ACDIVOCA Nutrition Legumes Softcopy

7/31/2019 ACDIVOCA Nutrition Legumes Softcopy

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In recognition o the relationshipbetween nutrition, agriculturalscience and market orces, thedevelopment community is mov-ing toward increasingly inte-

grated value chain developmentprogramming. Practitionersnow must include nutritionalconsiderations into core agri-cultural development work andmeasure nutritional impact. Thisact sheet is produced as parto ACDI/VOCAs ongoing learn-ing agenda. It is one in a seriesdesigned to be a practical andinormative resource or sta on

the nutritional value o crops

and on leverage points withinthe value chains or maximizingnutritional impact.

Introduction

Legumes are a classica-tion o plants that in-cludes peanuts, ground-

nuts and pulses such as peas(chick, pigeon, etc.), beans(kidney, soy, etc.) and lentils. Le-gumes are a nutritionally signi-cant source o iron, zinc, dietaryber, olate, and dietary protein.1The levels o iron and zinc in

legumes are similar to those in

meats, poultry and sh. Becauselegumes also x nitrogen intothe soil as they grow, replenish-ing critical nutrients lost duringproduction o staple crops and

improving soil health, they arealso o signicant agronomicvalue. This is especially valuableor smallholder armers, whorequently struggle to maximizecrop yields due to decliningsoil health ater many years ointensive use on limited land-holdings. For populations with acereal-based diet, legumes are alow-cost way to complement the

protein prole o staple oodssuch as rice and maize. Legumessuch as peanut and chickpea arealso used as the primary ingredi-ent or ready-to-use supplemen-tary or therapeutic oods in eed-ing programs or malnourishedchildren.

There is a wide variety o legumi-nous crops. This act sheet usesbeans, soybeans, cowpeas and

peanuts as selected examples toraise awareness about the nutri-tional proles o legumes and toassist practitioners in selectinglegumes or nutrition-sensitivevalue chain development. It clos-es with recommended interven-tions along legume value chainsthat can maximize household-level nutritional impact.

Nutrition Integration Fact Sheet

Nutrition Integration Fact Sheet


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Nutritional Consider-ations in Legume

Value Chain Systems

Agriculture practitioners otenocus on increasing a cropsnutritional benets throughproduction-level interventions,yet many additional opportuni-ties arise when a crop is viewedin the context o broader, inte-grated systems (such as inputs,support services, marketing, pro-duction, storage, etc.) that ormthe entire value chain system.A simple value chain represent-

ing a legumes path rom armto ork is shown below withsample interventions to improvenutrition at each stage. Some othese examples are discussedin greater detail in the text that

ollows.

Note: A comprehensive, nutri-tion-sensitive value chain systemapproach to development con-siders the potential nutritionalimpact o bottlenecks in the en-abling environment and supportservices (e.g., transport, nance,packaging, etc.) and takes intoaccount the nature o linkages,

relationships and governancein the value chain system. Thisis represented in the graphicbelow, but because this intro-ductory act sheet is intendedor application in a diverse array

o market environments, ACDI/VOCA has targeted the discus-sion that ollows along the corevalue chain path. For moreinormation on the value chainapproach, see http://microlinks.kdid.org/vcwiki.

Crop Nutritional Prole

Beans (e.g.,black, kidney,navy)

Most beans (with the exception o green beans and sugar peas) are nutritionally rich, especiallyin protein and iron, and are a good source o dietary ber and complex carbohydrates. Beansalso contain large amounts o olate, calcium, zinc and other micronutrients. However, the bodysabsorption o these minerals is compromised by the presence o ber and other chemicals inbeans. Absorption o iron rom beans can be increased by consuming them with a source o vita-min C (e.g., rom ruits and vegetables), or with small amounts o meat. When beans and grainsare served together in dishes like beans and rice, or lentils and maize, they provide a completeprotein prole, containing all essential amino acids. Although some B vitamins are lost in preparation,cooked dry beans retain more than 70 percent o these vitamins ater hot soaking and cooking.

Soybeans Soybean is typically grown as an input into eed or animals and soybean oil or human consump-tion. Soybean oil is considered more healthul than palm oil or peanut oil, and it is an importantsource o omega-3 atty acid, an essential atty acid that is important or maternal and childhealth. When eaten as a bean, soybean is a complete protein nearly equivalent to the proteinquality o meat, milk and eggs.

