Food accessibility

in six community forests

in the Yokadouma area,

Eastern Cameroon

Judith van Eijnatten

Maguy Belobo Belibi

May 2013

This report investigates food security, focusing on food access, in 7 villages, in 6 community forests

around Yokadouma in Eastern Cameroon. MAHFP and HDDS questionnaires were administered to 75

respondents. Results show difficulty in food provisioning during 4 to 7 months of the year and a

dietary diversity score ranging from 1.8 to 5.3 with an average of 3.6 out of 12. With 67% of

households having consumed NTFPs during the last 24 hours the study shows a high dietary reliance

on NTFPs in all communities. Recommendations provide entry points to reduce reliance on NTFPs by

making available other food sources. It is suggested that a women-centered nutrition sensitive

agriculture approach would be most appropriate.

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Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks goes to the women of the villages of Mbol 2, Okak, Adjela, Ngatto, Zokadiba, Gribé

and Mboy 2 for their willingness to participate in this survey. A big thank you is also due to Joseph

Abono, Focal Point of the “Réseau des Gestionnaires des Forêts Communautaires de la Boumba et

Ngoko (REGEFOC)” and Sylvie Assoh, Coordinator of the NGO “Association Féminine pour le

Développement, la Conservation de la Biodiversité et la Défense des Droits Humains (AFDECDH)” for

their contributions in administering the questionnaire in spite of a very busy schedule. The survey

could not have delivered the results it has without their implication.

Judith van Eijnatten

Maguy Belobo Belibi

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Contents

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Nutrition sensitive agriculture......................................................................................................... 4

3. Food security ................................................................................................................................... 4

4. MAHFP and HDDS ............................................................................................................................ 5

4.1 MAHFP ..................................................................................................................................... 5

4.2 HDDS ........................................................................................................................................ 6

5. Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 6

6. Results and analysis ......................................................................................................................... 7

6.1 Months of adequate household food provisioning ................................................................. 8

6.1.1 Mbol 2 and Okak villages ...................................................................................................... 8

6.1.2 Adjela, Ngatto, Zokadiba and Gribé villages ......................................................................... 9

6.1.3 Mboy 2 village..................................................................................................................... 10

6.2 Household dietary diversity score ......................................................................................... 10

6.3 Notes on accessibility of specific food groups ...................................................................... 11

6.3.1 Staple foods ................................................................................................................... 12

6.3.2 Protein-rich foods .......................................................................................................... 12

6.3.3 Vegetables and fruits ..................................................................................................... 13

6.3.4 Oils and fats ................................................................................................................... 13

6.3.5 Food groups not or rarely consumed ............................................................................ 13

6.3.6 NTFPs ............................................................................................................................. 13

7. Conclusion and discussion ............................................................................................................. 14

7.1 Food provisioning and dietary diversity ................................................................................ 15

7.2 Consumption patterns for different food groups ................................................................. 15

7.3 The place of NTFPs in the diets of forest communities ......................................................... 15

7.4 Women’s status, health, nutrition and agriculture ............................................................... 16

8. Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 16

Annex 1: Questionnaire ......................................................................................................................... 19

Annex 2: Common NTFPs (plants) collected in the surveyed villages ................................................... 20

Annex 3: Visual presentation of time/labour spent by women collecting and processing NTFPs ....... 21

Annex 4: Labour and timesaving equipment for NTFP processing ....................................................... 24

Annex 5: Determinants of child nutrition and interventions to address them ..................................... 26

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1. Introduction From 2009, SNV has been working with communities living in community forests around Yokadouma

and Lomié in the East Region of Cameroon to improve the production and commercialisation of non-

timber forest products (NTFPs). The work targeted women who are the traditional collectors of

NTFPs, and who process and utilise NTFPs for their households’ food security. While NTFPs were

traditionally collected to complement and enrich household diets, nowadays they are also sold by

women for cash income to complement household budgets. Recent data show that a significant part

of the income earned from NTFP sales was used by women to further enhance household nutrition

and health outcomes by buying food products and acquiring health services. The income was also

used to fulfil basic needs including housing and education and sometimes material needs (e.g.

acquiring kitchen utensils and household furniture)1. The work led to the recognition that NTFPs

form an indispensable part of local food systems both in terms of direct household food supply and a

means to earn cash to buy complementary foods. NTFPs, including bushmeat, mushrooms, leaves,

fruit and a range of (oil-rich) seeds, constitute important suppliers of protein and micro-nutrients

enriching the diets of forest communities.

Figure 1: NTFP collection, traditionally a woman’s activity

Woman going into the forest to collect NTFPs NTFP (talala) collection by a group of women

SNV’s NTFP work is programmed to end by July 2013. However, being interested in further exploring

the nutritional aspects of NTFPs, their importance in the diets and food systems of forest

communities and their relationship with agriculture, SNV conducted a survey to gain information on

the food security (specifically food accessibility) of forest communities. The information was

collected with a view to determine the contours of a project in line with the global discussions on

“nutrition sensitive agriculture”, a subject which is fast gaining momentum on the global stage2.

