This is a very interesting concept and, having read a little about the uses of amaranth, it seems like it could be very beneficial. Can you say a little more about how this project would be enacted? It seems to focus on spreading information about the plant. What about cultivation, harvesting, and processing? Is this a simple process? How easy is it to integrate into other flours in the cooking process?
Thanks for your interest in my concept,it is really fulfilling and encouraging.
Amaranth as a weed is very beneficial as a source of Vitamins, Esssencial minerals as well as proteins and fibre content.It is reported that Amaranthus species have a 30% protein value than cereals such as rice, wheat flour, oats and rye.Amaranth seed, like buckwheat and quinoa contain protein that is usually complete for plant sources.
Most fruits and vegetables do not have a complete set of amino acids and thus different sources of protein must be used.Its seeds have a protein content that is greater than that of wheat, and in addition, its protein is not of the problematic type known as gluten.Amaranth seeds may also be of benefit to those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease.Its regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholestral level, while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters.
My project will be enacted by introducing the cultivation aspect of the weed by identifying the species that best suits the local environment, and encouraging peasant farmers to consider putting their lands into amaranth cultivation.By discarding the traditional way of relying on amaranth that grows in cow sheds during the rainy season for its conventional cultivation, farmers will be in a position to produce more of it for their consumption and sale now that the weed has found its way to market shelves with its products fetching more than what common vegetables fetches.
Cultivating this weed will be very easy as it requires manure and therefore most farmers will find it easy to grow it since farm manure is usually in plenty in their rural setup farms.Harvesting it is also simple because like millet and sorgum, the dry seed heads are plucked and then beaten to release the seeds. The leaves are harvested in the conventional way just as the other vegetables and can be used directly by cooking or they can also be dried for use during dry seasons when vegetables are hard to come by and hence very expensive. The seeds can then be milled to produce a fine flour that can be mixed with other grains for cooking porridge and other fine whole meals.
With proper information to farmers on the amaranth weed, the weed can be harnesssed to help in fighting malnutrition and at the same time reducing poverty.
Great work! I was particularly interested in your response to Hanan Nassau. You provided a lot of detail on the nutritional value of Amaranth. I could not figure out whether the evaluation of the nutritional quality and the acceptability of its taste were based upon an analysis of cultivated Amaranth grain, as opposed to the weed.
In addition, I was interested in whether you plan on simply harvesting the weed as it occurs naturally, or whether you are hoping to encourage cultivation of Amaranth. It would seem that the sustainability of nutritional supplementation using Amaranth would be dependent upon yields. In the target region, do we know whether the amount of Amaranth in a given area is sufficient to support the effort involved in its harvest and processing?
Thanks Rubina! I register my appreciation for your interests in my concept.
The project has been running for the past few years, and we had a chance of comparing amaranth nutritive value under various growth conditions during the rainy season i.e as a weed and also under caltivated land, this was done in one of our demonstration plots. The results showed that under cultivation, the weed can even do better by yielding high nutrition value than as a weed. This was because the amaranth weed's vegetativeness was encouraged more under less competition from other weed or grass variaties, therefore the cultivated weed was able to use the nutrients available to maximise its growth for better production of seeds and edible leaves.
Since cultivation of amaranth proved to yield better results as compared to amaranth weed, and considering the fact that the prices of its products have been going up by day, the project intends to encourage cultivation of amaranth by rural masses to inprove their incomes level. By the research, it was found out that cultivated weed is in a position to produce around 400kgs of seed per acre at Ksh.186 or USD. 2.48 per kg translating to Ksh.74,400 or USD. 993 per acre, which is alot of money for a country where more than half the population of 30 million people i.e 15 million lives in under a dollar a day. It should also be noted that the growth cycle of amaranth weed takes less than 5 months therefore its cultivation can be an exellent means of poverty reduction. This means that the weed can also be turned into a cash "weed" and at the same time help in providing a balanced nutrition to the low income/poor rural people.
It goes without mention also that as compared to other conventional cereals cultivation like corn and wheat which are capital intensive, amaranth cultivation will only require seeds and organic fertilizer to grow therefore with proper information to the masses, the weed can turn to be one of the most profitable venture in the agricutural sector since the weed's seeds and manure for planting can be readily available in the villages/rural areas.
Once again thanks for your interest and best regards
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful responses to my and Rubina Khan's inquiries. It certainly is interesting and helpful to know more about your project. Of course, though, your responses raised additional questions.