Cowpeas andPigeon Peas

Cowpeas and pigeon peas are a good source o micronutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C,B vitamins, iron and calcium. Like other legumes, cowpeas have a high-quality protein prole.Both cowpea and pigeon pea are good additions to the staple-based meal (e.g., rice, maize orother cereals) because they complement the protein prole and supply iron. Most importantly,cowpeas are relatively ree o the kind o metabolites that prevent absorption o the beans ullnutritional value. Cowpeas can be consumed in dierent stages o maturation. The immatureseed pods are boiled and eaten as a vegetable. The mature seeds can be cooked with otheroods or ground into four to make a variety o cowpea products.

Peanuts Peanuts are rich in protein, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and energy. Peanuts do not providea complete protein but can easily be complemented by rice, bread or other carbohydrates. Un-like some beans and peas, peanuts are also high in ats and can be used or oil production.

Nutritional Proles


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Bettertraderegulations and

standardsonbiofortification,aflatoxin

Regional/GlobalEnabling

Environment

International

retailers

Exporters

Enduser:household

consumer

Enduser:animalfeedand

nonfoodusers

National

retailers

NationalEnablingEnvironment

Cross

cutting

Improvedfinance

flowthroughchain:

e. . to rocessors for

Processors

Wholesalers

Consumptionoflegumeswithrice,maizeor

othercerealstoobtainacompleteprotein

providers

(e.g.,

financial

services,

extension,

fortification;toinput

suppliersforlegume

promosand

biofortified seedtrials;

toproducers,esp.

Producers

Educationandbehaviorchangetodeliverkey

nutritionmessages

ranspor ,

storage)

,

purchases

Integrationofnutrition

educationintoextension

services includin SMSInputsuppliers Intercroppingorrotationoflegumes

andmaize

Improvedpostharvestandhome

storagetoreducelossandaflatoxinPromotionoffortificationofoils

Improveddryingandstoragepractices

Improvedaccess

to

legume

seeds,

inputsandbiofortified seeds

Educationofinputagentson

nutritionalbenefitsoflegumes

Improvedlinkages forvalueadded

processing

Figure 1: Nutritional Considerations in Legume Value Chain Systems

Input Supply

Linkages with Input Suppliers:Many input providers alreadyknow o the agronomic benetso legumes, but development

practitioners can work to edu-cate rural agents and retailersabout the nutritional benetsas well, especially where ruralinput networks are more robust.These agents can then becomea conduit or consumer educa-tion and they can use nutritionalmessaging to drive sales. Atdemonstration plots or elddays, input suppliers can also

demonstrate the dual agronomicand nutritional benets o rotat-ing and intercropping legumeswith staples (or example, seeProduction below). Wherebioortied seeds are available,

practitioners can acilitate link-ages between input companiesand bioortied seed suppliersso that they can begin stockingthe product and receive trainingon proper usage.

Bioortied Seeds: Many re-search organizations and agri-cultural colleges have investedsignicantly in developing bio-

ortied seeds. All bean varietiesare not created equal in termso nutritional value: The peror-mance o a particular variety isinfuenced by climate, environ-ment, soil condition and plant-

ing techniques. Iron-ortiedbeans are under developmentor use in the Congo and Rwan-da by HarvestPlus. Mineral bio-ortication in beans is advanta-geous because the high baselineiron content allows initial breed-ing attempts to be much moresuccessul than in cereals. Unlikemany cereals that are polishedbeore eating, which results


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in signicant loss o nutrients,beans are consumed whole andconserve most o their nutritionalcontent. Climbing beans arean ideal bioortied variety orsmallholders, because o theirhigh yield in small space, largegrain, good nitrogen xation,weed suppression and suitabil-ity or various cropping systems(e.g., intercropping with maize).

Production and Post-Harvest Handling

Intercropping and RotationPlanting: Legumes transer xednitrogen to the soil. They can beintercropped with cereals as away to increase yields throughimproved soil health. Legumesare ideal intercropping plantswith cereals such as maize, rice,sorghum and millet, as well assome vegetables. Two particu-

larly benecial combinations orboth intercropping and rotationplanting are proled to the let:

Beans, Maize and SquashIntercropping2: Maize andbeans are nutritionally andecologically complementary.Established maize providesstalks or climbing beans,which x nitrogen to the soilthat maize utilizes. When

squash is added, this poly-cropping system is tradition-ally called Three Sisters inCentral America; the overallyields or the three crops aregreater when they are growntogether than when they aregrown separately. The leaveso beans and squash vineshelp retain moisture in the soil.Concurrent production allows

households to access a more-complete nutritional prolein their meals: Beans are richin the essential amino acids(leucine and lysine) that aredecient in maize, while maizeis high in some essential ami-no acids that are decient inbeans (sulur-containing aminoacids). Beans also provide thevitamin niacin, which is verylow in maize. Squash is anexcellent source o carotenes,the plant orm o vitamin A.