1 Source : NTFP registers of the “Regroupement des Forêts Communautaires du Dja (REFOCOD) and the “Réseau des

Gestionnaires des Forêts Communautaires de la Boumba et Ngoko (REGEFOC); the data from these registers is currently

being consolidated into a digital database. 2 Important initiatives addressing undernutrition through agriculture include:

• The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) global movement (attention to multisectoral action).

• The Zero Hunger Challenge launched by the UN Secretary General to end hunger and malnutrition within our lifetimes.

• Development of country CAADP plans (Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme) which include

nutrition in Pillar 3 (Food Supply and Hunger); the CAADP establishment process is on-going in Cameroon.

• CGIAR research programs: Nutrition and Health (CRP-4) and Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health (A4NH).

• Nutrition mainstreaming is a FAO corporate priority.

• Multiple development partners have recently developed agriculture-nutrition guidance and tools. A good example is

“Improving nutrition through multisectoral approaches, agriculture and rural development”, 2012. World Bank. See:

http://www-

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2. Nutrition sensitive agriculture The FAO advocates that unless more attention is given to food-based interventions which promote

dietary diversity and the consumption of nutritionally rich foods, the goal of ending hunger may not

be achieved3. The agriculture sector is particularly well-placed to influence food production and the

consumption of nutritious foods necessary for healthy and active lives. Nutrition sensitive agriculture

aims to maximize the impact of nutrition outcomes for the poor, while minimizing the unintended

negative nutritional consequences of agricultural interventions and policies, especially for women

and young children. Nutrition sensitive agriculture is agriculture with a nutrition lens and in principle

does not detract from the sector’s own goals. Nutrition sensitive agriculture may also pursue

improved water quality, decreased disease occurrence, increased food safety, and improvements in

women’s time use (which, in turn, affect child care practices). Each of these areas is important for

improved nutrition outcomes.

The principles of nutrition sensitive agriculture are:

• Investing in women by safeguarding and strengthening the capacity of women to provide for

the food security, health, and nutrition of their families.

• Increasing access to, and year-round availability, of high-nutrient content food.

• Improving nutrition knowledge among rural households to enhance dietary diversity.

• Incorporating explicit nutrition objectives and indicators into agricultural project and policy

design.

Nutrition sensitivity in agricultural projects also entails periodic measurement of food consumption

indicators through methods such as the “Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning”

(MAHFP) and “Household Dietary Diversity Score” (HDDS), tools which were used for the current

exploratory survey.

3. Food security Food security is defined as “when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to

sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life” (USAID). One can speak

of food security when there is:

• Food availability: sufficient quantities of appropriate, necessary types of food from domestic

production, commercial imports or donors which are consistently available to people or are

within their reach.

wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/02/05/000356161_20130205130450/Rendere

d/PDF/751030BRI0Impr00Box374299B00PUBLIC0.pdf

• The first-ever International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition was organized by FAO from 13-15 May

2013. It highlighted the contributions of forests, trees and agroforestry systems to food security and nutrition in many

parts of the world.

• The second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) is planned at FAO Headquarters, in Rome, 19-21 November

2014. It is an inclusive inter-governmental meeting on nutrition jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The ICN2 will be a high-level ministerial conference to

propose a flexible policy framework addressing today’s major nutrition challenges and identifying priorities for enhanced

international cooperation on nutrition. See also: http://www.fao.org/food/nutritional-policies-strategies/icn2/en/. 3 FAO’s Approach to Nutrition-Sensitive Agricultural Development, B. Thompson and L. Amoroso, 2013. See:

http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/docs/FAO_Approach_to%20Nutrition_sensitive_agricultural_development.pdf

5

• Food access: is the ability to acquire sufficient quality and quantity of food to meet all

household members’ nutritional requirements for productive lives. One can speak of having

food access when there is adequate income or other resources to purchase or barter to

obtain levels of appropriate food needed to maintain consumption of an adequate

diet/nutrition level.

• Food utilization: refers to the individual’s biological capacity to make use of food for a

productive life. It is when food is properly used, proper food processing and storage

techniques are employed, adequate knowledge of nutrition and child care techniques exist

and are applied, and adequate health and sanitation services exist4.

The current survey aims to measure household food access through two proxy measures: household

food provisioning and household dietary diversity. For this, two commonly used survey

methodologies were applied:

• Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP),

• Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS).

4. MAHFP and HDDS The sections below give a brief background on MAHFP and HDDS.

4.1 MAHFP

Food access depends on the ability of households to obtain food from their own production, stocks,

purchases, gathering, or through food transfers from relatives, members of the community, the

government or donors. A household’s access to food also depends on the resources available to

individual household members and the steps it must take to obtain those resources such as the

exchange of goods and services.

As a household manages its resources over the course of a

year, the ability to meet its food needs may vary due to

any number of factors such as inadequate crop production

or lack of labour, loss or decrease in income sources such

as employment, social obligations or natural disaster. The

overall goal of food security programs is to reduce the

degree to which a household is vulnerable to any factor

that results in insufficient food, or to enhance community

resilience and livelihood capacities in the face of shocks.

Measuring household food provisioning over the course of

a year, using MAHFP, allows capturing both the baseline

and the combined effects of a range of interventions and

strategies, such as improved agricultural production,

storage and interventions that increase the household’s

purchasing power. Obtaining data using MAHFP is

4 USAID Policy Determination, Definition of Food Security, April 13, 1992.

Figure 2: Woman pounding grilled moabi seeds

for processing into cooking oil

6

relatively straightforward and quick.