Can you tell me more about the innovative nature of this project? You make it sound so simple. Is that the case? Is Amaranth grown in other neighboring countries around Kenya as a cash crop as you propose to do? With such returns for the product, does your plan have a contingency that will keep the crop yield from surging, which would cause the price to drop? Lastly, is your organization a nation-wide one? How might it communicate the benefits of Amaranth around Kenya and take the project to such a scale?
My project is innovative because, it takes advantage of a naturally growing weed to provide nutrition to the rural poor and sick who are hurting and not in a position to purchase refined food supplements from stores. The fact that the people living in the villages have never identified the potential of this weed which they usually slash off in cow shades to give space for animals and the project wants to address this wastage and converting it to a source of nutrition, by itself is innovative.
In the first instance, my project proposes to create awareness about the nutritive value of the weed at no extra cost to the rural masses since it is in abundance during rainy seasons. This therefore makes my project very simple to initiate as it involves only initial advocacy.
Once this has been achieved, and people have appreciated its useful nature, then they can also be made to know that the weed can also be formally grown and tended to produce surplus output that can generate income for them. The tests that we performed in our demonstration plot showed that the output can be increased tremendously when the weed is tended as compared to when it is harvested under cow sheds since the vegetative nature of the weed is promoted under well tended grounds.
The planting of Amaranth weed for commercial purposes is a new phenomenon in East Africa and it is catching up fast, this is only restricted to some few farms and they send their yields directly to store shelves, therefore making it available only to the rich who can afford them.
My project does not necessary focus on the issue of monitory gain by people in rural areas, but access to cheap and available nutrition through the weed and therefore the financial aspect is only a second thought to the project when sustainability is considered.The fact that many people in the rural areas of Nakuru District which is my project focus at the moment are infected with the dreaded HIV and Aids virus and therefore in need of very nutritious food made the inception of the idea possible.
My organization i.e Moi University is a national/countrywide learning and research institution with extension and outreach programmes as well as international linkages thus making it possible to create advocacy platforms for the project.
Comments
Samwel,
This is a very interesting concept and, having read a little about the uses of amaranth, it seems like it could be very beneficial. Can you say a little more about how this project would be enacted? It seems to focus on spreading information about the plant. What about cultivation, harvesting, and processing? Is this a simple process? How easy is it to integrate into other flours in the cooking process?
I look forward to learning more.
Hanan
Hi Hanan,
Thanks for your interest in my concept,it is really fulfilling and encouraging.
Amaranth as a weed is very beneficial as a source of Vitamins, Esssencial minerals as well as proteins and fibre content.It is reported that Amaranthus species have a 30% protein value than cereals such as rice, wheat flour, oats and rye.Amaranth seed, like buckwheat and quinoa contain protein that is usually complete for plant sources.
Most fruits and vegetables do not have a complete set of amino acids and thus different sources of protein must be used.Its seeds have a protein content that is greater than that of wheat, and in addition, its protein is not of the problematic type known as gluten.Amaranth seeds may also be of benefit to those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease.Its regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholestral level, while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters.
My project will be enacted by introducing the cultivation aspect of the weed by identifying the species that best suits the local environment, and encouraging peasant farmers to consider putting their lands into amaranth cultivation.By discarding the traditional way of relying on amaranth that grows in cow sheds during the rainy season for its conventional cultivation, farmers will be in a position to produce more of it for their consumption and sale now that the weed has found its way to market shelves with its products fetching more than what common vegetables fetches.
Cultivating this weed will be very easy as it requires manure and therefore most farmers will find it easy to grow it since farm manure is usually in plenty in their rural setup farms.Harvesting it is also simple because like millet and sorgum, the dry seed heads are plucked and then beaten to release the seeds. The leaves are harvested in the conventional way just as the other vegetables and can be used directly by cooking or they can also be dried for use during dry seasons when vegetables are hard to come by and hence very expensive. The seeds can then be milled to produce a fine flour that can be mixed with other grains for cooking porridge and other fine whole meals.
With proper information to farmers on the amaranth weed, the weed can be harnesssed to help in fighting malnutrition and at the same time reducing poverty.
Great work! I was particularly interested in your response to Hanan Nassau. You provided a lot of detail on the nutritional value of Amaranth. I could not figure out whether the evaluation of the nutritional quality and the acceptability of its taste were based upon an analysis of cultivated Amaranth grain, as opposed to the weed.