Cowpea/Pigeon Pea In-tercropping and Rotation:Cowpea and pigeon pea areideal or companion-plantingsystems with staple cereals,especially intercropping withmaize. Peas also intercropor rotate with vegetableslike broccoli, carrots, tomatoand pepper. They are alsosuitable as a pulse croponly grown in rotation withmaize, sorghum and millet.Cowpea/pigeon peas areaordable and valuable addi-tions to staple meals as theycomplement cereals proteinand micronutrient prole.Pigeon pea also has multipleuses as a four additive andanimal eed additive.

Afatoxins4: Peanuts are espe-

cially susceptible to alatoxincontamination. Afatoxin, a un-gus that inects crops in the eldand in storage, can cause liverailure, chronic disease, cancerand even death. Exposure is alsoassociated with stunting and de-layed development in children. Itis a serious problem in sub-Saha-ran Arica in many crops, such asmaize, and unacceptable levels

Case Study:Legume Systemand Child Health

Context: A three-year participato-ry research project in Mzimba Dis-trict, Northern Malawi. The areais characterized by high levels oyoung child malnutrition and amonotonous diet with maize asthe primary staple. A variety olegumes are grown in the region.Soils are decient in nitrogen andinput use is low.

Pilots:

Maize intercropped withpigeon pea

Pigeon pea intercropped with

soybean, then rotated withmaize

Pigeon pea intercropped withgroundnut, then rotated withmaize

Mucuna pruriens (velvetbean) rotated with maize

Tephrosia vogelii inter-cropped with maize

Progress/qualitative results:

Participating armers devel-oped indicators and assessedlegume systems with regardto eects on soil ertility, oodsecurity, child nutrition, andgender and other social issues.

Farmers motivation oradoption was to provide am-ily ood, not to enhance soilertility or to sell.

Choice o legume systemrefected their role in llingseasonal ood gaps.

Majority o committeemembers were women, whocited link with child nutritionas their motive or joining.Discussion o gender rolechanges met with resistancerom men and grandmothers,but a ocus on child healthserved to neutralize conficts.


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o the toxin is oten grounds orbuyers to reject crops or oer lowprices. Afatoxin control involvespromoting good agriculturalpractices, such as the ollowing:

Early planting preventspeanuts rom maturing dur-ing periods o low rainall,which stresses a plant andencourages growth o theungus on ripening crops.

The use o hand-operated ormechanized peanut-shellingequipment can ease thetask o shelling. Howeverthe practice o moisteningthe unshelled nuts to makethem easier to shell resultsin higher contamination oafatoxin.

Poor storage conditionsincrease the risk o contami-nation. Peanuts should besold or eaten immediately

ater shelling to avoid poorhousehold-level storage.

Storage5: Improved storageand storage techniques canincrease availability o nutritiousoods during the lean season,reduce ood saety concernssuch as afatoxin, and increasemarketability and trade o nutri-tious oods. For example, greenpigeon pea is highly perishable

and ew armer groups havethe technical acility or storinggreen pigeon peas6. There isalso a growing export market orgreen pigeon pea, which at themoment remains largely inacces-sible to smallholder armers dueto lack o proper handling andcold storage acilities.

Fortied Processingand Packaging

Fortied Processing: Fortiyingvegetable and peanut oils7,8 canimprove access to at-soluble vi-tamins such as A, D and E, whichcan be uniormly distributed inoil. This permits easy and cost-eective addition o nutrientswithout the need or elaborateequipment. The stability o vi-tamin A is greater in oils than inany other ood and oil acilitatesthe absorption o vitamin A in

the body. Crude vegetable oilsare a rich source o vitamin E butduring processing, much o thevitamin is lost. Vitamin E can beadded to rened oil as a nutrientor as an antioxidant, preventingrancidity and oxidation (whichdamages nutrients, shortensshel lie, and corrupts favorsand odors) o other compoundsin the oil.