4.2 HDDS

The household dietary diversity score is a score of the number of different food groups (out of a

total of 12 food groups) consumed by a household over 24 hours. A high score signifies a diversified

diet, a low score a monotonous diet. The scores are interpreted in the light of the following:

• A diversified diet is an important outcome in and of itself as it indicates the availability and

accessibility of food.

• A diversified diet is highly correlated with caloric and protein adequacy, percentage of

protein from animal sources (high quality protein), and household income.

• A diversified diet is associated with improved health outcomes (including birth weight, child

anthropometric status, and improved blood haemoglobin concentrations).

Even in very poor households, increased food expenditure resulting from additional income is

associated with increased quantity and quality of the diet. Therefore the HDDS tool is useful to

measure the effect of project activities targeting income generation such as undertaken by SNV.

Obtaining data using HDDS is relatively straightforward and quick.

HDDS measures the quality of a diet from the number of different food groups consumed (as

opposed to the number of different foods consumed). The following set of 12 food groups is the

basis for calculating the HDDS.

Table 1: List of 12 food groups considered by HDDS

No. Food group

1 Cereals (maize, bread, …)

2 Roots and tubers (cassava, macabo, …)

3 Vegetables

4 Fruits

5 Meat, poultry, offal

6 Eggs

7 Fish, crustaceans, …

8 Groundnuts/pulses/legumes/nuts …

9 Milk and milk products

10 Oils/fats

11 Sugar/honey

12 Coffee/tea/condiments ...

5. Methodology The survey was applied to 75 women gathered during village meetings for the regular monitoring of

NTFP activities implemented by SNV in 6 community forests around the town of Yokadouma. The

map below shows the 7 villages where the survey was undertaken.

7

Figure 3: Map showing the seven villages where the surveys took place

The survey focused on households unable to adequately provide for the household. It turned out

that this was the case for all households. The purpose of the survey was to identify the months in

which there is limited access to food, regardless of the source of the food (i.e., production, purchase,

or barter) and to determine the number of food groups consumed by household members during

the course of one day. The questionnaire was applied to the adult person responsible for food

preparation in the household. In all cases these were women. The questionnaire gathered data on

the food needs of the household as a whole, not any single member of the household.

The data was collected during early May which for most households fell within the period of greatest

food shortage. Applying the questionnaire during this period helped to increase the accuracy of

recall of the months when the household did not have sufficient food. For MAHFP the recall period

was 12 months. The HDDS recall period was 24 hours. The questionnaire was anonymous. Annex 1

presents the questionnaire.

6. Results and analysis It was found that generally households consumed 2 meals per day, in the morning and in the

evening. Not infrequently the morning meal constituted the left-overs of the evening meal. The

Mbol 2

Okak

Mboy 2

Ngatto

Adjela

Zokadiba

Gribé

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detailed results of the survey are presented in three sections below: the months of adequate

household food provisioning (MAHFP), the household dietary diversity scores (HDDS) and a section

on accessibility of specific food groups.

6.1 Months of adequate household food provisioning

All the communities surveyed depend both on household agricultural production and the forest for

their food supply. The results show that all communities suffered from food insecurity during

periods varying from 4 to 7 months of the year. A difference was noted between villages located in

three different directions from Yokadouma with regard to the lengths of periods during which they

experienced inadequate food access. Villages to the West had the shortest period, those to the

South the longest period and the village to the East suffered two periods of inadequate access (see

table below).

Table 2: Duration and periods of difficulty of food access in 7 villages at different distances from Yokadouma

Village names Distance and direction

from Yokadouma

No. of months of

food insecurity

Periods of food

insecurity

Mbol 2, Okak 54 km to the West 4-6 months December to May

Adjela, Ngatto,

Zokadiba, Gribé

36-75 km to the South 5-7 months December to July

Mboy 2 53 km to the East 7 months Two periods:

March to May

July to October

The detailed results for each group are presented below.

6.1.1 Mbol 2 and Okak villages

Difficulty of food access in these two villages peaks during the dry season (December to March) and

extends to the month of May for some households. Women said that during this period plantain is

not in production, so the population depends heavily on cassava roots. The usual diet at this time of

year consists of cassava leaves in a groundnut sauce eaten with boiled cassava roots. A minority of

women however responded they did not have access to groundnuts/cucurbitaceae for the sauce.

Many women said there was no money at this time of the year to buy complementary foodstuffs.

The diagram below shows the months of food insecurity in the two villages surveyed.

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Figure 4: Months of inadequate food access in the villages of Mbol 2 and Okak

6.1.2 Adjela, Ngatto, Zokadiba and Gribé villages

The women of these villages said that they sometimes buy food stuffs like beans, tomato, oil and

salt, to complement and enrich their diet. The food insecure period covers the dry season

(December to March) and extends well into the rainy season, month of May for most households,

and even into July for those households with the most difficulties. The food insecure period peaks

during the months of February to May. Women explained that it is only after June/July that NTFP

sales occur, allowing households to buy complementary foods. The diagram below shows the

months of food insecurity for the four villages.

