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nutritional problems in different parts of the country.
Ad hoc nutritional surveys can also be conducted
based on reports from local hospitals so that the nature
and the extent of the problem can be quantified. These
surveys are carried out usually by the Ministry of
Agriculture or the Ministry of Health with the support
of national statistical organizations. In the case of
deficiency disorders, once the problem is identified in
a particular area, it has to be traced for deficiencies of
one or more nutrients. One of the sectoral ministries
such as Ministry of Agriculture or the Ministry of
Health takes the lead and alerts other sectoral
ministries and organizations to identify solutions to
the problem. This process is made easier in countries
where multi-sectoral nutrition committees chaired by
the President or the Prime Minister's office takes the
lead role (Quinn, 1994). In the case of introducing
Moringa as a nutritional intervention, Malawi Ministry
of Agriculture assumed the responsibility of org a n i z i n g
and leading other organizations involved in the process.
In what follows, the stages and the activities of the
Ministry of Agriculture in Malawi towards introducing
Moringa are used to illustrate the process of
implementing rural nutrition interventions.
3.2. Making an inventory
Having identified the problem and evaluated potential
existing alternatives for intervention, there was a
consensus among various institutions involved to
identify indigenous sources of vitamin A and promote
them as a solution. However, this required an
inventory of indigenous plants consumed by
households in different parts of the country. This
would allow the planners to choose cost-effective and
most acceptable sources of vitamin A for further
development and dissemination. Fortunately, a partial
inventory of useful indigenous plants was already
available for Malawi although they had to be further
analysed and screened for their nutrient content. For
example Williamson (1975) provided a list of 200 wild
plants available in Malawi with a design of their
botanical characteristic ties and use in Malawian diets.
Msonthi (1989) developed a geographical distribution
of edible wild fruits that are growing in various parts
of Malawi. Saka et al. (1989) have analyzed chemical
composition of selected edible wild fruits commonly
available in Malawi. They found that cassava, turnip,
amaranthus and Moringa have highest levels of
vitamin A with 1630, 788, 1330 and 3710 i.u. per
100 g edible portion respectively.
In places where such information is not readily
available the existing agricultural extension system
can be used for information gathering. The village
level extension worker would be useful in developing
the inventory by working with the rural households
who are familiar with the plant foods that are eaten in
a particular area. The timing of making the inventory
is also important. The indigenous wild foods are
usually consumed during the lean season when the
food availability is low. These foods are also called
"crisis foods" or "famine foods" or "emerg e n c y
foods". They have been recognized and used for
generations by ancestors in the area. However, they
may not be taken regularly in present day diets due to
changes in the consumption patterns.
3.3. Analysis and screening
Once this inventory is prepared, the next step is to
carry out a chemical analysis of these food plants for
essential nutrients and vitamins. This can be carried
out in the laboratories of the universities and
agricultural research stations. The chemical analysis of
the indigenous plant foods help food technologists,
nutritionists, and other agricultural scientists to choose
the food which will have the maximum nutrient
content. Such an analysis with information on
methods and procedures, including sample selection
and parts of some useful plants analyzed is available
for Malawi. For example, Mtumuni and Cusack
(1991) analyzed nutrient contents of various foods that
could be used for food supplementation. Their analysis
showed that Moringa had the highest vitamin A levels
with 3650 i.u. per 100 g edible portion.
3.4. Acceptance analysis
The importance of taste in food acceptance has
recently been recognized to play a crucial role in
determining the success of food and nutrition
intervention programmes (Babu, Rajasekaran, 1991).
It is well-known that the quality of food taken is the
major factor determining its nutritional impact
(Kennedy, Alderman, 1987). Variations exist in the
quality of food intake among sub-groups of the
population (Horton, 1985). It has also been suggested
that increasing incomes could be a direct way of
improving nutrition as the quality and variety of foods
increase with income (Pitt, 1985).
These considerations point to the need for
assessing the acceptance of indigenous plant foods.
An acceptance analysis should be conducted in order
to determine the impact of tastes and preferences on
the dietary intake pattern of different groups of
households. Information based on the analysis could
then be effectively used in targeting households for
nutritional interventions using indigenous plant foods.
This approach would improve the success of the
acceptance of indigenous plant foods that have been
introduced. An acceptance analysis conducted in
Malawi indicated that Moringa is accepted as a green-
Study 