from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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JAFSCD is the world’s only community-supported journal. JAFSCD content is open access (free) thanks to the generous support of our shareholders: the JAFSCD Shareholder Consortium, Library Shareholders, a growing number of Individual Shareholders, and our six JAFSCD Partners: |
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FALL 2025 ISSUE IS COMPLETE |
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We appreciate the cover photo provided by Timothy Willms, owner of Talus Wind Ranch! |
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The fall 2025 issue shares open call papers on a wide range of food systems topics, all aimed at making food systems “fundamentally better”—to quote columnist John Ikerd. They’re joined by viewpoints, a commentary, and reviews of five books.
On the issue cover, sheep graze peacefully on a golden fall afternoon at Talus Wind Ranch, which overlooks the Galisteo Basin in northern New Mexico, USA. The ranch participated in the New Mexico Grown Meat Pilot Program reported in the article in this issue, Farm-to-institution in the Southwest: An evaluation of the New Mexico Grown Meat Pilot Program. Learn more about Talus Wind Ranch.
You can read or download any of the articles or the entire issue for free, as always. |
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Sustainable livelihood education programs build capacity to improve food production in rural Uganda
JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Samuel Ikendi (Iowa State U; now at U of California, Merced), Francis Owusu, Dorothy Masinde, Carmen Bain, and Ann Oberhauser (all at Iowa State U) |
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The global hunger index has consistently ranked Uganda as serious in hunger severity. The 2024 census indicated a 46% prevalence of food insecurity, due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic, agrifood trade shocks, hydroclimatic hazards, agrarian land struggles, and invasive pests and diseases. This requires multifaceted approaches to tackle the challenge.
In a new article, Food insecurity coping strategies among households with average dietary diversity and caloric intake scores in rural Uganda, Samuel Ikendi, Francis Owusu, Dorothy Masinde, Carmen Bain, and Ann Oberhauser describe the activities of Iowa State University’s Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Uganda that adopted a “comprehensive lifespan approach to capacity development” through interrelated livelihood education programs to end hunger. Researchers drew their sample respondents from the Nutrition education centers: A community-based approach to management of malnutrition, published earlier as a JAFSCD commentary.
Corresponding author Samuel Ikendi can be contacted at sikendi@ucanr.edu. KEY FINDINGS
Participants in livelihoods education programs were associated with good diets (45.9%) and acceptable caloric intake (45.9%), than nonparticipants with good diets (39.9%) and acceptable caloric intake (34.8%).
Participants in livelihood programs, such as in livestock integration, were associated with good diets; and those in agronomy and agroforestry, postharvest technologies, and livestock integration were associated with good diets than nonparticipants.
Most foodstuffs were accessed through home production, especially high-protein foods like beans and high-energy foods like maize. Market pathways through food purchases were evident with animal products like milk and seafood like fish. From the focus groups with mothers, households switch food consumption patterns between seasons of plenty and lean seasons; for instance, from fresh sweet potatoes and fresh cassava in seasons of plenty to consumption of dried sweet potatoes and cassava flour in lean seasons. Consumption of fish and meat was low in seasons of plenty and was almost taken off the menu in lean seasons.
Mothers raised several coping strategies, mostly selling their labor to other community members for food or cash to buy food. Others included the use of stored food reserves, reliance on their husband, production in wetland or swamps, rationing, fruit gathering, livestock sales, and profits from small businesses.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE Households should engage in extension programs to access a blend of knowledge on food production, nutrition, and sustainability strategies: -
Food security extension programs on agronomy and agroforestry, postharvest handling, and livestock.
- Nutrition security extension programs on nutrition and infant feeding, and public health.
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Stability and sustainability: income innovations, food security support groups, and vocational programs for teen mothers.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESEARCH
The changes in food consumption patterns from fresh to dried food, such as cassava, imply a need to improve post harvest management practices. - Current research in the program has mainly focused on grain storage.
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There is a need to allocate research resources to the post harvest management of starchy foods.
RECOMMENDATIONS POLICY
This study reiterates the important role of public-private partnerships in food and nutrition interventions. -
Government policies can be tailored to support the continuity of public-private collaboration to support households by developing, implementing, and monitoring food and nutrition security interventions.
SHARE ON YOUR SOCIALS Iowa State University’s Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods brings a ray of hope to Uganda through a comprehensive lifespan approach to human capacity development to end hunger, a study by researchers from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Merced, and Iowa State University finds. Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.023
#Uganda #foodsecurity #NutritionEducationCenters #rural
Photo above: Figure 1 from the article: Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL)/Iowa State University Uganda Program (ISU-UP) Comprehensive Lifespan Approach to Capacity Building Model. Source: Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods.
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| Join the 5th webinar in the Sustainable Diets series, Setting the Table, on Wednesday, October 22, 12:00-1:00 PM EDT. Learn and chat about the connections between trade, economics, design, and sustainable food systems. |
This webinar series is organized by JAFSCD Shareholder Dalhousie University. |
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If you are affiliated with a college or university and want to support JAFSCD, now is the time of year when libraries order new journal subscriptions. |
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