Figure 5: Months of inadequate food access in the villages of Adjela, Gribé, Zokadiba and Ngatto

0

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Months of inadequate food access

CF Mirebe’e, Village:

Mbol 2

CF Mirebe’e, Village:

Okak

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Months of inadequate food access

CF Zenkadjel, Village:

Adjela

CF Bogrissom, Village:

Gribé

CF Mbielabot, Village:

Zokadiba

CF Bénaka, Village:

Ngatto

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6.1.3 Mboy 2 village

For the population of Mboy 2 there are two periods

during which it suffers from difficulty of food access.

The first period is from March to May. By March the

money from last year’s NTFP production is finished

while the new NTFP season has not started yet.

Consequently women do not have money to buy

complementary foods, including meat. The second

period occurs from July to October. During this period

groundnuts are not in production and it is also the

period when rainfall is heavy and women have difficulty

drying their cassava couscous. The diagram below

shows the periods of inadequate food access in this

village.

Figure 7: Months of inadequate food access in the village of Mboy 2

6.2 Household dietary diversity score

The standard HDDS questionnaire was adapted slightly to make it appropriate to the local context. It

was found that, during the period of the survey, none of the responding households had consumed

any cereals, including maize. The food group “Cereals” was therefore replaced by “Plantain”, which

was found to be a major staple but did not have a place in the questionnaire. This was justified by

the fact that, although a staple, plantain is essentially different from the food group “Roots and

tubers”, and provides different micronutrients. In addition, a departure from the regular HDDS form

was made by adding an extra question on the consumption of NTFPs. NTFPs were however not

considered to be a separate food group, rather they fitted in with one or another of the existing food

groups (e.g. bush mango and njansang fitted in with the food group legumes and nuts, moabi oil

with the food group oils/fats and wild mushroom with the food group vegetables). Names, pictures

0

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Months

Months of inadequate food access

CF Bibimbo 2, Village:

Mboy 2

Figure 6: Mboy 2 is a village typical for the zone; it is

surrounded by forest

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and uses of common NTFPs collected in the area surveyed are given in Annex 2. The HDDS scores per

village are presented in the table below.

Table 3: HDDS scores per village and average score

Community

forest

Mirebe’e Zenkadjel Bogrissom Mbielabot Bénaka Bibimbo Average

score all

villages Village Mbol 2 Okak Adjela Gribé Zokadiba Ngatto Mboy 2

HDDS score 2.9 4.0 4.0 1.8 3.6 3.3 5.3 3.6

The average HDDS of all villages was found to be 3.6. The value of 3.6 means that during the 24-hour

recall period households had consumed on average 3.6 different food groups from a total of 12

possible food groups. This constitutes a low score indicating diets with little diversity.

The table also shows that HDDS scores varied from village to village. Gribé attained the lowest score

with 1.8. This village is remotely located, at 75 km from Yokadouma, on a little travelled narrow

forest road. Considering that the period of difficulty of food access for Gribé tapers off in the month

of May (only 20% of Gribé respondents saying they had difficulty to access food), this may be an

indication that even during periods of improved food access the dietary diversity in this village may

be particularly low.

The highest HDDS score of 5.3 was obtained at Mboy 2 which is situated at 2km from the border

with the Central African Republic along a relatively wide and good forest road with regular traffic5.

Mboy 2 also has a weekly market on Saturdays. It is likely that these factors contribute to higher

food accessibility and a relatively high HDDS score. Considering that May was recorded as the month

of greatest food insecurity in Mboy 2 (more than 60% of respondents said they experienced

difficulty to access food) this may be an indication that the dietary diversity during other times of the

year may be quite high.

6.3 Notes on accessibility of specific food groups

The percentages of respondents per village whose households had consumed specific food groups

and NTFPs during the 24-hour recall are presented in the table below.

5 It must be noted however that the border crossing was recently closed due to the precarious political situation in CAR.

However this seemed to have had limited impact on the local population which continues to cross the border because the

same tribe/families live on either side.

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Table 4: Percentage of respondents per village whose households had consumed each of 12 food groups, and NTFPs,

during a 24-hour recall period

No Food group Percentage of respondents’ households having consumed the food group/NTFP

CF Mirebe’e CF

Zenkadjel

CF

Bogrissom

CF

Mbielabot

CF

Bénaka

CF

Bibimbo

Average

all

villages Mbol 2 Okak Adjela Gribé Zokadiba Ngatto Mboy 2

1 Plantain 58 33 38 75 88 55 17 52

2 Roots 38 83 63 25 13 45 83 50

3 Vegetables 96 100 69 50 75 55 100 78

4 Fruits 4 33 75 0 50 27 17 29

5 Meat 13 0 38 0 38 45 83 31

6 Eggs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7 Fish 13 50 44 25 25 27 50 33

8 Nuts/legumes 63 50 25 0 50 64 83 48

9 Milk products 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

10 Oil 0 50 50 0 25 9 100 33

11 Sugar/honey 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

12 Coffee/tea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NTFPs 0 33 25 0 13 36 50 22

The results shown in this table are discussed below in separate sections on staple foods, protein-rich

foods, vegetables and fruits.

