhile, awareness of and demand for the crop among consumers have been very limited; one survey conducted in an intervention district found that only 2 per cent of households consumed OFSP. Traders and food processors report that there is little demand, and dealing with the crop is not profitable. This state is perhaps unsurprising given that the introduction of OFSP is still relatively recent, that project efforts have been relatively scattered and uncoordinated, and that there has been little focus on commercially viable value chains. Yet the challenges encountered in Tanzania provide important lessons for other agriculture-nutrition initiatives. A first lesson is that the successful introduction of a biofortified crop requires the development of support systems at different stages of the value chain, including seed, marketing and quality assurance systems. In the case of OFSP, interventions should design publicly funded distribution of planting materials in order to foster parallel commercial systems at the same time. Whether commercial systems will provide access for vulnerable rural households requires further assessment; there may be a need for ongoing targeted subsidy. A second lesson is that achieving uptake of a nutrient-rich crop may depend on building viable value chains and demand, even if the aim is to encourage consumption by vulnerable households. One reason farmers have not invested in OFSP is that – faced with food insecurity and capital constraints – they prefer crops that can both be used as food or sold for cash. Agriculture-nutrition interventions should develop a more nuanced analysis of the decision-making context facing farming households. Third, the absence of demand is perhaps the key barrier preventing value chain development for OFSP. Yet, without rigorous research on consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay, it is unclear how this situation can be addressed. Funding more detailed consumer studies is therefore an immediate priority. Finally, the case of OFSP highlights the importance of mechanisms that signal nutritional quality to consumers. The distinctive colour of OFSP tubers is a major advantage; it enables the consumer to identify nutritional benefits and aids efforts to market the crop. In contrast, processed products that incorporate OFSP, such as ‘golden bread’, lack this advantage; the orange colour can be easily faked using food additives. This can undermine consumer confidence. If market-based interventions are to generate consumer trust, they must either 3concentrate on crops and foods with a clear signalling advantage, or put in place specific mechanisms to ensure the nutritional quality of end-products. This report concludes that publicly funded programmes need to build commercial opportunities for OFSP if the crop is to achieve widespread uptake and contribute to reductions in vitamin A deficiencies. This will require more strategic and better-coordinated support from donor agencies, government and their partners. Private sector actors will play a key role, but are unlikely to invest until supportive conditions are put in place. Future interventions should aim to create this supportive environment, including by incentivising production of planting materials, developing commercially viable products and funding large- scale public awareness campaigns. Public sector actors need to assess whether commercial planting materials and processed products can be made affordable and accessible to poor and vulnerable populations; delivering nutrient-rich foods to these groups is likely to require some form of public subsidy. This case study suggests that two intervention pathways should be explored simultaneously: (1) public distribution/purchasing and purchasing programmes to deliver planting materials and/or OFSP tubers to the rural poor, and (2) demand creation through awareness and social marketing campaigns, along with product development. Building robust value chains for biofortified crops requires collective efforts from both public and private sector actors. Donors, national government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can play a key role in catalysing investment through appropriate public purchasing, increasing public awareness and addressing barriers to acceptability.