Non-food Agricultural products: Part I: Thinking about the apparent waste.

By sparing a thought for what is about to be thrown away, the outcome could be an efficient and beneficial use of both food and the non-food products.

Tackling food security issues is done by a multidisciplinary approach that has found acceptance, in both food deficit countries and those with food adequacy. This article will try to look at issues that could influence food security if we "Spare a thought for what we are about to throw away."

Food waste is a result of post-harvest loses, improper storage, lack of food preservation, improper usage of food products such as in the making of alcoholic beverages using rice or maize and the excessive usage of food in short periods of time such as in traditional ceremonies such as marriages. In addition, lack of diversifying how a particular food product is used could influence food shortages.

Taking maize as an example, this product is used predominantly as flour to prepare corn meal (a stiff porridge), and to a small extent corn may be directly cooked and consumed. When there is an excess production of corn, high above the level of consumption, there is usually food spoilage as a result of poor preservation and storage, perpetuating the critical balance of consumption and production, a condition that has detrimental influence to food security. The more developed nations are able to use corn to produce food products like cornflakes, popcorn and corn oil, with additional non-food products like starch, glucose, alcohol and animal food. By diversifying the food use of barley, cassava, millet, potato, rice, sorghum and yam, which are starchy foods widely cultivated in Africa and many of the poorer tropical regions, there could generate benefits of improved food security and possible food commerce.

Non-Food Materials:

The lack of utilisation of the non-food agricultural materials, which accounts for 40-50% and are usually considered to be waste, could also indirectly but detrimentally influence food security but the exploitation of such waste has shown to be beneficial in matters of nutrition, health and wealth.

Current practices:

In many parts of the poor world, farmers obtain cash for payment of health and education bills for their children by selling some of the little food produced. Maize, beans, cassava, sorghum, rice and millet can be seen in open African markets from farmers who have no real surplus production. Those farmers who produce coffee, cotton tea and sisal that are cash crops are slightly better financially but are entirely dependent on external markets that offer low prices for produce. Exploiting simple technology to utilise some of the non-food farm matter to generate income, reducing the need to sell the little food available and the current dependency on external buyers.

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