6.3.1 Staple foods

Plantains and cassava form the staple food of the communities, with 100% of the respondents

stating that their families had consumed either one or the other and a small percentage having

consumed both during the last 24 hours. The data suggests that plantains and cassava are consumed

in equal proportions (half of the households).

It is to be noted that a small number of respondents (7%), from the villages of Mbol 2 and Gribé, had

consumed staples without an accompanying dish due to lack of access to any other food, whether

vegetables, legumes/nuts, meat and fish. Some women falling within this 7% group had prepared a

“tisane” by boiling small wild fruits giving a very bitter tasting liquid which was spiced with pepper

and consumed with the staple.

6.3.2 Protein-rich foods

The food group nuts/legumes was consumed by almost half of the respondents’ household

members. In the majority of cases the specific food consumed was groundnut which was ground and

mixed with cassava leaves to form a sauce. In a minority of cases the NTFPs telem or njansang were

used instead of groundnut. These NTFPs are similarly ground and mixed to thicken the sauce. When

asked why women did not cook beans they replied that there was no money to buy them; women

had tried to cultivate legumes but had been unsuccessful as the plants had been eaten by wild

animals.

Meat was consumed in the households of one third of the respondents. In all cases this consisted of

bushmeat including monkey/ape, porcupine and small antilope. The majority of women had

purchased the meat from hunters.

Fish and crustaceans (river shrimp) were consumed by the households of one third of the

respondents. In all cases it concerned catch from the wild and thus constitutes an NTFP; higher

13

scores for consumption of this food group were obtained in villages where a river flowed nearby (e.g

Adjela).

A total of 53% of the respondents had prepared a meal with animal protein (meat and/or

fish/crustaceans). None of the respondents had prepared eggs. Similarly none of the respondents

reported that the family had consumed insects, larvae or snails. It must be noted that it was an

omission to not probe for these foods.

6.3.3 Vegetables and fruits

Around 80% of respondents’ household members had meals including vegetables. In the vast

majority of cases the vegetable consisted of cooked cassava leaves (which are particularly rich in

vitamin A)6. Occasionally other leafy vegetables had been prepared including “folon” (Amaranthus

hybridus) and “zom” (Solanum nigrum or black nightshade). In some cases respondents had

prepared the NTFP “koko” (gnetum spp) which was mostly consumed in uncooked form (cut into

slivers and seasoned with salt and pepper). Mostly vegetable dishes were prepared, as mentioned

above, with ground groundnut and in some cases “enriched” with wild mushroom (NTFP) and oil.

Fruits were consumed by around one third of the respondents. The most common fruits included

banana and papaya. The mango season had not started yet. It must be noted that it was an omission

to not probe for the consumption of forest fruits (NTFPs).

6.3.4 Oils and fats

The women from the villages with the lowest HDDS scores (Mbol 2 and Gribé) said they had not

prepared any dish using oil during the last 24 hours. The women of Mbol 2 explained this by saying

they do not cook with oil because they do not have naturally occurring oil palms. They said it is their

custom to live from what the forest provides; therefore they do not have a tradition of planting oil

palm. However they do sometimes purchase palm oil but they currently did not have the money to

do so. Women of Okak, a few kilometres down the road from Mbol 2, did have oil palm and had

palm oil on sale during the survey.

Other sources of oil are the moabi (but due to logging this resource is now rare in the villages

surveyed) and oil extracted from bush mango during processing into oil cake (only available during

the bush mango season in July-August).

6.3.5 Food groups not or rarely consumed

With the exception of one respondent who had prepared food from the food group “sugar/honey”,

none of the other respondents had touched this food group. Similarly, there were no cases recorded

where women had prepared food using food from the food groups “milk/milk products” or

“coffee/tea/condiments”.

6.3.6 NTFPs

An average of 22% of the respondents had prepared food incorporating (non-animal) NTFPs. These

NTFPs included fresh mushrooms, njansang (from last year’s stock), fresh gnetum spp and fresh

telem/timbi. The telem/timbi is a low yielding variety of bush mango which produces just before the

high yielding variety ripens; it was in production during the period of the survey. For other NTFPs the

period of this survey corresponded with the off-season.

6 The leaves we eat, J.M. Bailey, 1992. South Pacific Commission.

14

The respondents said that during the production seasons of njansang and bush mango these

products are frequently consumed in all households. Both njansang and bush mango have high oil

contents and are likely to also have high protein contents. Both form the basis for (thick) sauces to

which are added vegetables, meat and/or fish. It is probable that both contribute significantly to the

diets of forest communities during and just after the harvest seasons (4-5 months of the year).

Adding bushmeat and fish/crustaceans caught from the wild to the list of NTFPs, 67% of all

respondents reported to have prepared a meal containing NTFPs during the last 24 hours. This is a

high percentage and illustrates the reliance of communities on forest products.

The photos below show four NTFP-based meals prepared by women in the villages where the survey

took place. These meals are not representative of the everyday meals prepared by the respondents

for their households, rather they are examples of meals prepared for special occasions.