Many countries in sub-SaharanArica have some level o do-mestic oil processing but ewortiy vegetable oils. Vegetableoil companies can become de-velopment partners by ortiyingoils and marketing to consumerswhile still earning the economicbenets o producing oil. Com-mercial processers in West Aricahave begun ortiying oils and o-

er a good example or the resto the continent. In West Arica,it is estimated that the total costo ortiying oil with vitamin A ata level o 30 IU per gram o oilis $1.95/ton, which is less than 1percent o the cost o oil produc-tion. Studies show that ortiyingmargarine does not alter its favorand products made rom ortiedsoybean oil are not distinguish-

able rom unortied ones.

Packaging: From a nutritionalperspective, packaging is an im-

portant supporting service in thisvalue chain: To maintain vitaminA activity, ortied oil needs to bepackaged in light-protected (e.g.,dark-colored), sealed containers.The availability and aordabilityo such packaging material willimpact the cost o marketing orti-ed oils that retain their nutritionalvalue.

End Markets and theEnabling Environment:

Consumer Awareness: Nutri-tion education through behaviorchange communication is neces-sary to ensure meal preparersknow how to combine crops toprovide the most nutritional bal-anced meals or their amilies,especially during critical growth

periods such as pregnancy, lac-tation and 6-23 months o age.

Product Diversication: Le-gumes such as cowpeas canbe made into multiple prod-ucts: They can be ground intofour to make local oods (e.g.,ried cakes, porridge); cannedand sold in larger markets;and added to cereal (fours) as

supplements or as additivesto livestock eeds. Peanuts areversatilethey can be made intopeanut butter, various peanutsnacks, peanut oil, peanut paste(an important ingredient ormany ood products) and the pri-mary ingredient or supplemen-tary oods/therapeutic oods.

Enabling Environment: Bettercontrol o afatoxin in peanuts


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Please do not reproduce this content without permission.

1 See the Nutrition Primer, part o this series, or additional inormation on macro and micronutrients and their aect onhealth and nutrition.

2Beans and Maize: Nutritionally and Ecologically Complementary http://dp.biology.dal.ca/vigs/beansnmaize.html

3Vegetable Rotations, Successions and Intercropping http://lubbock.tamu.edu/horticulture/docs/vegrote.html

4 Purging Malawis Peanuts o Deadly Aatoxin http://www.globalenvision.org/library/6/1822

5The potential o pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L..) Millsp) in Arica http://www.doh.gov.za/department/oodcontrol/docs/nmp.html

6 The potential o pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) in Arica http://www.ze.de/module/register/media/63c0_nar_157.pd

7Food Fortifcation in West Arica Assessment o opportunities and strategies

8http://www.dsm.com/en_US/downloads/dnp/51609_ort_basics_oils.pd or more inormation.

and good monitoring proce-dures or production and pro-cessing provide opportunitiesto market products or use insupplementary oods and schooleeding programs as well asor export to the internationalmarkets.

Key Messages

Eating a diverse diet improvesnutritional status, and diversi-ed production and processing

strategies reduce risk or small-holder armers and improvesmarket opportunities. Agricultur-al development projects shouldhighlight this dual benet o di-versication in both productionand consumption and considerthe entire value chain systemin designing interventions. Keymessages include the ollowing:

1. Legumes are an excellentsource o protein, iron andzinc, and specic crops arerich in vitamins, olate andcalcium; when eaten with sta-ple oods like maize and rice,legumes provide a completeprotein prole and are morecost-eective than meat.

2. Because they are nitrogen-xing plants, legumes canbe intercropped and rotatedwith maize and rice to im-prove soil health.

3. Pests can be controlled withsimple storage improve-ments. For example, turn-ing bean sacks two-to-threetimes a day can stop a weevilinestation.

4. Afatoxin contamination canbe prevented by early plant-ing, improved shelling tech-

niques and storage/quicksales. This keeps consumershealthier and improves themarketability o groundnuts.

5. There are many ways toprocess peanuts (e.g., four,oil, paste, snack oods), andmost can be done on a smallscale. This provides many op-tions to increase consump-tion to improve nutrition andprovides additional marketopportunities or small pro-ducers.

6. Producer and consumereducation is key to increasedconsumption o nutritiousoods. Using proper incen-tive strategies, other marketactors (e.g., input suppliers,retailers, etc.) can also playan important role in educa-tion and behavior change.

ACDI/VOCA is an economic development organization that ostersbroad-based economic growth, raises living standards and creates vibrantcommunities. ACDI/VOCA has worked in 145 countries since 1963.

Visit us at www.acdivoca.org.

ACDIVOCA Nutrition Legumes Softcopy

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