A presentation by Beatrice Ekesa on her research in Uganda and Tanzania on nutritional quality of bananas, given in celebration of Bioversity International's 40th Anniversary on 26/06/2014 Find out more about this type of research: http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/ http://www.bioversityinternational.org/40/

1. Diversifying diets and food systems for
better nutrition and health
Beatrice Ekesa

2. Malnutrition
Food-related causes of malnutrition
Poor diet intake Disease-related causes
IMPROVE
DIET
QUALITY
QualityQuantity
Low diet diversity

3. Our research:
agricultural biodiversity and dietary quality
Focus areas Approach
• Whole-of-diet
approach
• People or
community
centred
• Landscape
focus
Nutrient-dense diets
Household dietary
diversity
Sustainable diets
Nutrition-sensitive
value chains
BioversityInternational/S.CollinsBioversityInternational/C.ZanzanainiBioversityInternational/C.Zanzanaini

4. (1)
Genetic
diversity
(2)
Selection &
cultivation
(3)
Harvest
(4)
Value addition
(5)
Marketing
(6)
Final use
Biodiversity’s contribution on the value chain
Better
nutrition
outcomes and
livelihoods
Banana
and
plantain
Minor
millets
African
leafy
vegetables

5. Bananas in Eastern Africa
 More than 1000 banana varieties in the world
 Important crop for the livelihoods of millions
of rural poor people in Eastern Africa
 Food security crop
 Consumption in Uganda, Rwanda and
Burundi is about 3-11 bananas/day/person
 Affordable banana-dish for any social-
economic group
BioversityInternational/C.ZanzanainiBioversityInternational/A.VezinaBioversityInternational/B.Sthapit

6.  Bioversity International maintains the largest banana germplasm
collection in the world
 More than 400 banana varieties screened for nutrients
 12 varieties (≈100% of daily vitamin A needs of children in 100g)
selected for evaluation in Eastern Africa
 Agronomic performance evaluated in different agroecological
regions
 Acceptability test (organoleptic) with 50% men and 50% women
 Banana-based dishes evaluated for nutrient content and amount
available for absorption
 Plantlets are being multiplied for dissemination
Our nutrition work in banana-based farming systems
BioversityInternational/I.VandenBergh

7.  Building local capacity
 Community-driven approaches and
solutions
 Access to an established network
of local actors
Development pathways

8. Our target population groups
BioversityInternational/S.Collins

9. Research partners
• National Agriculture
Research Centres
(NARO, KARI, ARI-MARUKU,
IRAZ, ISABU)
• Universities (Makerere,
Sokoine, Kenyatta, UCG,
JKUAT, KUL)
• Research agencies
(CIRAD)
• Other CGIAR centres
(CIP, CIAT, IFPRI)
Example of partners in Eastern Africa
Development partners
• International
Development agencies
(World Vision, Concern
Worldwide)
• Ministries (health, agriculture,
education)
• Local NGOs &
community-based
organizations
• Community change
agents
Funding partners
• CGIAR Research
Program on
Agriculture for
Nutrition and Health
• CGIAR Research
Program on Roots,
Tubers and Bananas
• Harvest Plus
• Austrian Development
Agency
• GIZ/Germany