Figure 8: Photos of four NTFP-based meals

Antilope in telem/timbi sauce with mashed cassava Antilope in njangsang sauce with whole cassava

Forest hog with pounded plantain Monkey in groundnut sauce with whole plantain

7. Conclusion and discussion This section presents and discusses the conclusions of the survey, with emphasis on the months of

adequate household food provisioning and dietary diversity, the consumption patterns for the

different food groups investigated and the place of NTFPs in the diets of the forest communities

surveyed. In addition a short paragraph explores the relationship between women’s status, health,

15

nutrition and agriculture as a prelude to the next section which aims to develop the contours of a

project linking NTFPs, nutrition and agriculture.

7.1 Food provisioning and dietary diversity

Poor monotonous diets low in quantity and quality in terms of nutrient content, variety, diversity

and food safety lead to hunger and malnutrition. This MAHFP and HDDS survey shows that forest

communities in the villages surveyed suffer from lack of access to food for between 4 and 7 months

of the year. The survey also shows that the diet of the populations, with an average score of 3.6,

lacks diversity7.

The survey was overwhelmingly focused on the Bantu population (97% of the respondents were

Bantu) because the survey was carried out during the course of a SNV monitoring mission targeting

mostly Bantu villages. To gain insight into the diets of the Baka pygmy population a more concerted

effort would need to be undertaken. While this should not be taken to be in any way representative,

the two Baka respondents in the survey scored an average HDDS of 2.5 and mentioned only the

months of April and May to be months where food access was problematic for them.

Nutrition sensitive agriculture approaches address the problem of monotonous diets by focusing on

making more foods available.

7.2 Consumption patterns for different food groups

Food consumption differed from household to household. Half (53%) of the respondents had

prepared meals containing animal protein while 7% had offered their families only meals consisting

of just a staple (plantain and/or cassava). Groundnuts are an important source of plant protein and

were consumed by just under half of the households during the 24-hour recall period. Oil-rich seeds

like njansang and telem also constituted sources of plant protein.

Cassava leaves were a very common vegetable, consumed by the majority of the households. A few

other leafy vegetables, including the NTFP “koko” were also found to be consumed. Consumption of

other than leafy green vegetables was as good as non-existent.

Fruits were consumed by one third of the households. Oil seems to be a luxury food. All the

respondents from 2 villages said they had been unable to prepare meals using oil.

7.3 The place of NTFPs in the diets of forest communities

NTFPs form an important resource for forest communities to diversify their diets. They are

consumed both in quantity and diversity. NTFPs were found to span 8 of the 12 food groups

surveyed8. Non-animal NTFPs were used in the preparation of meals by 22% of the respondents

during the period constituting the off-season for most NTFPs. Where NTFPs of animal source are

included the figure of 22% rose to 67% (this is without counting possible consumption of

insects/larvae/snails). The figures show the huge dependence of forest communities on the forest as

a direct source of food. Where NTFPs are commercialised and the revenue used (seasonally) by

women to buy food, the dependency on NTFPs only increases further!

7 While these results show trends in food access of forest communities, they should also be treated with some care due to

the relatively low samples of respondents in some villages. 8 Exceptions are the following food groups: plantain, roots and tubers, eggs and milk/milk products.

16

Research suggests that besides a source of protein, forest foods are particularly important for

provision of micronutrients including vitamin A and iron9. It can be safely assumed therefore that

they play an important role in reducing or preventing malnutrition.

7.4 Women’s status, health, nutrition and agriculture

There is strong evidence that improved family health and nutrition is attributable to improvements

in women’s status. For example, increasing women’s time available for child care, impacts positively

on child health and nutritional status. In agriculture, nutrition can be particularly impacted by

increasing women’s discretionary income and reducing women’s time and labour constraints10

.

8. Recommendations This section seeks to make the link between NTFPs, nutrition, agriculture and food security in forest

communities. It presents the contours of an agriculture project in line with “nutrition sensitive

agriculture”, as described in section 2 of this report.

Improving food security can be achieved through narrowing the gap between current and potential

production yields. Similarly, improving nutrition security can be achieved by narrowing the “nutrition

gap” i.e. the gap between current food intake patterns and intake patterns that are optimal in terms

of macro and micronutrient content. Narrowing the nutrition gap means increasing the availability,

access and actual consumption of a diverse range of foods. This survey has assessed and identified

some of the nutrition gaps of forest communities and proposes the following actions to close those

gaps:

• Increasing food production

• Reducing agro/food losses

• Increasing the quality of food supply by safeguarding nutritional quality along the nutrition

value chain

• Improving the food system

• Consumer education and awareness raising to improve consumption through informed

choices.

The project’s goal is to reduce the high nutritional dependency of forest communities on NTFPs by

improving food access from alternative sources. The envisaged results are improved food security,

improved incomes and improved nutrition, at the same time generating ecosystem services by

decreasing pressure on the forest.

Gender inequality in agriculture is based on unequal access to productive resources and inputs,

hampers rural development. To attain food security and sustainable agricultural development it is

therefore imperative to enhance the status of women in the rural production system, as well as in

the family and society. This project aims to adopt an approach of women’s empowerment through

targeted agricultural interventions impacting on women’s income and, as much as possible, on

9 B. Powell, Centre for International Research on Forests (CIFOR). See: http://blog.cifor.org/14882/forest-foods-should-be-

used-in-fight-against-global-malnutrition-scientist/ 10

Improving nutrition through multisectoral approaches, agriculture and rural development, World Bank, 2012.

