Is there unrecognized potential in neglected livestock species in Sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review of four selected species

IF 5.6 1区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Security Pub Date : 2024-11-18 DOI:10.1007/s12571-024-01503-7

Maria Oguche, Juliet Kariuki, Regina Birner, Mizeck Chagunda

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Over the recent years, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has seen an increase in population growth, urbanization, and per capita income. As a result, there has been a corresponding increase in the demand for animal source foods. In order to meet this demand, most countries have resorted to intensifying the production of conventional livestock. However, this increase in production comes with several environmental, nutritional, gender-related and economic challenges that are a rising concern. It is therefore imperative to explore the comparative advantages and disadvantages of other livestock species, which are currently consumed in SSA but are not recognised in widely adopted policies. Herein, using a novel conceptual framework, we present a systematic review of four selected neglected species, namely, grasscutter, guinea fowl, guinea pig, and rabbit. The review was conducted following the checklist for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), and 89 sources of literature were included. The results highlight that embracing these neglected livestock species could confer several benefits, including an enriched nutritional profile (high-quality protein, low fat, high dressing percentage), increased gross economic returns, environmental sustainability, and sustained empowerment of minority groups, especially women. Overall, this review shows the untapped nutritional and socio-economic potential of neglected livestock species, which, if incorporated into mainstream production, could improve food security and reduce unemployment in SSA.

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来源期刊

Food Security FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY-

CiteScore

14.00

自引率

6.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Food Security is a wide audience, interdisciplinary, international journal dedicated to the procurement, access (economic and physical), and quality of food, in all its dimensions. Scales range from the individual to communities, and to the world food system. We strive to publish high-quality scientific articles, where quality includes, but is not limited to, the quality and clarity of text, and the validity of methods and approaches. Food Security is the initiative of a distinguished international group of scientists from different disciplines who hold a deep concern for the challenge of global food security, together with a vision of the power of shared knowledge as a means of meeting that challenge. To address the challenge of global food security, the journal seeks to address the constraints - physical, biological and socio-economic - which not only limit food production but also the ability of people to access a healthy diet. From this perspective, the journal covers the following areas: Global food needs: the mismatch between population and the ability to provide adequate nutrition Global food potential and global food production Natural constraints to satisfying global food needs: § Climate, climate variability, and climate change § Desertification and flooding § Natural disasters § Soils, soil quality and threats to soils, edaphic and other abiotic constraints to production § Biotic constraints to production, pathogens, pests, and weeds in their effects on sustainable production The sociological contexts of food production, access, quality, and consumption. Nutrition, food quality and food safety. Socio-political factors that impinge on the ability to satisfy global food needs: § Land, agricultural and food policy § International relations and trade § Access to food § Financial policy § Wars and ethnic unrest Research policies and priorities to ensure food security in its various dimensions.