In addition, I was interested in whether you plan on simply harvesting the weed as it occurs naturally, or whether you are hoping to encourage cultivation of Amaranth. It would seem that the sustainability of nutritional supplementation using Amaranth would be dependent upon yields. In the target region, do we know whether the amount of Amaranth in a given area is sufficient to support the effort involved in its harvest and processing?
Good luck, and I am eager to hear your response.
Thanks Rubina! I register my appreciation for your interests in my concept.
The project has been running for the past few years, and we had a chance of comparing amaranth nutritive value under various growth conditions during the rainy season i.e as a weed and also under caltivated land, this was done in one of our demonstration plots. The results showed that under cultivation, the weed can even do better by yielding high nutrition value than as a weed. This was because the amaranth weed's vegetativeness was encouraged more under less competition from other weed or grass variaties, therefore the cultivated weed was able to use the nutrients available to maximise its growth for better production of seeds and edible leaves.
Since cultivation of amaranth proved to yield better results as compared to amaranth weed, and considering the fact that the prices of its products have been going up by day, the project intends to encourage cultivation of amaranth by rural masses to inprove their incomes level. By the research, it was found out that cultivated weed is in a position to produce around 400kgs of seed per acre at Ksh.186 or USD. 2.48 per kg translating to Ksh.74,400 or USD. 993 per acre, which is alot of money for a country where more than half the population of 30 million people i.e 15 million lives in under a dollar a day. It should also be noted that the growth cycle of amaranth weed takes less than 5 months therefore its cultivation can be an exellent means of poverty reduction. This means that the weed can also be turned into a cash "weed" and at the same time help in providing a balanced nutrition to the low income/poor rural people.
It goes without mention also that as compared to other conventional cereals cultivation like corn and wheat which are capital intensive, amaranth cultivation will only require seeds and organic fertilizer to grow therefore with proper information to the masses, the weed can turn to be one of the most profitable venture in the agricutural sector since the weed's seeds and manure for planting can be readily available in the villages/rural areas.
Once again thanks for your interest and best regards
Samwel
Dear Samwel,
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful responses to my and Rubina Khan's inquiries. It certainly is interesting and helpful to know more about your project. Of course, though, your responses raised additional questions.
Can you tell me more about the innovative nature of this project? You make it sound so simple. Is that the case? Is Amaranth grown in other neighboring countries around Kenya as a cash crop as you propose to do? With such returns for the product, does your plan have a contingency that will keep the crop yield from surging, which would cause the price to drop? Lastly, is your organization a nation-wide one? How might it communicate the benefits of Amaranth around Kenya and take the project to such a scale?
Thank you,
Hanan
Dear Hanan,
Thanks for your comments.
My project is innovative because, it takes advantage of a naturally growing weed to provide nutrition to the rural poor and sick who are hurting and not in a position to purchase refined food supplements from stores. The fact that the people living in the villages have never identified the potential of this weed which they usually slash off in cow shades to give space for animals and the project wants to address this wastage and converting it to a source of nutrition, by itself is innovative.
In the first instance, my project proposes to create awareness about the nutritive value of the weed at no extra cost to the rural masses since it is in abundance during rainy seasons. This therefore makes my project very simple to initiate as it involves only initial advocacy.
Once this has been achieved, and people have appreciated its useful nature, then they can also be made to know that the weed can also be formally grown and tended to produce surplus output that can generate income for them. The tests that we performed in our demonstration plot showed that the output can be increased tremendously when the weed is tended as compared to when it is harvested under cow sheds since the vegetative nature of the weed is promoted under well tended grounds.
The planting of Amaranth weed for commercial purposes is a new phenomenon in East Africa and it is catching up fast, this is only restricted to some few farms and they send their yields directly to store shelves, therefore making it available only to the rich who can afford them.
My project does not necessary focus on the issue of monitory gain by people in rural areas, but access to cheap and available nutrition through the weed and therefore the financial aspect is only a second thought to the project when sustainability is considered.The fact that many people in the rural areas of Nakuru District which is my project focus at the moment are infected with the dreaded HIV and Aids virus and therefore in need of very nutritious food made the inception of the idea possible.
My organization i.e Moi University is a national/countrywide learning and research institution with extension and outreach programmes as well as international linkages thus making it possible to create advocacy platforms for the project.