17

women’s labour and time (Annex 3 gives a visual impression of time and labour spent by women in

collecting and processing NTFPs).

The table below present the nutrition and (possible) agriculture outcomes for the project as well as

potential focus areas for interventions and their expected effect on women’s income, labour and

time.

Table 5: Nutrition and agriculture outcomes, potential focus areas and envisaged effect on women’s income, labour and

time

Closing the

nutrition gap

Closing the food security gap Envisaged effect on women’s

income, labour and time

Nutrition

outcomes

Agriculture

outcomes

Potential focus areas

Dietary

diversity

Improved

household food

provisioning

Valorisation of

NTFPs

• Domestication of

gnetum, bush mango,

njansang, moabi*…

Increases income and decreases

labour and time in the long term

(when tree crops start to

produce)

• Timesaving equipment

for NTFP processing (see

annex 4 for already

existing equipment)

Decreases labour and time

• Technologies to improve

quality and food safety,

and decrease losses

Increases income (better prices,

fewer losses)

Homestead/

school gardens

• Cultivation of

vegetables, legumes,

fruits, oil palm, NTFPs

Increases income (possibility to

sell or barter)

Improved

livestock raising

• Raising poultry,

goats/pigs in pens, goat

milk (?), fish ponds, cane

rat,…

• Control of zoonotic

diseases

Increases income (possibility to

sell or barter)

Increased

cereal

production

Production of maize

varieties with improved

production, nutritional

value and longer

production season

Increased

production of

bio-fortified

crops

E.g. production of cassava

varieties high in vitamin

A/zinc

Improved food

system

Promotion of roadside

sales, markets, sharing

products, selling and

buying between villages

Increases income

*) There is a Japanese research project currently studying moabi regeneration in CF Bogrissom. The moabi tree starts to

produce seed after 50-70 years, it is heavily logged and only a few specimens are left in the area.

18

The activities presented in the table above can all be termed as “nutrition sensitive”. Their effect will

be enhanced with messages on nutrition and home economics to ensure consumer education and

awareness raising for informed choices on household diet. These messages will focus on e.g.

• Diets for specific age groups, notably children (see Annex 5 for the determinants of child

nutrition and interventions to address them).

• Promotion of particularly healthy micro-nutrient rich (indigenous) foods11

12

.

• Improved food utilisation.

• Budget management with the aim to ensure availability of year-round household budgets

for purposes of nutrition and health13

.

Nutrition sensitive agricultural activities can be further enhanced with a water and sanitation

component, which was found to be a priority in most villages14

. Potable water and sanitation have a

positive effect on nutrition and health outcomes15

and is also an important contributor to saving

women’s time and labour.

Lastly, it is important that the project integrates in its results framework both gender analyses to

determine women’s time use and labour time requirements, and food consumption indicators to

monitor consumption trends affecting the incidence of chronic diseases.

11

Partnership with Helen Keller International (HKI) could be explored. HKI is present in Cameroon, it runs the program

“Enhanced Homestead Food Production (EHFP)” in Burkina Faso. EHFP helps communities to establish technically-

improved local food production systems by creating gardens yielding micronutrient-rich fruits and vegetables year-round,

complemented with poultry and small livestock production and nutrition behaviour change communication. 12

This could include the compilation of women’s NTFP-based and other local recipes into a booklet. An interesting partner

for this would be “Slow food” (www.slowfood.org) which seeks to promote the wealth of local gastronomic traditions, in

the defence of food biodiversity and in support of smallholder farmers and producers. They do this through diverse actions

including inventories of local, indigenous and underutilized species important for food security, facilitating market access,

shortening food supply chains etc. 13

It was apparent during SNV monitoring visits that whereas women were increasing their incomes significantly through

the sales of NTFPs, they were unable to make the income last through the year. The income was available to buy food, pay

for education and pay for health services during and right after the period when it was earned but a few months later,

none was left. In some cases this was because the money was invested in (big) projects like house construction, household

furniture and household utensils. During the survey the matter of managing for a year-round household budget was raised

a few times. 14

Most villages visited did not have improved water points; instead women collected water from (unprotected) natural

sources which were sometimes quite distant and in one village was said to be the cause of frequent bloody diarrhoea for

all inhabitants, both big and small. National statistics indicate that 50% of households in rural areas lack access to improved

water points (the national figure is 29%), 78% do not have improved latrines (national 64%), 18% of children less than 5

years of age suffer from diarrhoea (national 21%) - personal communication with UNICEF staff. 15

Discussions with medical staff in the Yokadouma area indicated that among the most frequent diseases feature malaria,

diarrhoea and dysentery, respiratory infections and parasitical infections. All of these potentially have underlying causes

relating to malnutrition/undernutrition and lack of sanitation. Women mentioned visceral hernia as a frequent cause of

sickness, attributed to hard physical labour.

19

Annex 1: Questionnaire Fill up the following questionnaire with a 1 or 0 where:

Yes = 1

No = 0

Name of FC :……………………………………………….

Name of village :…………………………….………..……...

Date :………………………………….……………

Respondent number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I would like to ask you about your household’s food supply during

different months of the year. Please think back over the last 12

months, from now to the same time last year.

Were there months, in the past 12 months, in which you did not have

enough food to meet your family’s needs?

May

April

March

February

January

December

November

October

September

August

July

June

Respondent number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I would like to ask you about the types of foods that you or anyone

else in your household ate yesterday during the day and at night.

1 Plantain or any food made from plantain

2 Any cassava, macabo, yam, sweet potatoe, or any other foods

from roots or tubers

3 Vegetables

4 Fruits

5 Any bushmeat, pork, goat, chicken, duck, or other birds, liver,

kidney, heart, or other organ meats

6 Eggs

7 Any fresh or dried fish or shellfish

8 Any foods made from dried beans, groundnut or nuts

9 Any milk, yogurt or other milk products

10 Any foods made with oil

11 Sugar or honey

12 Any other foods, such as condiments, coffee, tea

Any NTFP

20

Annex 2: Common NTFPs (plants) collected in the surveyed villages

*) Not commercialised, used in Mboy 2 village.

With the exception of “Ebaye” all the NTFPs shown above contribute to the diets of the communities

surveyed. Ebaye is sold to the Nigerian market where it constitutes a food but its exact utilisation

there is not known to the women of the surveyed villages.

Local name Latin name Use

Ndo’o, bush mango Irvingia gabonensis Seeds used to thicken soup, sometimes oil is extracted Njansang Ricinodendron heudelotii Seeds used to thicken soup, sometimes oil is extracted Talala, quatre côté Tetrapleura teraptera Pulp used in soup Moabi Baillonela toxisperma Oil extraction from seeds (cooking oil)

Koutou Pleurotus tuber-regium King tuber mushroom, used as a vegetable Black pepper Piper guineensis Seeds are a spice Kemmo ? Seeds used in soup Mbo ? Seeds used in soup

Koko, okok, eru Gnetum spp Leaves used as a vegetable Tondo, rondelles Scorodophloeus zenkeri Seeds are a spice Cola Cola spp Seeds chewed, used as a stimulant Ebaye Pentacletra macrophylla Not consumed locally but sold to the Nigerian market

Bush mango

Njansang Talala Moabi

Koutou Black pepper Kemmo* Mbo*

Koko Rondelles Cola Ebaye

21

Annex 3: Visual presentation of time/labour spent by women

collecting and processing NTFPs

Koko

Collection in the forest (often

camping out several days)

Binding (for sales) Slicing (for household

consumption or sales)

Bush mango

Collection in the forest (often

camping out several days)

Splitting the fruit Removing the seeds

Drying Pounding Pressing into cake

Koutou (king tuber mushroom)

Collection in the forest Removing the mushrooms (food) Drying the tuber (for sale)

22

Fish

Cleaning Drying and smoking Finished product

Njansang

Going to the forest (often camping out

several days)

Collection of the fruit Rotting, drying and cooking

Shelling using a large nail Drying Proud woman with her

finished product

23

Moabi

Going to the forest (sometimes

camping several days)

Shelling after removing the seed

from the fruit and drying

Grilling the seed

Pounding Grinding Sieving

Heating a pan with water Removing the water Sliding ground seed to heated pan

Turning the ground mass to heat it Kneading to separate the oil Squeezing to remove the oil

Removing the oil to a separate pan Heating the oil to remove toxicity Oil starts to froth when hot

Cooling then skimming the toxic

skin

Separating the clean oil from the

toxic parts

Moabi oil: the finished product

24

Talala

Going to the forest Collecting fruits Cutting the fruit

Removing the skin Drying the flesh The end product

25

Annex 4: Labour and timesaving equipment for NTFP processing

Manual oil press

Used to press oil from moabi

Built by a villager in Kongo

village (Lomié area)

Shelling machine running on

diesel

Used to shell njansang

Built by ICRAF and present at

Mintoum village (Lomié area)

Manual splitting machine

Used split bush mango fruits

Designed and built by an

earlier SNV project and

present in the Djoum area

26

Annex 5: Determinants of child nutrition and interventions to address

them

From: Improving nutrition through multisectoral approaches, agriculture and rural development”, 2012. World Bank.

A note on breastfeeding:

Nutritional stunting is the biggest component of malnutrition with, in the vast majority of cases, the

actual insult taking place during the first 2 years of life. Optimal breastfeeding is the only way to

achieve substantial improvements in infant and young child nutrition. Clearly, breastfeeding falls

outside the field of agriculture; yet, agricultural projects can impact significantly on breastfeeding

practices, both positively and negatively.

Particularly important in a low-income rural context is that the fact that to ensure that other project

components targeting improved nutrition are effective, mothers have to spend adequate time with

their infants and young children to breastfeed. Breastfeeding does not take much of the mother's

time but requires her physical presence. Complementary feeding is often not an option as it requires

adequate caregiver time, expertise and availability of nutritious and clean foods. Agricultural

projects need to ensure that they do not increase women’s work load and do not impede the

physical presence of mother and infant.

27

Text available under a Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org) Text: Judith van Eijnatten/SNV, Maguy Belobo Belibi/SNV

Photographs: Judith van Eijnatten/SNV The text in this document can be used on condition that credit is given to

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation